Member of Parliament, Kate Kniveton, has this week (24th November 2022) visited Burton Fields School in Shobnall which was recently awarded the UNICEF ‘Gold: Rights Respecting Schools' award. The award is granted to schools that focus on the importance of children’s rights throughout the school in its curriculum, practices and ethos.
The MP was invited along by teacher Miss Lucy Frost and her Year 4 class, to highlight their new campaign called ‘Education Interrupted’ which is aiming to ensure that children around the world all receive the education that they deserve.
Although Burton Fields School, like the rest of pupils in the UK, have been lucky to be able to continue learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many others around the world will not be so fortunate, with the poorest and most fragile countries likely to find it hardest to recover. The Burton pupils' campaign is calling for more investment in global education to ensure young people all over the world can continue to learn in order to create more sustainable, peaceful and resilient societies in the future.
During the visit, Kate Kniveton shared with the class that the UK is a founding member and a leading donor to both Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies, and the Global Partnership for Education, which helps to build and strengthen education systems in many fragile and conflict-affected states.
The MP added that she had written to her ministerial colleagues in Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to raise Burton Fields’ campaign with the Government and is currently waiting for a response.
Commenting, Kate Kniveton MP said:
“It was wonderful to be invited to Burton Fields School and to have the opportunity to share with Miss Frost’s class what the UK Government is doing to ensure every child around the world has the right to access good education.
“The UK is a world leader when it comes to improving global education, having supported at least 15.6 million children with a quality education between 2015 and 2020 and more recently has announced £217 million for three major education projects across Commonwealth countries.
“I want to congratulate the efforts of Burton Field School pupils on their campaign and commend their thoughtfulness towards other children around the world in less fortunate positions than themselves. I have raised this issue with the Government and will continue to be in touch with the school’s campaign team once I have received a response.”
