I’m incredibly proud to represent Isle of Wight West in Parliament.
As soon as people learn that I live on the Island they automatically want to chat.
Sometimes it’s to share their childhood memories of a school trip, or family holiday.
The festival usually gets a mention, along with Osborne House.
But almost everyone talks about there being a greater sense of community on the Island – something we should all be proud of.
What strikes me though, is there’s all too often a lack of awareness of our innovation and industry.
That lack of awareness is unfortunately something that extends to plenty of young people on the Island.
And it masks a wealth of opportunities and careers available to them. It’s something I want to change; and we can change as a community.
As a coastal MP, I’m acutely aware of the growing coastal educational attainment gap.
One in three Island children leave school unable to read at the expected level, and we now have the second highest level of educational deprivation in the South.
We know targeted intervention works.
The London Challenge, launched in 2003, transformed London’s schools from some of the poorest performing to the best in the UK by 2010.
The government has committed to delivering a new Coastal Challenge, modelled on that success.
This is a welcome step and an important opportunity to ensure coastal communities like ours get the support needed to improve outcomes for children and young people.
The government has also launched the schools white paper, which includes major reforms to the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
These proposals are about putting children and young people first. So, I want to hear from constituents about the proposals.
If you’re a constituent, please email richard.quigley.mp@parliament.uk for more information about my SEND coffee morning on Saturday, March 21.
As MP for Isle of Wight West, I’ll continue to ensure that our voices are heard in Westminster.
But I’ll also continue to support and champion our shared sense of community. Yes, there’s always more local and central government could be doing. But there’s a lot we can be proud of.
We can start by ensuring our young people know about the opportunities open to them.
And we can prepare them for work with the right skills and training.
We need to ensure Islanders, especially those not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), have access to work experience and the opportunity to shine.
And I know it can be done because there are local businesses leading by example, including Yokogawa Marex, Rheinmetall, and Captiva Homes – proof that the Island can use its uniqueness to its advantage.
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