Since becoming the MP for Mid Norfolk back in 2010, I have had the pleasure and privilege of getting to know and support the wonderful staff at Chapel Green School – helping them get the school’s relocation from their old, cramped, unfit for purpose site in Attleborough to their new state-of-the-art home in Old Buckenham over the line, and working with them as they look to ensure they provide the very best education and care for some of our most vulnerable youngsters.

That’s why I was delighted to visit the school again this past Friday as part of my regular schedule of school visits around Mid Norfolk.

Emily Severn and her dedicated team work tirelessly to support their students and I am always inspired whenever I get the chance to visit and see first-hand how they are getting on in their new home.

As part of my ongoing work to speak up for SEND provision in both our specialist and mainstream schools, I remain committed to doing all I can to support the Chapel Green team – and hope to be able to visit them again later this year.

To stay up to date with my campaign work on SEND education, please click here.

Having grown up on my stepdad’s farm, previously worked as Parliamentary Officer for the NFU and now represented a largely rural constituency for almost thirteen years, I have always had a deep connection to the environment. Many of my hobbies embrace the outdoors, including sailing and walking, and I have always been a major advocate of the Road to Net Zero, highlighting the frontline role that our region can have, and already is having, in the ‘Green Revolution’ that will help us tackle carbon emissions and embrace a cleaner, greener, healthier model of life.

That’s why I was delighted to participate in Climate Hope Action In Norfolk’s ‘Climate Change is here – what now?’ event this past Friday in Wymondham.

In front of a wonderfully rowdy crowd in a packed Wymondham Central Hall, I welcomed the chance to debate this key issue for us all with those from across the political spectrum. I made the case that we won’t tackle global warming by Davos summitry or green anarchy criminal damage, but rather by pursuing ‘Green Growth’ – highlighting some of the great, pioneering work already being driven forward by our Science, Research, Technology and Innovation sectors, including right here in the East at the likes of the Norwich Research Park, Easton Food Hub and Hethel Engineering Centre.

Mid Norfolk and the East’s role in the ‘Green Revolution’ will not only help shape our world’s future. It will also create thousands of new jobs in some of the fastest growing and most exciting sectors of today and tomorrow – spreading prosperity and breathing fresh life into our local communities and services.

I am determined to do all I can to help Mid Norfolk embrace that role and help local households and businesses made their way forwards on the Road to Net Zero.

To learn more about my work on Net Zero and the environment, please visit my website here.

Brain cancer is a cruel disease that takes people from us with too little chance of a proper diagnosis, treatment or cure.

Finding a cure has long been a cause which I have supported – even more so since the passing of my childhood friend, Charlie, a few years ago. In Charlie’s memory, and in that of distinguished former member of the House Baroness Tessa Jowell, and so many others, I have actively campaigned over recent years to help raise awareness and support the ongoing research efforts aimed at finally ridding our world of this terrible illness.

Today marks the start of Brain Tumour Awareness Month 2023 and that’s why it was such a pleasure to speak last night at an event organised by Brain Tumour Research UK, alongside the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, to bring campaigners and politicians together to celebrate the five year anniversary of the mission’s launch and to introduce the APPG on Brain Tumours inquiry report recommendations.

I deeply appreciated the chance to talk about why this is such an important cause, highlighting the mine and the Government’s commitment to do even more.

Rest assured, I will continue to work closely with Brain Tumour Research UK and Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, as well as local charities and support groups, to do all I can to raise awareness and support the crucial work being done.

To learn more about my work on Brian Tumour Awareness and Research, please visit my campaign page here.

How we take care of, and educate, some of our most vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society. EVERYONE has the right to a good education.

That’s why, having previously helped the campaign to move Chapel Road School in Attleborough to its new state-of-the-art home at Chapel Green in nearby Old Buckenham (read more here) and called for greater SEN funding for rural schools, I have also been working with Fred Nicholson School in Dereham over the past few years to try and help them secure a long-term solution to their future. 

When I visited the school back in 2019, I was struck by the tremendous spirit of the teachers and pupils, and the love that the wider community has for the school. However, the buildings were visibly falling into disrepair around them and short-term repairs were no longer sustainable. (Learn more here).

While Norfolk County Council have worked closely with Jane Hayman and her dedicated team of staff at Fred Nichs to provide all the support that they can, it has long been clear that a proper long term solution is needed. I have therefore helped convene meetings between Fred Nichs and NCC (including with the leader of the council, Andrew Proctor – who has been a big support) in order to bring about the necessary conversations regarding what can be done to ensure the school has the fit-for-purpose facilities it needs.

NCC takes SEND provision incredibly seriously indeed and, as part of their overall strategy to expand and strengthen the support they provide, have actively participated in discussions with the school to explore whether they should relocate to a new building on the existing site or to an alternative one nearby.

I am delighted to hear the news therefore that NCC’s Cabinet will be meeting on Monday to discuss giving the greenlight to the purchase of some land near Swaffham – which it is hoped could be the location of Fred Nichs’ new home. (My understanding is that, should the land indeed be purchased, a planning application could be made as early as the spring).

As part of my ongoing efforts to support the Fred Nichs community, I have today written to Andrew Proctor to formally reiterate my support of the school and place on record my hope that the NCC Cabinet will sanction the purchase of this key piece of land. By doing so, NCC would not only allow Fred Nichs to move on to the next stage of securing the home they need and deserve, they would also send the clearest possible signal to the SEND community that they are committed to doing all they can to ensure Norfolk has the support it needs.

I will be following Monday’s meeting closely and will continue to do all I can to support Fred Nichs, as well as the wider SEND community.

To learn more about my work on SEND, please visit my website here

To learn more about my work with Fred Nichs, please visit my website here and here