Speaking at Education Questions in the Commons, she told MPs many of those involved had also been repeatedly excluded from the classroom, showing more needed to be done to help such children.

She said “Given that two thirds of the August rioters have special educational needs-a rate well above the national average-and that a disproportionate number have been subject to school exclusions, what steps has the Minister taken to ensure that if a child is subject to permanent or repeated exclusion, they are assessed for special educational needs, so that if such needs exist they are…

In reply, Minister of State (Children and Families) Education Sarah Teather told Charlotte:  “What we are trying to do with is to focus better on early intervention. We are ensuring that the forthcoming guidance on behaviour and exclusions makes it clear that a multi-agency assessment should be carried out if a pupil displays behaviour that does not respond to normal classroom management techniques.”

Charlotte and Bristol West MP Stephen Williams leaving the Department for Education after successful meeting with the Schools Minister

The Department for Education has today announced an additional £500 million worth of funding for school places. This includes over £18 million for the City of Bristol, which is the fifth highest recipient of additional funding out of 152 Local Authorities in England.

 Charlotte, who has a long-standing reputation as a local education champion, was one of four Bristol MPs who recently took part in a high-level meeting with Schools Minister Nick Gibb to raise the issue of school places across Bristol and took part in a Parliamentary debate on Bristol’s school places crisis.

 Reacting to the announcement Charlotte said:

 “This is fantastic news for local schools in Bristol.

 “There is a desperate need for more primary school places not only in Bristol North West but across our city and I am delighted that this has been recognised by Ministers and reflected in this additional funding allocation. The fact that Bristol has received one of the largest amounts of new investment compared to other Local Authorities in England is a real testament to what can be achieved for our city when elected politicians from all parties work together and speak with one voice. 

 “For too long there has been an over emphasis on improving Secondary School provision and repeated warnings about pressure on primary school places has been ignored. I am delighted that the coalition government are taking such positive action to ensure that every local area has the school places that it needs.

 “Alongside the government’s decision to protect schools spending and to target the poorest pupils through its £2.5bn pupil premium, this money will help schools in Bristol and across the country to deliver a better education for all of our young people.”

Listen to Charlotte speak about how boxing can help some of Britain’s disillusioned young men and women and play a part tackling the underlying causes of the recent riots.

Charlotte, the local MP for Bristol North West, gave her enthusiastic backing to the scheme to merge Orchard School Bristol and Filton Avenue Infant School to create a brand new school.

The school, which expects to have its first intake of pupils in September 2012, will be located on the existing Orchard School Bristol site, which will help ensure costs will be kept to a minimum.

The creation of the new school comes as Bristol City Council continues to seek ways to reduce the shortage of primary school places.

It is anticipated that by using the existing Orchard site, the new school will be ready not only in time but also will much lower costs than if it was built. It also makes use of empty space at the school, which was built in 2006, which also saves taxpayers money.

Welcoming the project, Charlotte said: “I have been very impressed by the work and determination of both schools and look forward to supporting this exciting new project.”

The new school will start the next academic year with a reception class for 30 children. It will then build up over subsequent years to create a full primary school up to Year 6.

Reception children will have classes in their own part of the Orchard campus and the two schools are looking to stagger start and finish times to reduce congestion.

It is anticipated that the younger children will benefit greatly from the wide range of expertise and facilities at Orchard.

Filton Avenue Infant and Orchard have been working together for some years in the One Voice partnership of schools in the Horfield area.

Charlotte said: “It is encouraging and inspiring to see schools thinking creatively then actually taking the initiative to work together to help solve bristol’s school places crisis.

“I am looking forward to watching their exciting progress continue as both schools carry on their excellent  work to give local children the very best education possible.”

Charlotte, who has a long-standing reputation as a local education champion, recently took part in a high-level meeting with Schools Minister Nick Gibb to raise the issue of school places across Bristol.

Following the meeting, Charlotte also highlighted the need for more primary school places in the city during a debate in Westminster.

Charlotte said: “There is a desperate need for more primary school places across Bristol, and in our constituency.

“It is so important to both parents and their children that they are able to secure a local school place and not be faced with the very real worry that this may not be the case.

Charlotte was one of four Bristol MPs to meet with the Schools Minister, as well as the council’s cabinet member for children, to discuss ways in which to resolve the places issue.

As well as pressing the fact that Bristol has the fastest-growing population of infant school-aged children, they also urged the Minister to Gibb to ensure that Bristol was given a good share of the Government funding made available for school place creation.

Following the meeting, Charlotte said: “This was an extremely positive meeting and I am confident that our concerns were well received. The position we find ourselves in requires action to ensure that best interests of the families, and the schools, are met.”

Charlotte has also taken part in a Parliamentary debate, raising Bristol’s school places crisis and highlighting the need to learn from mistakes of the past, which saw short-termist thinking doing away with surplus primary places in the city, which, just a few years on, are now so badly needed.

Speaking after the debate, Charlotte said: ” I was deeply encouraged by the minister’s concern for bristol’s situation. It is important that we work together to try and find a viable and workable solution to what has been allowed to become a crisis, and also learn important lessons about long-term decision making and strategy for our city.”

What is National Citizen Service?

If you’re in Year 11, National Citizen Service is an exciting chance to do something different during your summer holiday. Taking part will let you:

• learn some new skills
• meet new people
• make a real difference to your community or an issue you care about

National Citizen Service will take place during the summer after you finish Year 11. It will run for three weeks full-time, including two weeks away from home. After that, you’ll need to complete another 30 hours on a part-time basis.

Working in a team, you’ll have the chance to take part in exciting outdoor activities like mountaineering, canoeing and abseiling.

You’ll also get the opportunity to design and deliver your own project in your local community. This could mean working with other young people to improve the area where you live, benefiting everyone who lives there.

Find out more about projects in the South West:

http://www.ncssouthwest.co.uk/

Bristol MP Charlotte Leslie has been elected to serve on the Education Select Committee in parliament. Select Committees are cross-party committees set up to take evidence, and do detailed work on policy analysis and formation.

For the first time, Select Committee members were voted for by voting amongst fellow MPs in the party. Charlotte is one of just three other Conservative MPs to be elected to the committee.

Commenting, Charlotte said:

“I’ve always had an interest in education because it is quite simply where life chances are won or lost; it’s the start of a life-story; And of course in Bristol, the gulf between the best and the most challenged schools is simply massive and one of my life’s ambitions would be to help close that terrible gap.

 Working on the education select committee will be brilliant because it’s where MPs put party political differences aside to work with other MPs. I’ll be looking at evidence, speaking to a massive range of people on the front line of education and really getting to grips with the gritty detail of what works in education and what doesn’t. It’s what I’m in politics to do – work together to make things a bit better, instead of thrashing about in petty party-political tribalism. 

And it will be fascinating to be part of policy making with so much going on in education at the moment – and I hope it will be a real help in getting things done for education in Bristol. “

As the new MP for Bristol North West, Charlotte Leslie's first priority will be to focus on improving education provision

Charlotte Leslie has thanked the people of Bristol North West for electing her as their MP, and has announced that improving education provision in the constituency will be her first priority.

Speaking after the election, Charlotte said: “It is an enormous honour, and an enormous responsibility to be elected to represent my fellow residents in Bristol North West. There are likely to be tough times ahead, and unfortunately in life, there are no magic wands, but I will be working as hard as I can for our community here in Bristol North West.”

Charlotte’s main focus as MP will be education, looking to improve the schools across the constituency.

Charlotte also hopes to improve transport provision and continue the work she has already done with community organisations.
 
Charlotte said: “I want to solve the crises in both primary and secondary school places, as well as to provide investment to all the schools in Bristol North West in order to see real improvements.”
 
“In transport issues, we need to look at mechanisms to tackle First Bus’ monopoly in Bristol. I will also look to reopen the North Bristol loop line and get Henbury station back in use for local residents.”
 
“I also want to build on the work I have already done in helping community organisations set up alternative activities for young people, such as boxing classes in schools.”

Charlotte has many more plans she hopes to put in place soon. After recovering from the hard-fought election campaign, she is looking forward to starting work as MP for Bristol North West, where she has lived for almost all her life.
 
Although she wants to start making changes immediately in the constituency, she appreciates that some changes will take time to implement.
 
“There are so many things that need doing, and I want to get settled in, and sort out all the admin and logistics of starting a new job like this as quickly as possible so we can get going,” Charlotte said.

“Although change often takes time, I want to stress to all my new constituents that I will be working as hard as I possibly can in my new job, to to serve you, and our city. “

Local parents met the Shadow Education Secretary Michael Gove on Saturday when he visited north west Bristol and promised that a Conservative government will help meet the need for an additional secondary school in the area.

If the Conservative party wins the General Election on May 6, they will support parents who want a new school and will ensure that funding will be found for it. Mr Gove and Charlotte, who went to school in Westbury-on-Trym, listened with interest as parents spoke to them about their concerns over both primary and secondary school places for their children.

A Conservative government will seek to end the current confusion over this issue, which sometimes sees children have to travel to schools many miles away from their homes. It will also put forward vital measures to help existing schools improve, giving teachers more power to discipline pupils; classes will be setted, giving better support to both the most able and least able pupils; and there will be  better and more specialised special educational needs support in every school. A Conservative government would also support St Ursula’s bid to become an academy. Charlotte is a governor at the Brecon Road, Westbury-on-Trym school and was instrumental in the decision to turn the independent school into an academy, something which may happen as early as September 2011.

Charlotte said that Mr Gove’s visit to Bristol was a great chance for local parents to quiz the man who could soon be the Government Minister responsible for education, making a real difference to education policy in the city.

She said: “Michael was able to see the difficulties facing local parents. I spoke to a lot of parents and they were reassured to hear that we share their aspirations.

“It was great to hear that Michael Gove is also passionately dedicated to improve existing schools as well as being committed to creating an additional school for north west Bristol. I have already been working with educationalists across the city to bring the nation’s most promising teachers to the city’s challenged schools, and I’m delighted that Michael Gove is supportive of us.”

The meeting was organised by Charlotte Leslie, the prospective Conservative MP for Bristol North West, who also founded the Parents Voice campaign group. Charlotte formed the group with local parents concerned about the lack of school places to serve the BS9 area.

Shirehampton Primary School suffers from a lack of green space where children can play games safely. However, local campaigner and Prospective MP, Charlotte Leslie has approached the Council on behalf of the school, and is working with the school and residents to secure a piece of neighbouring waste-land for school use, and at the same time improve the land for residents bordering the area.

Shirehampton Primary School has a need for green space so that its pupils can play games such as tag-rugby, and exercise without fear of injury from falling.  Charlotte Leslie has approached the Council to enquire about the feasibility of the school using a derelict piece of near-land-locked green-space near the school.

Charlotte met with Shirehampton Primary School Council and governors to discuss whether and how pupils would like to use the land. From this meeting, Shirehampton Primary School pupils composed a letter to residents, explaining their thoughts, and seeking a meeting to discuss how the land could best be used. The children’s aim was to improve the land for residents’ use, while establishing it for school use for games lessons and sports day.

Several residents attended a meeting held by the school, with a council representative present, and negotiations are now taking place about the school taking use of the council-owned land next year.

Reporting back, Charlotte Leslie said,

” If we can find a use for this piece of waste-land that improves it for neighbouring residents, and also provides Shirehampton Primary School with some much-needed green-space, we can count this a great success.

I attended a school council meeting where the children told me about their hopes for a little school vegetable garden where they can learn about fresh produce and gardening. It certainly would greatly improve these children’s school experience and I’m hopeful we can find a plan for the land which will please everybody.”