Street Children Welcome Umubano to Summer School

When we arrived in Makeni, north of Freetown, we were struck by its beauty despite the chaotic environment and harsh surroundings.

The Street Child of Sierra Leone (SCoSL) Children’s Centre sits at the edge of town and provides educational and medical support to around 150 children. This sector of society is the most vulnerable, many of whom have lost their parents during the war, and they live on the streets of Makeni in one of the poorest counties in the world.

As part of Project Umubano we are running the summer school programme that aims to prepare the street children to enrol into schools in September.

In order to achieve this goal, we have been teaching subjects ranging from Maths to English and Social Studies. After our first six hour day, the whole school came together for a debrief. Many of the children expressed their gratitude and thanks for our help in teaching these subjects and for the effort that we have all made to visit them from the UK.

A lot of children explained how confident they now feel after having held a pen for the first time. Other children explained how they wanted to pass their school exams and become engineers, doctors and teachers.

The energy and thirst for knowledge amongst these children has impressed and touched us all, their curiosity and enthusiasm is humbling to say the least. These children have many problems ranging from the lack of food and fresh water to the threat of malaria and other life-threatening diseases. They lack the funds for basic necessities, as well as school fees, which will be provided by SCoSL once the school term begins in September.

The summer school aims to assess the level at which the children will re-enter education.

We were joined by Stephen O’Brien MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, who spoke frankly about the role that we can individually play to support this fundamental area.





The Big Society in Action in Waddon

I write this blog to update Conservative Future members rather than my local residents who I represent in Waddon. However there is one story that I would like to share with you that involves a school in my ward.

For over two years, St Andrews High School in Warrington Road has been operating a successful extended schools cluster, the Waddon Inclusive Network with four local primary schools in the area. I had the pleasure of attending a litter pick that they organised at Duppas Park when I first became elected and saw how supportive the older pupils were to the younger ones.

This is an example of the Government’s Big Society agenda in action as pupils at St Andrews High School had to give up their time outside of school to provide after school and holiday activities for younger pupils.

Recently they have strengthened their bond with St Andrews Church and hope to run an outreach programme there, which will help the elderly and young people in the local area build their skills.

In September they are launching a new project that will see the school link up with a local pupil referral unit. This initiative aims to help young people with the transition from primary to secondary school.

Headteacher David Matthews said: “We think we’ve got a really good model at St Andrew’s for growing the citizens of the future. We’re looking to run lots of activities that children can commit themselves to. If the Big Society is going to work, it’s going to be about forging good relationships with people living nearby.”

Local MP Richard Ottaway visited the school and was very impressed with the benefits that the pupils and local community feel from the projects. He concluded by stating: “The ‘Big Society is certainly flourishing here in Waddon and I wish them all the best with their future plans.”

Richard Ottaway MP visiting St Andrew's High School pupils 

I commend the school for these initiaitves and wish them every success with their outreach programme and encourage other organisations in Waddon to strengthen their relationships with the local community in this way.

To read more click here 

The Ronald Reagan Legacy

Conservative Future members owe a great deal to both Ronald Reagan and Lady Thatcher for what they achieved. Whether they were fighting the tyranny of Communism or laying the foundations of good, solid, traditional Conservative principles – both shone on the world stage and made the special relationship truly special. 

Today, outside the American Embassy for the unveiling of the Ronald Reagan statue, we were reminded of the battles that these great leaders fought on our behalf. It was moving to see Condoleezza Rice, the 66^th Secretary of State for the USA and William Hague, current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for the UK standing shoulder to shoulder, signifying the strong bond between our two countries today. Before the unveiling of the statue began Hague stated how “honoured” he was to personally take part in a ceremony “for a man who changed the political landscape at the time when I first became involved in it.”

Unfortunately Lady Thatcher was unable to attend due to health reasons but Hague read out the following words on her behalf: “Ronald Reagan was a great President and a great man - a true leader for our times. He held clear principles and acted upon them with purpose. Through his strength and his conviction he brought millions of people to freedom as the Iron Curtain finally came down. It was a pleasure to be his colleague and his friend and I hope that this statue will be a reminder to future generations of the debt we owe him.”

A big thank you to the The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation for inviting us to this very special and memorable occasion. Whatever the challenges ahead, today we were reminded that the special relationship will endure and that Britain and America have a shared history and unbreakable bond.

Conservative Future: Students get their money's worth

Yesterday’s reforms proposed in the Higher Education White Paper ensure that students get their money’s worth.

Chairman of Conservative Future Ben Howlett made these comments yesterday:

“With progressive reforms to the higher education system proposed earlier this year, it is only fair that if students are asked to pay more once they graduate, Universities have an obligation to deliver more for students.

Under the white paper plans set out today, Universities will become more accountable and more transparent about what they are offering for students. The Government has been listening to students about how Universities should improve and the results in the White Paper set out today will benefit all students. There will be greater choice, better information before students apply, better teaching at university, more feedback on their work and better support for getting a job at the end of their courses.

As Conservative Future Chairman I have met with students across the UK and listened to their concerns about higher education. Their concerns were that under 13 years of Labour students were not trusted with their own choices. The White Paper proposes reforms that put power in the hands of students to make higher education institutions more responsive to their demands and choices.

Today's proposals look at fairer student funding for the first time. There will be absolutely no upfront fees for students and graduate contributions will be more affordable with the poorest better off than before. Over the past decade money was spent without teaching in mind, in response the teaching grant will now be targeted for courses where it is needed. There will be more help with living costs for all poorer students and a new £150 million National Scholarship Programme. As a result the Institute for Fiscal Studies has given its thumbs up, 'the Government's proposals are more progressive than the current system'.

For the first time the White Paper offers a system that produces better courses and better qualified graduates. The quality of teaching will improve through greater competition, resulting in greater participation in higher education. There will be more opportunities for other education providers and charities to sponsor courses as a result. In March, the OECD said 'The increase in the tuition fee ceiling is reasonable and should pave the way for higher participation in tertiary education'. Access and
quality will increase by removing the target on student numbers to make Universities responsive to student demand.

By far one of the biggest complaints about higher education by students came from the lack of support from the Labour Government on the Careers Service. The Government is proposing a new, all-age Careers Service. They want to improve the quality of careers advice supporting schools to provide a good careers advice.

Conservative Future believes these proposals are a progressive and fair alternative for higher education. For the first time in decades today's proposals give real support to students and ensure that they get their
money's worth.”

New Branch in South Tees

I’m really proud to announce that a group of young Conservatives have set up a branch as part of South Tees Conservative Association. 

Joint Chairman Scott Holmes and Cameron Brown are behind its creation in a move to revitalize and bring a new young perspective into the local Party.

They’ve already set out their ambitions for the organisation, and the area including, increasing members, branching out into colleges and universities, fundraising and campaigning for greater youth involvement in the decision-making process.

The branch has already received support by all 11 Conservative Councillors in Teesside.

Cllr Chris Hobson, Leader of the Middleborough Conservative Group said: “We need to encourage the young to get involved in politics and what better way is there than through a group like this.”

Good luck to all and let me know if you need any help with anything!

An Evening with Chris Grayling MP: Getting Young People into Employment

Over the last 13 years under Labour young people and graduates have been finding it harder to find work. The government is working to get more young people into work and Conservative Future support the plans fully.

A few days ago the government announced that unemployment figures had dramatically fallen by 88,000. The drop mainly occurred in those aged between 16-24 with youth unemployment falling by 79,000.

Last month Employment Minister Chris Grayling MP launched the revolutionary Work Programme with the aim to support around 2.5million people to get back to work over the next 5 years.

We are hosting a reception with Chris Graying MP so that he can talk to us in more detail about these plans.

If you would like to attend then please contact me at: clare.hilley@conservativefuture.com to register your attendance.

Date and time: Tuesday 12th July. 7pm-9:30pm


Location: CCHQ, 30 Millbank


Tickets: £5 including wine

As tickets will sell fast you can pay online to reserve your ticket by going to www.paypal.com and transferring or ‘send money’ of £5 to ben.howlett@conservativefuture.com.

To RSVP via facebook- click here 

Happy Birthday Boris

Boris turns 47 on Sunday and we’re celebrating by going out across London spreading the message on Boris’s great record as Mayor.

Since being elected, Boris has frozen his share of our council tax, cut crime in London by nearly 9% and started a massive upgrade to the capital's transport network. And by May 2012 there will be over 1,000 more police officers on the streets than when he came to office in May 2008.

If you would like to attend one of these events in Richmond, Trafalgar Square, Spitalfields Market, Croydon or Enfield then please contact me at: clare.hilley@conservativefuture.com