The new education secretary has visited a Plaistow primary school to award it a share of £45 million.
Damian Hinds met staff and pupils at Curwen Primary School yesterday, where he announced that it would receive support from the multi-academy trust development and improvement fund.
The school, in Atlas Road, is part of the Taspscott Learning Trust, which also includes Kensington Primary School, in East Ham, and Ranelagh Primary School, in Stratford. The three schools joined the trust in September.
Paul Harris, CEO of the trust and executive head of Curwen, said: “It was a great honour and privilege to be able to show the new secretary of state around our fantastic, outstanding school.
“As a school, and now as part of the Tapscott Learning Trust, it is our core mission to work in partnership with other providers to improve children’s life chances.
“We welcome the opportunity to be able to demonstrate to the secretary of state some of the amazing work that we are doing and to also discuss wider educational issues.”
Mr Hinds’ visit was among the first carried out in his new role, having taken over from Justine Greening in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month.
He said: “As education secretary, I want all children to get a truly world-class education that not only inspires them to make the most of their lives but also gives them the opportunity to fulfil their ambitions, no matter where they live.
“By supporting good and outstanding schools to help others improve, and focusing on disadvantaged areas where our young people need extra help, we can continue to make a difference to people’s everyday lives and build a Britain that’s fit for the future.”
The money will go to 400 multi-academy trusts across the country which have a proven track record, helping them to increase their capacity to help raise standards even further.
Mr Harris added: “This is fantastic news and a great opportunity for us to further strengthen our work across our schools and with others through the development of our training hub.
“This will include leadership development and training in autism awareness.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here