Education secretary praises disadvantaged pupils’ ‘excellent’ results at New Park schoolEducation secretary Nadhim Zahawi visits Harrogate school

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi visited New Park Primary Academy on a trip to Harrogate yesterday.

Mr Zahawi, who was a speaker at the Local Government Association conference at Harrogate Convention Centre, made a surprise visit to meet staff and children.

New Park Primary Academy is part of the Northern Star Academies Trust, a group of nine schools across Harrogate, Skipton and Keighley.

Academy headteacher Robert Mold said: 

“At first I thought it was a hoax when the secretary of state’s office called to say he would like to visit New Park.  It’s not a call you get every day.

“The secretary of state spent time with many of our children and even joined in a class making mosaics as part of an art project.”

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During his visit, Mr Zahawi joined year five and six pupils for an art lesson in mosaic making.

Jenn Plews, chief executive of Northern Star Academies Trust said:

“It was great for children to meet a cabinet minister in their own school and to be able to ask him questions.

“Our pupils care deeply about protecting the environment, which is a strong part of our curriculum.

“They told the secretary of state what they are doing in school to be more sustainable and he encouraged them to keep up their work to protect our environment.  It was a great experience for our children.”

Call for Zahawi to intervene in Woodfield 

Mr Zahawi’s visit came at a time when a consultation is being held over the future of Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton is being held.

The school, which is just a mile away from New Park Primary Academy, is at risk of closure after an academy sponsor for the school was unable to be found.

North Yorkshire Unison called on Mr Zahawi to “intervene to save Woodfield school” while he was in Harrogate.

On the day the Education Secretary @nadhimzahawi was about a mile away from Woodfield School we call upon him to intervene to #SaveWoodfieldSchool #SaveOurSchool https://t.co/wJxdEn6onw

— North Yorkshire UNISON (@NYUnison) June 30, 2022

Harrogate mum who struggled to feed kids wants to break stigma

A single mum with four children from Harrogate has opened up about her experience of struggling to pay the bills to try and break the stigma around poverty.

Kayleigh Cooper lost her job manning the phones in the evenings at a taxi company early in the coronavirus pandemic.

So overnight, after never worrying about money, she started to wonder how she could afford her rising living costs while also feeding her children.

She gets Universal Credit and food vouchers but they have not been able to cover her costs.

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Ms Cooper felt ashamed about her situation at first. But after reaching out for support, she now wants to let others know that they do not need to “suffer in silence” like she did. She said:

“I was really struggling to feed my children on a daily basis. A lot of people pretend they are doing alright, I have done it myself. But we need to talk about the issue otherwise it gets swept under the rug.

“For me I never had to worry about money before this. Since losing my job I have had to make those choices between paying the utility bills and buying food.

“It’s not just those without a job though, there are plenty of people with jobs who do not have enough money to live off too. Sometimes they struggle even more.

“My anxiety has been a lot worse. It really has had an impact on my mental health. However since reaching out for support I feel like I have had a weight taken off my shoulders.”

Reaching out for support at the new community grocery

A neighbour told Ms Cooper about the community grocery run by the Resurrected Bites team, which opened last month at New Park Primary Academy Community Hub.

She was hesitant at first but broke down in tears when she finally decided to go and ask for help.

People pay £5 a year to sign up as members and are then entitled to pay £3, £6 or £9 depending on the size of their family. The value of the items for the £3 shop would usually cost around £30.

She posted this picture online of a shop that cost her £9 to try and break the stigma.

It has a wide range of tinned, fresh food and frozen food. The shop also stocks toiletries, sanitary products and nappies in various sizes.

The shop, which can be found in one of the school’s separate buildings on West Street, just off Skipton Road, is open daily every Tuesday and Thursday between 9.30am and 3.30pm. Ms Cooper added:

“It has lightened me because I know even if I have £10 or £15 that week that I can go down to the community grocery and get meals for my children.

“I have used food banks in the past but I have had to pass things on because I won’t use it.

“So the beauty of it is that you get to choose what you take. They have everything you could need and the people there were so lovely.

“I wanted to post pictures so other people could see what they could get. I didn’t expect it but my post got a really positive response.”