I'm Westminster Hall now with my debate on school funding for #Plymouth schools - you can watch live via parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/c4…

The #PlymouthChallenge is an example of collaborative action by a number of educational specialists working together to improve educational outcomes across #Plymouth

The #PlymouthChallenge seeks to replicate the success of the other successful challenges right across the country, most notably in London and Manchester. #Plymouth needs the #PlymouthChallenge because it's in the bottom 10 of local authorities for secondary school performance.

The contrast is clear when we compare Plymouth with London. In London, 9/10 children go to a “good” or “outstanding” school. The national average is about 8/10. But for children in Plymouth it 5/10. 1 in 2 kids in Plymouth do not go to a good school as rated by OFSTED.

In #Plymouth we have the will and the passion, but we simply lack the funding and the time to make that work. #Plymouth City council has said that it requires only between £900k and £1.3m to implement the first phase of this scheme.

The London Challenge receives £80m over 8 years and the Manchester Challenge get £50m over 3 years

As the proud son of a teacher, I know how hard teachers work. Each one of them is full of love for their jobs, for their students and their subjects. Too many are left frustrated and demoralised by the lack of support and increase in pressure to do more with less.

We have seen cuts to mental health provision for young people in primaries, especially with the #Plymouth Excellence Cluster losing its funding earlier this year. Our teachers are brilliant, but they cannot also be professional mental health workers.

If austerity really is over, supporting this campaign is an opportunity for the Government to make up for the historic underfunding in #Plymouth and improve, in real terms, the lives of children in my city.