Dixons represent at Child of the North All Party Parliamentary Group
Posted 23rd May 2023
Last week, representatives from Dixons Academies Trust attended and contributed to an evidence session with the Child of the North All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
The group is conducting an inquiry following the production of its 2022 report on building a fairer future after COVID 19 and invited Jim Lauder, Assistant Vice Principal and Trust Civic Responsibility Lead, Dixons; and Maryam Kapree, Dixons Trinity Academy alumna, to speak about the experiences of young people in the North and how these have been impacted by the pandemic.
Speaking to the group, Jim discussed our young people’s response to the pandemic and the work we have been doing to support them:
“We have been working to innovate and develop our practice as we continue to deal with the pandemic and its effects on our young people. Although we have come quite far in our journey, including being heard in spaces where decisions are being made about and for young people, we still face significant challenges.”
The discussion went on to cover more specifically the impact the pandemic has had on mental health, the disparity between school funding in the North and South, and the potential for better collaborative working and data sharing between schools, NHS and other agencies.
As Trust Civic Responsibility Lead, Jim champions our trust’s work with young people and communities in Bradford. Dixons is a founding member of Bradford Citizens, along with Beckfoot Trust, BDAT, Carlton Academy Trust and Exceed Academies Trust. This alliance of organisations exists to give young people a voice to enact change in their communities.
Adding context from her perspective, Maryam Kapree, a recent Dixons Trinity Academy alumna, spoke about how she and her peers have experienced the past few years and called for young people in the North to be treated on an equal footing with those from other parts of the country. It was a powerful presentation which received personal thanks from the APPG Chair Emma Lewell-Buck MP.