In 2010 when in opposition, Michael Gove visited my old school, Calder High, calling it one of the worst school buildings he’d seen, before making it his first act in government to cancel the Building Schools for the Future programme that would have seen it rebuilt.

That is why one of the first things I did as an MP was write to the Education Minister to ensure funding for school rebuilds in Calder Valley was secure. Because for me, it’s not about party; my first priority was ensuring that Calder Valley students got what they deserved.

Whenever I’m out visiting our schools in Calder Valley, I always make a point of talking to children and young people, because they are more direct than any adult politician would be. I love talking to them and hearing about the things they care about, and as a government, if we’re to be ambitious about delivering the very best for children and young people, then we must never forget to think about how they experience the world.

That is why I raised this issue with the Education Secretary, which was thrown into sharp relief during a recent visit to a local primary school where pupils told me about their cold winter classrooms.

Calder Valley’s children may be resilient, and their imaginations and potential may be enough to overcome so many other barriers, but if we want them to learn well, we need to invest in buildings where great teaching can happen. So, I’m pleased the lobbying has paid off, because across Calder Valley in the last 18 months, the Government have committed to an extensive programme of school rebuilding works that extends to 20 schools and benefits over 8,000 pupils.

But I’m determined that this is not the ceiling of our efforts to create schools that match our children’s ambitions. And it’s not. We’ve started on recruiting 6,500 more teachers and working to retain the fantastic ones we already have. We’ve begun rolling out more free breakfast club pilots and expanding free school meals, so no child spends a day of learning with an empty stomach. And we’ve passed into law new action to make school uniforms cheaper for parents.

Yet whilst Government press releases might talk about ‘capital investment’ or ‘building condition surveys,’ the real outcome we’re looking for is whether we’re inspiring our children, and whether we’re creating environments where they don’t just learn, but can prosper and thrive. The improvements we’re seeing are a meaningful start to making that a reality, and I’m excited to see more playgrounds resurfaced, more central heating systems replaced, more classrooms rebuilt. We promised you change, and change is what we will deliver.