I have been contacted by the educational charity, Inspire Schools, advising of the London Teacher of the Year Awards which recognises the dedication of outstanding teachers and non-teaching school staff.

This afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting the leadership team and school council of Drapers' Pyrgo Primary School, Harold Hill.

My team and I visited the beautiful new buildings of Drapers' Maylands Primary School this morning, and met dedicated and passionate head teacher, Trudie Spillane.

This afternoon we visited Forest Approach Academy, Harold Hill, to see staff and students and have a tour of the school.

This morning, my team and I went to Drapers Academy, Harold Hill, to see a You & Me assembly about the impact and repercussions of knife crime.

This afternoon I met representatives of Havering Healthwatch at a dedicated reception in the House of Commons to celebrate their work.

Tonight I welcomed members of the St Andrew's Escape Group, Hornchurch, to parliament as part of their busy social programme. I hosted the group for a question and answer session about local issues and my work in parliament, before taking them on a personal tour of the Houses of Parliament.

Here is my regular column for the Romford Recorder:

A Friday afternoon visit to Elm Park Primary gave me the chance to see some of the amazing work being done by the school's dynamic teaching team on special educational needs, education technology and behaviour to ensure Elm Park students are resilient, independent and respectful.

We paid our first visit this morning to Drapers' Brookside Primary School, Harold Hill, to speak to dynamic and inspirational head teacher, Mrs Angela Winch. I had arranged to visit Drapers' Brookside as part of my work to understand the opportunities and challenges facing our local schools, and