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Families and new parents in Greenwich to receive early years support says Abena Oppong-Asare MP

Families and children in Erith and Thamesmead will be able to access early years support such as pregnancy support, infant feeding advice, parenting classes and other support to give their child the best start in life, following a £126 million Government funding boost – delivering on the Labour’s Plan for Change.

Greenwich is expected to receive at least £1,472,500 as part of the wider investment increase.

Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. Antenatal classes, health visitors, parenting support, baby and toddler groups and access to affordable, high-quality early education and childcare – all are vital to guiding parents and supporting child development. Yet over 80% of parents have said they struggled to access services.

As part of our Plan for Change we’re committed to strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood and improve long term outcomes for children – including through today’s investment in Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme.

Abena Oppong-Asare, Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead said:

“I am absolutely delighted that families and children in Erith and Thamesmead will be able to access early years support through this funding boost from the Government.

“Families in Erith and Thamesmead elected a Labour government to give every child the best possible start in life, and that is what we’re delivering.

“This will make such a huge difference for so many families in our community and I know that the impact will be felt for years to come.”

Andrew Gwynne, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, said:

“This crucial investment provides a strong foundation to deliver our commitment to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, by giving parents the support they need to ensure their baby has the best start in life.

“The first two years of a child’s life lay the building blocks for their physical and emotional wellbeing into adulthood. That’s why we are investing in early years, as part of our Plan for Change, to improve access to services in deprived areas to ensure no-one is left behind.”

For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/families-to-receive-126-million-in-early-years-support

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Winner of My Christmas Card Competition 2024

I am delighted to announce the successful conclusion of my Christmas Card Competition 2024 for Erith and Thamesmead.

This annual competition invites schools from across our constituency to take part. The theme for this year was “What makes Erith and Thamesmead a fun place?” As always, I would like to thank our fantastic students across the constituency who illustrated designs that show what they feel makes our constituency the fun place it is. This included parks, open spaces, shops, and local landmarks.

The artwork was assessed by a panel of judges, and I used the winning design as my Christmas Card this year, which was sent to over 1000 local people, businesses, and community groups. I also sent my card to the Prime Minister as well as many of my colleagues in the Houses of Parliament.

As has been the case in previous years we had a fantastic turnout from our enthusiastic students with many great designs being sent in. I would like to thank the schools, teachers, and parents who dedicated time to help organise the competition.

Congratulations to this year’s winner, Vera, aged 10, from St Thomas a Becket Primary School. You can see me photographed with Vera, her winning published card and her Head Teacher Mrs Cooper. 

Abena visiting this year’s winner, Vera, at St Thomas a Becket Primary School

In Vera’s description of her design, she wrote.

“I chose to draw this picture because whenever I go to Erith, I love to see the bright patterns on all the fish. I decided to start improving my art and create something special; I made a drawing based on Christmas. I am very proud of the art I have created from my artistic imagination, and I hope you will like it too.”

It is safe to say not only did we like it but I and the rest of the constituency absolutely loved it!

It was a pleasure visiting St Thomas a Becket Primary School, too. Many students asked me brilliant questions about my political career and journey. It is reassuring to know we have students in our constituency who, despite their youth, have a great interest in Politics.  

Attached here is me meeting the Speaker of the House of Commons. He was impressed by the high quality of the design and put it on display in his office!

Abena presenting the winning design to the Speaker of the House of Commons

With special thanks to the sponsors of my card who backed this year’s competition – including Edible Oils Limited, Manak Solicitors, Lumbini Grocery, Aum Trading Wholesale, Red Lion Noodle Bar and Greenwich Mummies Forum.    

Abena’s Christmas Card 2024:

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Christmas Card Competition 2024 Launch

I am excited to announce that my annual Christmas Card Competition has officially launched! Each year I run this competition for primary school students across our constituency to produce amazing artwork that is sent out to local stakeholders in Erith and Thamesmead.

The theme for this year is: ‘What makes Erith and Thamesmead a fun place’. Pupils can draw or paint a design that shows what they love about places in our constituency, ensuring it has a Christmas theme. This might include sporting activities that make them happy, the parks or open spaces, local communities, shops, landmarks or even family and friends.

Entries must be accompanied by a few sentences explaining what the landmark means to the young artist and why they chose to draw it. The artwork will be assessed by a panel of judges, and the winning design will be used as my Christmas Card and sent to more than 1,000 local people and groups.  

In addition to the main prize, the winner and two runners up will receive a gift. 

The submission process is as follows:  

  1. The artwork must be A4 in size (including the pupil’s name, age, class and school) 
  2. It must be accompanied by a few sentences explaining why the pupil chose to draw it 
  3. Pupils or teachers must scan or take a photo of the artwork and send via email to abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk 
  4. Submissions must be received by close of play on Friday 25th October 

The winners will be announced in an email to all participating schools shortly after the deadline. I hope to attend the winning schools to present the prizes in person and will be in touch with the relevant school(s) to arrange a suitable date and time. 

Below are some previous winners to provide some inspiration!

Previous Winners:

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Becoming a Patron of Erith Town FC

It was great to see Erith Town FC play against Croydon Athletic recently and witness their huge win.

It was a real honour to become a patron of the club and present player of the match. Grassroots football is deeply important to me, and to have such a special club run by great people in my constituency makes me very proud.

Their community work and youth engagement play a vital role in our constituency, provides a valuable sporting outlet, and develops life-skills and local projects that enrich the lives and improve the wellbeing of so many residents.

Grassroots football is so important for local communities. Go and support your local team.

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Plumstead Open Studios Visit

Whilst visiting Plumstead Open Studios, I got the chance to see how many talented people we have in our constituency. It was brilliant to view a wide range of locally-produced artwork and creative designs, including painting, photography, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, prints, and sculpture.

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Attending the Ballad of Thamesmead

I had a fantastic time recently at the ‘Ballad of Thamesmead’ performance. This was part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, and presented By Dante or Die Theatre

Live folk songs by Abbey Wood singer Marie Bashiru were great, and the Thamesmead Community Choir impressed with a soaring sound design that included local peoples’ voices, culminating in the clocktower illuminated like never before.

It’s great to see such a broad array of talented artists, musicians, designers and creators on show in our constituency.

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Emmaus Greenwich Visit

It was inspiring to visit Emmaus Greenwich in my constituency, the work that they do makes a real difference to people trying to overcome homelessness, giving them support, skills and the confidence to build a better life for themselves. This type of community work is so important, and I thank them and their companions for taking the time to speak to me about their experiences.

This government is committed to seriously tackling homelessness across the UK, with the new cross government – Homelessness Taskforce which will develop a long-term strategy to combat this issue. Working alongside organisations like Emmaus, we have a real chance to improve the lives of so many suffering unnecessarily, building dynamic local communities with empowered citizens in the process

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First Cabinet Office Questions

Following my appointment as Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office, I was pleased to answer questions at the first Cabinet Office Questions under the new Government.

I responded to important questions under my new brief, including strengthening our national resilience, learning the lessons for the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing ourselves for tragedies like the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.

Additionally, I confirmed that the Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, will chair a Cabinet committee on resilience to review our preparedness against the range of risks the UK faces. You can find out more about this work here.

If you want to watch these Cabinet Office Questions then follow the link here, or if you would prefer to read the transcript, then follow the link here.

Social Media Post on 26th July 2024:

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Visiting Temples in Erith and Thamesmead with the Mayor of Greenwich

Last month, I was delighted to join Cllr Jit Ranabhat, the Mayor of Greenwich, in a visit to two local temples – Pashupatinath Temple and Greenwich Hindu Mandir.

It was great to meet so many local activists and members of the Greenwich Nepalese community as we visited these two important places of faith in our community.

As I said at the time, I was incredibly grateful for the warm welcome and the blessings given to me during my visit.

Thank you to the management committees at the Temples for hosting me and to the Royal Borough of Greenwich Nepalese Society and the Greenwich Mummies Forum for their hospitality.

Social Media Post on 28 July 2024:

Photo gallery from the visit:

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Summer Festival at Shrewsbury House

I had a wonderful time at the Summer Festival at Shrewsbury House on August 2nd. It was such a great lineup of live music, with some brilliant local beers from Bexley Brewery, and tasty food from the Garden Cafe!

It’s great to have so many creative people and organisations in our constituency!

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