I welcome recent figures which show that reforms to the national curriculum have seen the best reading standards in England for over 15 years.

In 2010 the Government announced that all schools would be required to use phonics to teach children to read. Phonics teaches children to identify the sounds that make up each word, and since the introduction of this requirement England has risen to joint 8th in the world for reading standards – improving the reading level of pupils from all backgrounds right across the country.

For Stockport, this means that more children are getting the skills they need to excel later in life.

This follows official statistics, released last week, which show that 14,398 children in Cheadle are now attending schools rated good or outstanding – an increase of 1,028 since 2010.

This is great news for our area as more children are gaining the skills they need to succeed. Standards in our schools are rising because of the changes we made to the curriculum, and the hard work of teachers in Cheadle who go the extra mile to ensure that our children are getting the very best education.

I have recently met with a number of local headteachers to discuss issues affecting their schools and our local education system, and I will continue to work with them to improve the already high standards of our schools in Cheadle.