From school star to star MP

Rosie Duffield is still in shock. It never occurred to her that when she stood as a Labour candidate in the very safe Tory parliamentary seat of Canterbury earlier this year, that she might end up as an MP. The seat had never been held by Labour. But win she did. And she’s taking her new life in her stride – despite working six or seven days a week, staying up to all hours of the night to be present for votes in the House of Commons, and juggling a hundred different things at once. After all, it’s much like being a single parent, a teaching assistant and a UNISON member, a combination that Rosie knows all about from first-hand experience. We’re talking in Portcullis House, where MPs’ offices look over the Thames. Below, thousands of tourists are enjoying ice creams in the late autumn sun, watching the Millennium Eye turning slowly and taking selfies with Big Ben wrapped in scaffolding behind them. Rosie isn’t planning to forget what her life was like before getting elected to Parliament – when she had to rely on tax credits and was still struggling to make ends meet, but was working extra, unpaid hours as a teaching assistant because she cared about doing a good job. And that is why she is joining UNISON in celebrating Stars in Our Schools – one day in the year when we celebrate the school support staff who work so hard to make our schools the best they can be. Parents, governors, head teachers, teachers and pupils across the UK will be showing their appreciat...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Magazine school support staff schools stars in our schools Source Type: news