LAST week I zig-zagged across our vast Central Devon constituency (one of the largest in the country), speaking to small business owners, visiting three local primary schools and catching up with several local councillors.

In Moretonhampstead I spent time with local district councillor Mike Jeffrey reviewing the new development on the edge of town.

This is a rare example of brownfield development within Dartmoor National Park – the site being that of the former railway station.

I was also able to catch up on local issues with the Chair of Moretonhampstead Parish Council, Vivienne Hodges, who along with her council has done such a great job in working with the developer to ensure that the 35 new properties are being created with the full input of the local community.

The development will provide good access down to the cycle route that runs along the Wray Valley.

My primary school visits included a trip to Dunsford in the Teign Valley – my third visit as an MP and the first since I welcomed Year 5 and 6 pupils from Dunsford to Westminster in 2019.

One of the things I have missed most during the pandemic has been welcoming local schools to Westminster and trying to spark an interest in the workings of our democracy at an early age.

I have no doubt the subject is taught well locally, but nothing beats seeing the Houses of Parliament first-hand.

Although visits have officially restarted, some schools have understandably been reluctant to book them and I hope that this will change in the spring when the Omicron variant will hopefully have substantially passed through.

There is evidence from London to suggest cases are falling as quickly as they were rising a few weeks ago and if this is mirrored across the country then we should expect the number of future cases to look very different to what we are seeing at the moment.

At the three primary schools I visited (the others being Hatherleigh and Newton St Cyres), I spoke to the children about Parliament and my role as an MP.

There were some thought provoking questions and I am always impressed with the knowledge shown by the children.

I also spoke with teachers about how the schools were managing with staff absences (nationally around one in 12 teachers was not in work last week due to having to isolate).

I was pleased to hear that all three schools were doing well given the circumstances and that any disruption to education provision was the minimum necessary.

During my school visits I was pleased to meet the winner and runners-up in my competition to design my 2021 Christmas Card and award them well-earned prizes.

I have 46 primary schools in my constituency, and I make it a priority to visit as many as I can during the year. Education matters and we owe a lot to our teachers especially during such challenging times.

More from Mel at: www.melstridemp.com .