The chairman of the Education Select Committee was born with a disability that meant he was regularly unable to attend lessons while he underwent numerous operations that eventually allowed him to walk.
Mr Halfon, Conservative MP for Harlow, has been one of the leading voices calling for keeping schools open and ensuring children’s education remained front and centre when considering restrictions.
This position often left him at odds with colleagues from all parties, but studies have shown the damage to children’s education, and physical and mental health caused by closing schools, as well as alarming reports of increased child abuse and deaths at home during school closures.
Now Mr Halfon has revealed his own experiences as a child made him determined to minimise the damage to today’s youngsters.
The 52-year-old was born with a form of cerebral palsy known as spastic diplegia, and some doctors predicted he would never be able to walk.
Thanks to the surgical work of a professor at Great Ormond Street Hospital, which included Mr Halfon going to hospital week after week as a child, he became independently mobile.
With 100,000 children now missing from the school register since the first lockdown in March 2020, and one in six children with a diagnosable mental health condition compared to pre-pandemic levels of one in nine, together with an array of studies highlighting lost learning due to lockdown measures, Mr. Halfon is determined it should never happen again.
Denne historien er fra February 06, 2022-utgaven av Sunday Express.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 06, 2022-utgaven av Sunday Express.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Birthday boy Jesurun gift-wraps points for the unbeaten Blades
JESURUN RAK-SAKYI struck twice on his 22nd birthday as unbeaten SHEFFIELD UNITED defeated LUTON 2-0 at home to move level on points with Championship leaders SUNDERLAND.
PALACE REIGN FOR KINGS OF THE ROAD
THE Slot machine paid out yet another jackpot as Liverpool dug deep for a priceless and gritty victory.
Punch & Judy next in line to be 'cancelled' fears veteran
HE'S been entertaining children and adults alike for six decades with his traditional Punch and Judy shows.
How Rick's traumatic childhood drove him to succeed
\"IT'S A desperately poignant way to sum up one's childhood. \"I remember being frightened all the time as a kid,\" recalls Rick. He traces the trauma to a grave tragedy in the family before he was even born.
Harry extends 'solo' trip without Meghan
PRINCE Harry has extended his solo trip abroad without wife Meghan, the Sunday Express has learned.
How Queen bagged her cheeky escapes
IN a lifetime of meeting the public, the late Queen famously used her handbag to secretly signal to her courtiers when she was ready to leave an event.
Trump's return to brush with death spot
A SECRET Service ring of steel surrounded Donald Trump last night as he prepared to hold a rally in the same spot where he was almost killed by an assassin three months ago.
Migrants perish as Cooper slams gangs
A TODDLER trampled to death in a small boat was among four migrants who died off the French coast yesterday.
‘Inspirational’ Kemi wins backing of US governor DeSantis
KEMI Badenoch's leadership bid has been endorsed by one of the US Republicans' most influential figures.
Leadership hopeful fired up by Reagan
JAMES Cleverly wants to bring the spirit of Ronald Reagan to the Tory Party as he enters a critical week in his bid to become leader, he tells the Sunday Express today.