The headteacher of a school in Furness that was closed last year over an unsafe building has thanked everyone for their support after receiving its latest Ofsted rating.

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Barrow received a ‘Good’ rating despite pupils being forced to leave the building in January 2023.

Since then, the children have been taught in different locations across Barrow and despite the challenges, inspectors noted that pupils were happy.

Headteacher Simone Beach, said everybody had worked together to minimise the impact on the pupils, who have been ‘amazing’ and shown ‘such a lot of resilience’. 

Despite landing in ‘quite a few’ temporary homes since the closure, Mrs Beach said pupils had settled in quickly and embraced their learning.

She said: “Staff have worked together throughout to ensure that our children have had all the same opportunities and experiences they would have had before the evacuation.

“I can't deny that it has been challenging and we have asked a lot of our team, but everyone has worked really well together to support the school community and our families.”

In the report published last week, Ofsted said the school provided "continuity in pupils' education by sourcing additional premises."  This has enabled pupils to continue to achieve well across a range of subjects.

The school currently has 234 pupils on its roll between the ages of two and 11, inspectors said they ‘generally behave well.’

The report praised the school's high expectations for pupils and noted a 'suitably broad and ambitious' curriculum.

Mrs Beach said: “I was proud of the school before the visit and remain proud now.  The real congratulations is for everyone who has remained positive throughout this challenging time.”

Sacred Heart has qualified for money from the School Rebuilding Programme and has been advised by the DFE that a timeline for a return to school will be available before the start of the Summer Holiday.

Mrs Beach said: “This situation has shown us all that Sacred Heart School is more than just a building. 

“We really miss being together on one site and can't wait to be all back together again.”