Staff and pupils at South Walney Junior School are celebrating a successful start to the year with improvements to the learning environment and staff successes.

The scaffolding is now down at the school to reveal smart new render, windows have been replaced and other external renovations completed.

Alongside structural work outside, inside the hall has had an upgrade with new flooring and the walls painted.

The school council has also been involved in a project to install colourful and educational wall displays around the outside of the school.

Poems based on the curriculum, including the Jabberwocky which the children study, history timelines, maths puzzles and logic quizzes now feature on the outside of the school on Amphitrite Street.

Headteacher Zena Lines said she was delighted with the upgrades, which were undertaken with funding from the local authority before the school joined South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust in 2023.

“Our school is vibrant and modern and now the outside better reflects the dynamic learning environment inside,” she said. “We are also really pleased to update the hall, which was a new addition to the school in the mid-90s and was ready for a refresh.”

Outside benches have also been repainted and a table tennis table installed, which she said is proving a hit with the pupils.

The school is also celebrating a number of staff success with our Year 6 teacher Natalie McKellar achieving her National Professional Qualification in Headship and Deputy Headteacher Michelle Banks securing the National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy.

In addition, Year 3 teacher Diane Atkinson has been presented with an award to mark 30 years of teaching at the school.

“All of these achievements, on the back of our recent Ofsted good grading, mean that we are continuing to be able to offer excellent education to our pupils. Our school has been at the heart of its community for many years and we are futureproofing it for years to come.”