Condemned Barrow school 'let down' by government, union says
Pupils whose school was closed because the building was unsafe are being let down by the government, a union has said.Children from Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Barrow, Cumbria, were forced to vacate the building in January 2023 and have been taught in different locations since.National Education Union president Daniel Kebede said: "If this was a school in leafy Surrey action would have been taken much quicker."The Department for Education (DfE) said it is supporting the school with funding and temporary provisions so the children have a "safe and suitable education".
Mr Kebede visited the school and said the pupils are lacking a building "they quite frankly deserve"."The prime minister was in Barrow [on Thursday] and it's a real shame he couldn't visit the school whilst he was here, because what I witnessed was the most amazing staff, an inspirational head teacher and fantastic children, but they are being completely let down by the government," he said.
'Disruptive to learning'
Since the school closed some of the children have had to be taken by coach every day to St Bernard's High School in the town while others are being taught in Portakabins in Sacred Heart's playground.Students have been moved seven times over the last two-and-a-half years, which Mr Kebede said was "incredibly disruptive to learning", and the extra work required by staff is "eating into their family life".The school has also accrued a financial deficit after spending money on temporary accommodation."What we would like to see is the government write off the deficit that has been accrued and put in the similar level of intervention that they did for schools that experienced the Raac concrete crisis," said Mr Kebede.A DfE spokesperson said the government "inherited a school estate in dire need of repair" and Sacred Heart is part of the School Rebuilding Programme.They said the department was "increasing investment next year to £2.1bn to improve the condition of school buildings" and was "committed to continuing the current School Rebuilding Programme".
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