An award has just gone winging its way to a West Cumbrian school.

The Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) department at St Benedict’s Catholic High School has been awarded The Cumbria Pupil Premium Plus Award by Cumbria County Council.

The beat off competition from schools across the county and also bagged a £2,500 prize.

Sue Savage, SENCo at St Benedict’s submitted a case study and was extremely proud to receive the award.

She said: “I am so proud of our young people and their achievements. It is an absolute pleasure working with them, their families and the external agencies to ensure they get the best possible start in life.”

The Cumbria Pupil Premium Plus Awards was a new initiative in Cumbria and was launched in a bid to encourage the county’s schools to share how they are using Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) grants.

The award was handed out earlier in the school term, after a best practice case study was submitted by the SEND department.

The case study had to explain how the school spends the additional Pupil Premium funding for the young people and the impact this has had and is having on their lives.

There were 21 entries in total, and St Benedict’s was the winning school overall in Cumbria.

The school was awarded a prize of £2,500, which will be used to further support the students and enhance their learning and to ensure that school is a positive experience for them.