THE Lakes Sure Start Children's Centre in Windermere has been awarded a 'Good' rating in its recent Ofsted inspection.

The centre is based on the site of Goodly Dale Primary School and is one of four in the Cumbria South Lakes cluster of centres. It is managed by Barnardo's on behalf of Cumbria County Council and provides services to the local rural community.

In their inspection on June 19 and 20 Ofsted found that this is a good children's centre overall with some outstanding features particularly the safety and protection of children, the quality of the care, guidance and support they provide to families, the quality of day to day management, and the highly effective use of resources.

Anne Burns, Cumbria County Council Portfolio Holder for Children's Social Care said "This is great news for the centre. Cumbria County Council is committed to developing children's centres and has invested millions in these vital services for local communities. The Good rating this centre has received is well deserved, well done!"

Anne Armstrong, Children's Services Manager for Barnardo's in South Lakeland said: “We are delighted to receive such a positive Ofsted report which recognises the hard work and commitment of our dedicated and skilled team of staff and volunteers. The excellent partnerships that have been established over many years with parents and partner organisations are at the heart of this achievement. We have been overwhelmed by the number of parents and carers who wanted to tell the inspectors how much the support of their children’s centre has meant to them and their children.”