"Staff at the school are ambitious for each pupil, refusing to place barriers on what they can achieve."

St Catherine's School, in Ventnor, has again been praised by Ofsted.

The education watchdog visited the school — which teaches pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities — and its residential facilities, at the end of January and has recently published its findings.

On the education side, Ofsted has said St Catherine's continues to be 'good', with one area marked for improvement, but for its experiences and progress of children in its residential provision, it has been graded as 'outstanding'.

In their report, inspectors said pupils enjoy being a part of the caring school community and feel safe and secure there, knowing they are supported by their teachers and other school staff.

They are well prepared to take their next steps by the time they leave the school, inspectors said, and they flourish due to the strong emphasis given to developing their communication skills.

Inspectors did say St Catherine's approach to developing its written outcomes is not consistently effective and while there is some strong work there, some activities do not prepare pupils as well as they could to develop more extended written outcomes.

The residential provision provides highly effective services, the school said, and students thrive due to the 'exceptional quality' of the individualised care and support provided by staff.

The students are actively involved in their care planning and inspectors said the way students are listened to is a key strength throughout their residential experience.

They are supported to develop their independence in a way that is unique to them and takes into consideration their diverse needs.

Leaders are extremely dedicated and are constantly looking to improve the school and residential provision for students, inspectors said.

Staff are 'consistently positive' about their experience working at the school and they know their views are listened to.

Inspectors said many parents told them about the 'transformational impact' the school has had on their children.