The education service provided by Tremona Road Hospital and Home Service in Southampton has been judged outstanding across the board by Ofsted, just three years after the watchdog said it was only satisfactory.
The service is run by the city council for children aged five to 16, but covers a wide area, including Southampton, neighbouring counties, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.
Many children referred have acute medical needs and are either in hospital, where they receive individual or group teaching, or are home-educated.
During the inspection last month, there were 46 pupils on roll. They had suffered considerable disruption to their schooling. Most of them use the education service for four to six weeks. It focuses on helping them reintegrate into mainstream schools.
Ofsted praised staff’s detailed assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress and said the teaching was outstanding.
For Peter Smith, the head, it was his second inspection in the job. He was praised for his energy and enthusiasm, which has brought about rapid improvements. hw.