A WIRRAL special school has been rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted following a recent inspection.

Clare Mount Specialist Sports College in Moreton provides education and learning for pupils with moderate and specific learning difficulties.

Many of its pupils have autistic spectrum disorder and the school was awarded Advanced Accredited Status by the National Autistic Society, in 2020 in recognition of its excellent specialist understanding in the field of autism.

Clare Mount also achieved the British Dyslexia Association's quality mark in November 2021.

During the Ofsted inspection the school was scrutinized on its quality of education; behaviour and attitude; personal development and leadership and management.

The school was considered outstanding in all areas.

Inspectors heaped praise on the school, noting that "pupils achieve well at this highly-ambitious school", that "pupils' behaviour is exemplary" and "pupils experience many engaging and beneficial opportunities in and out of school".

As a specialist sports college Clare Mount runs a highly-successful outreach programme, providing local schools across Wirral with sport and dance opportunities, working in conjunction with the Youth Sports Trust as a lead school for inclusion and last year was awarded Gold standard for Mental Health in Schools by Leeds Beckett and Carnegie.

The Ofsted grading is a remarkable achievement given how rigorous inspections are under the new Ofsted framework.

It is testament to its exceptional standards that there were no recommendations for improvement at Clare Mount.

Kim Webster, headteacher since 2014, said she was incredibly proud of the report and thanked everybody involved with the school, adding "it reflects the hard work and commitment of our whole school community, including staff, governors, parents/ carers and our amazing students".

Chair of governors, Mrs Dutton, added: "The governing body is delighted with the result of the inspection.

"Our thanks go to Mrs Webster and all members of staff and our students for their commitment to the highest standards of teaching and learning, which is demonstrated by sustained continuous improvement.

"We look forward to the next phase of this incredible school's journey, 'Beyond Outstanding'."