A WEYMOUTH special school is celebrating after Ofsted inspectors found it to be “outstanding” during a recent inspection.

Ofsted inspectors carried out a short inspection of Westfield Arts College, on Littlemoor Road, in November and found it to be outstanding.

It was last before this inspected in 2011 when inspectors also found the school to be outstanding.

The college is a special school serving the needs of children and young people with moderate and complex learning difficulties.

A letter from inspector David Edwards to headteacher Andrew Penman praised every area of the school, including the children’s behaviour, the standard of teaching and pupils’ development.

It stated: “Strong, visionary leadership that is exemplified through well-established monitoring and assessment processes to ensure that the quality of teaching and learning is always of the highest standards and continues to improve outcomes for pupils.

“Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is typically outstanding.

“This owes much to the calm, ordered environment established throughout the school. Adults have high expectations of pupils and as a result they talk politely to each other and staff.”

The letter also stated that the school provides “excellent” support to other schools as part of its role in a teaching school alliance and that learning is “very carefully planned to be relevant to each pupil’s needs”.

Headteacher Andrew Penman spoke of his pride at the findings of the inspection.

He said: “We are delighted with the report and with the findings of the Ofsted inspectors.

“Everyone associated with Westfield is very proud of the school and we are so pleased that the quality of the work done here continues to be recognised in this way.”

The letter adds that at the last inspection in 2011 it was recommended that the school accelerates and implements plans to improve the sixth form, stating that this has now been done in a “well-organised” and measured way.

Chairman of governors, Bruce Bonwell, said: “This is a fantastic report and confirms the governing body’s clear view of Westfield. The governors and everyone working at the school have a total commitment to maintaining the quality of the school and improving it still further in the coming years.”

The report also praised the safeguarding measures that are in place at the school.

As a next step for the school, Ofsted recommended ensuring that checks on the youngest pupils’ learning and progress are carried out as robustly as they are in the rest of the school.