An academy has been praised by Ofsted inspectors as a Good school - but its leadership has been told it must do better on attendance.

During a two-day visit in April, the education watchdog found Folkestone Academy - part of the Turner Schools group in Folkestone - to be an "inclusive and vibrant" setting with staff who have "worked tenaciously" to drive up standards.

However, in their report published on Friday, the inspectors did raise concerns about pupil attendance and told senior leaders that they need to do more to further reduce "the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent" from classes.

Responding to this element of the inspection, Turner Schools CEO Seamus Murphy said: "We are investing in a range of support for parents and pupils to attend better including a community hub, support for those who attend well as well as follow government guidance on prosecuting those few families who don't respond to all the support available to come into school."

The school - which educates more than 1,200 children - was rated Good in all categories except leadership, where it was found to be Outstanding.

"Leaders and trustees have worked tenaciously to improve the school," the report states.

"They are unwavering in their determination to ensure that pupils are provided with the very best education, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to the school community. Leaders have managed these challenges extremely well and ensured that their plans for improvement have remained on track."

Steven Shaw, head of school at Folkestone Academy, said: "We are all thrilled to have Ofsted recognise the great work which takes place here every day by saying we are a Good school.

"I am constantly impressed by how hard our staff and pupils work and it is fantastic to see the Ofsted inspectors report so positively on everything that we do here.

"I am very proud of every member of this school community and am looking forward to building on this foundation for the future."