An Island school for children not in mainstream education has been rated “good” following an Ofsted inspection.

Hythe House Education received the rating across the four main areas – behaviour and safety, leadership and management, quality of teaching and achievement of pupils – and met all of the regulatory requirements.

The establishment in Marine Parade, Sheerness, is an independent day school for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Most of them have not attended school for long periods of time, are in foster care and come from all over the country.

Many of them later go on to rejoin mainstream schools or colleges.

There are five pupils currently at the school full-time, although it can cater for 20.

The report states: “The behaviour of students is good and begins to improve from the day they join the school.”

It added this had a “significant” impact on their achievement and ultimately their life chances.

It found punctuality and attendance in almost all cases shot up and was virtually 100% and all students made good progress in their subjects, including communication, reading, writing and mathematics.

Head teacher Robert Duffy said: “I am really pleased that the staff and students continue to maintain a good school.

“For me the students’ happiness and progress are highly important and the school creates a positive learning environment for all our students in which they continue to achieve the best outcomes.

“The framework for school inspection is now more demanding, so I am delighted with the outcomes from our latest inspection report.”

Hythe House Education is attached to Hythe House Support fostering agency, based in Staplehurst Road, Sittingbourne.