A SCHOOL which educates some of the region's most poorly children has been given a clean bill of health.

The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital School which educates children at the bedside, in the classroom, in children's own homes or a specialist unit has been awarded top marks for the special and caring way it educates a wide range of pupils.

After their week-long visit in February, Ofsted inspectors report says the school is a good one with clear aims and values which provides good value for money.

"The high quality education minimises, as far as possible, the interruption and disruption to the pupil's normal schooling, by continuing education as normally as the pupil's illness or treatment allows," says the report.

The Chairman of Governors, Dr Mark Gabbay, said that he and the governing body recognised that such an excellent report would not have been possible "without the application of a knowledgeable, highly skilled and well motivated staff team".

Headteacher, Betty Purdy said:"We are thrilled with the results. We are quite a unique school and we were not certain what to expect from the inspection findings.

"Our numbers can alter daily, we teach pupils from two-19, some have profound learning difficulties while others have above average ability.

"Some youngsters are with us for only a few days and some stay with us for years. Some of our pupils live locally while others come from all parts of the country."

"We are not housed in one building. Our teaching can take place at the bedside, in a classroom off a ward, in a specialist unit or in a child's home and this also takes some organisation."

The report acknowledges the difficulties posed by the accommodation but states the quality of education is not affected by the "cramped, inadequate accommodation".

"The inspectors recognise that we are quite a complex organisation to run and that we are not like mainstream schools because we have a constantly changing population.

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