An Ellesmere Port school has been praised by Ofsted inspectors.

The Bridge Short Stay School has retained its Good rating, with inspectors saying pupils "flourish" there.

It was the first Ofsted inspection held at the Great Sutton school since 2018, with inspectors visiting the premises over two days in May this year.

The Bridge Short Stay School caters for students who have been permanently excluded from mainstream schools across Cheshire West and Chester. It aims to provide students with a bridge to a brighter future, putting them in a position to be successful in life either by returning to another permanent school place or preparing them for life after school.

Staff at The Bridge work tirelessly with young people and their families to raise aspirations and change attitudes towards schooling. This was recognised by Ofsted who have said that “pupils look forward to a brighter future” and “gain confidence and put the past behind them”.

This work has an impact both on student behaviour. Inspectors added: “Pupils can explain the difference that the school has made to their behaviour and attitudes. Over time, pupils’ behaviour improves” and, in regarding their attendance “the school is tenacious in its approach to improving attendance”.

The Ofsted report further highlights strengths in the school’s curriculum which is “designed to meet pupils’ needs effectively”. As a result of this, students at the school regularly achieve GCSE results which are significantly better than average for similar schools across the country. This, alongside targeted preparation work, helps to ensure that students who leave the school are well prepared for their next steps.

Inspectors noted: "The school provides many opportunities for pupils to learn outside the classroom. This helps to deepen pupils’ knowledge.

"For example, learning about pond life is brought to life through visits to community ponds and creating a pond in the school garden. Visits to places of worship help pupils to understand the rituals and beliefs of different religions."

Identifying where the school can improve further, inspectors noted: "The implementation of the curriculum is variable in those subjects that have been renewed recently. This means that, at time, pupils do not learn all that they should."

Headteacher Andy Stewart said: “I’m really pleased that this report gives validation to what we knew about our school.

"We have a team of staff who are committed to making a real difference to the lives of young people and I’m delighted that this recognises the impact that they have on young people who were previously not engaging with education.

"During the inspection it was a real privilege to see those students taking a real pride in celebrating their school. We take pride in this acknowledgement of our work, but ultimately we do it for the young people in our community, not for Ofsted and so this report and feedback just provides us with a foundation to further improve what we do and the difference that we make.”

At the time of the inspection, the school, which caters for children aged seven to 16, had 59 pupils.