A special school has won high praise following the visit of Ofsted's inspectors.

Ofsted visited Castlebar School, Hathaway Gardens, Ealing earlier this year and praised the standard of the teaching it observed.

Headteacher David Perkins was delighted with the verdict. He said: 'This is a tremendous achievement for Castlebar. It is always difficult for a special school to perform well and, more importantly, to be seen to be performing well.

'It's a very good report that gives genuine credit to the contribution of the staff. It's good to see official recognition of the hard work and commitment that makes Castlebar such a good school with real character.'

The report was particularly pleasing to the school as it also identified significant improvements from the last inspection in 1996.

And special schools are four times more likely to be put on special measures than their mainstream counterparts.

Ofsted found teaching generally of a high standard, but gave particular praise to achievements in communication skills, numeracy and literacy for children with complex special needs.

The report added: 'Pupils have a very positive attitude to learning because of the very good relationships they have with their teachers and the interesting and frequently challenging work they are given.'

It also remarked that the school is 'well led'.

Castlebar School is mixed with 116 pupils between the ages of four and 12. On the staff there are 14 teachers and 11 special support assistants.