A PRINCIPAL praised the resilience and attitude of her students following her school's latest Ofsted report.

New College Worcester on Whittington Road was rated 'Good' by Ofsted following its latest inspection in June.

The residential school and college, which takes on young people aged 11 to 19 who are blind or vision impaired, was rated 'Good' across all key inspection areas including overall experience for students, support and protections, and effective leadership.

New College Worcester's principal, Rachel Perks, said: "The outcome of the inspection is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff and the resilience and attitude of the students, which are what make New College Worcester such a wonderful setting for children and young people with a vision impairment.

"Our goal is to offer families the highest levels of education and care for their young people and that we are achieving that goal is clearly reflected in the report, which highlights our clear safeguarding procedures, commitment to children’s wellbeing and that our students also have fun!"

Ofsted's report states that "children make good progress in the important areas of their lives because of their residential experience" and highlighted one child in particular who said they now felt they 'belong and no longer stand out' having felt 'isolated' at a mainstream school.

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The report further highlighted the importance that New College Worcester attaches to developing independence amongst its students.

Ofsted said: "Children grow in confidence and learn skills which support them in adulthood".

Another area raised in Ofsted's report is safeguarding, where it says "leaders ensure there is a good safeguarding culture".

The report includes that parents of those at New College Worcester are 'confident' in the safeguarding systems in place there.

In its latest inspection, Ofsted also found that staff have a good understanding of their student's complex needs and the report says that "children requiring additional support have safety plans in place".

Ofsted's 'Good' rating marks the second positive rating received by New College Worcester in as many years having underwent an Ofsted inspection in May 2023.