Ysgol y Gogarth, the only Conwy Borough special school has been rated excellent, the highest rating, in all five criteria by Estyn, the Welsh school's watch dog.

The school was inspected in October and judged on: standards; wellbeing and attitudes to learning; teaching and learning experiences; care support and guidance and leadership and management, scoring top marks on every measure.

Ysgol y Gogarth is a day and residential special school which has 223 pupils aged from 3 to 19.

Estyn's report states: "Pupils respond very positively to the school’s highly effective

strategies to support the development of their communication and independence

skills. As a result, nearly all pupils make very strong progress over time in relation to

their individual needs and abilities. Nearly all pupils are polite, courteous and

respectful to each other, to staff and to visitors.

"Teachers, teaching assistants and specialist staff work together outstandingly well to identify pupils’ individual needs and ensure lessons build systematically on their abilities and interests."

It adds: "The school works very successfully with parents and partners to ensure it provides stimulating opportunities for pupils to develop skills that prepare them very effectively for future life."

"The headteacher and senior leadership team demonstrate outstanding leadership. They

have developed a coherent strategic vision for the school that places the most

important needs of pupils at the heart of all aspects of the school’s work."

However the Inspector who wrote the report, suggested the school should improve the quality of teaching so all lessons match its best practice, and recommended an action plan be drawn up to accomplish this. He also proposed the school to prepare two case studies for dissemination on Estyn’s website on the school’s work in relation to how its positive behaviour strategies enables pupils to access the curriculum successfully, and how the school’s successful collaboration with local further education college ensures consistent challenge and progression for pupils leaving the school.

Ysgol y Gogarth was previously inspected in 2011 when it scored only one excellent.