Harbour Specialist School in Dover is celebrating three outstanding Ofsted reports in a row.

The school, in Elms Vale Road, was rated outstanding in every category last month.

There were 13 lessons observed over a range of topics and year groups.

Inspectors also took into account 12 responses from parents from an online survey.

First on the Ofsted report is teaching, it reads: “Teachers and teaching assistants have very high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

“From the moment that pupils enter a classroom, adults ensure they are fully focused on learning.

“Teachers check pupils’ understanding throughout lessons and regularly track their progress.

“They give helpful comments on pupils’ work and use lesson time to give ideas and encourage pupils to reflect on how to improve, which helps them to make even faster progress.”

Children’s behaviour was also given a positive mention: “The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.

“In this calm and positive environment, pupils settle quickly and respond to the high levels of respect and care that they are shown by adults.

“Interesting displays and the tidy environment demonstrate a pride in the school.”

Governors also received an outstanding rating: “Governors make good use of the strong skills of individual members to monitor the work of the school.

“They know how well all pupils and groups of pupils are doing; they interpret data accurately, although it is not always presented to them in a clear way.

“They use information about teachers’ performances effectively to ensure that teachers are rewarded appropriately and that under-performance is tackled quickly.”

Head teacher Denise Baker said: “It is unbelievable really, three outstandings on the trot.

“Our last inspection was five years ago.

“We are one of two special schools in the country and the only one in Kent to have three in a row.

“It is a real team effort and the staff, parents and pupils have gone the extra mile.”

Also praised for their hard work are the two governors, chairman Mike Brazier and vice chairman Ian Spinks.

Mrs Baker said: “They have worked very close with the school over 10 years and they are very active governors.”