A SCHOOL in East Lancashire is so good that children cry at the thought of going home.

That was what government inspectors discovered after looking around Tor View School, Haslingden.

The school which teaches pupils aged four to 19 with moderate, severe, profound or complex learning difficulties was described as "outstanding" by the impressed officials from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

And the inspectors said their verdict was shared by parents -- and the 114 "fantastic" pupils enjoy their time at the in Clod Lane school so much they are reduced to tears at home time.

The report states: "Parents are overflowing with fully-justified praise.

"Comments such as 'She is so happy at school and she cries when I collect her', 'totally transformed' and 'his life has been changed' are typical of their glowing comments.

"An inspirational ethos of care and spirituality shone through in rehearsals for the Christmas production."

It adds: "In no area is the school less than good and in most it is exceptional.

"Most importantly it opens up pupils' lives through vastly improving their communication, personal and social skills and offering them a wonderful range of learning experiences.

"The pupils are fantastic. They love the school and work extremely hard.

"Parents are thrilled with the excellent progress their children make and the out-standing care and support they receive."

The school's commun-ity links and after school provision are also high-lighted and the report says the "out-standing leadership" from head-teacher Andrew Squire and his team deserve a big chunk of the credit for the inspectors' findings.

Students, it said, were "spectacularly well prepared for leaving school" and the children show outstanding beh-aviour and are "much admired in the community."

Delighted headteacher, Andrew Squire, said: "The report has left us all feeling good about ourselves.

"The one thing that meant the most was the input from parents.

"Over 60 filled in Ofsted questionnaires and one parent who thought she'd missed out contacted them directly.

"Every single one of their comments about the school was positive -- not just about me but the talented staff we have at the school.

"It was also a pleasure to read Ofsted describe our pupils as fantastic. We will continue to do the best we possibly can and keep on improving and will not be sitting on our laurels."

l In September the school became the first in the county to complete a Lancashire Healthy Schools Programme developed by the local authority in association with health chiefs.

It was the first school in the region to collect enough evidence to pass all 12 of its standards and achieve Flagship Status.