A Wandsworth Council-run educational service for children suffering from serious illnesses has been hailed as one of the best in the country.

The Wandsworth Hospital and Home Tuition Service provides education for vulnerable students with a wide spectrum of medical and emotional needs who require greater support than is readily available in mainstream schools.

According to the inspectors: "Wandsworth Hospital and Home Tuition Service is a most special and visionary provision. It offers its students outstanding levels of education and therapeutic care.

"All aspects of its work are outstanding, reflecting the sheer dedication of the staff who are committed to changing and improving the fortunes of young people, many of whom face severe difficulties and traumas in their lives.”

Around 250 young people receive support from the service each year and students receive tuition in a variety of settings, including St George's Hospital and Springfield Hospital.

The council's education spokesman Councillor Kathy Tracey hailed the latest Ofsted report as "a richly-deserved and glowing accolade to the skills, hard work and dedication of the staff who provide this vitally important service".

She added: "For parents whose children are in hospital or have complex medical and emotional needs that prevent them from attending a mainstream school, it must be hugely reassuring to know that this specialist service is providing their children with such a good education."