THE new head teacher at a specialist school says her vision is "to encourage every pupil to strive for excellence".

Sarah Roscoe has returned home to South Lakeland to take up the headship at Oversands School, in Witherslack.

The independent day and residential school provides education and care to boys and girls aged eight to 19 with a range of special educational needs.

Oversands is owned by the Witherslack Group, based at Lupton, which said had Ms Roscoe joined the school at the start of the new academic year and had "wasted no time in meeting staff, pupils and parents".

Described as an experienced head teacher with a career spanning 23 years in education, Ms Roscoe has previously worked in secondary mainstream schools and special schools.

Her most recent role was head teacher of a special school in Middlesex, which was judged good with outstanding features by Ofsted.

“My vision for the school is to encourage every pupil to strive for excellence and raise their aspirations and skills to achieve both academically and socially," said the new head teacher at Oversands School.

"I am really looking forward to working with the experienced staff team at Oversands, so we continue to develop our offer to pupils, their families and, importantly, the wider community, which I am proud to call home.”

The Witherslack Group, which owns Oversands School, caters for pupils with needs ranging from emotional, behavioural and social difficulties to communication difficulties and complex learning difficulties, including autism, Asperger's syndrome, dyspraxia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The group employs hundreds of highly trained staff at its 16 specialist schools across the country, including Cedar House School, at Bentham.

It also has 25 children's homes.

Education and care is offered to children and young people aged four to 19, including day, residential and 52-week placements.

The Witherslack Group says that Ofsted inspections regularly show the it to be "the highest quality special educational needs group in the UK".

The company's head office is at Lupton Tower, near Kirkby Lonsdale.