IT was obvious straight away this was not an ordinary school dinner. The small group of about 15 staff and pupils of Canvey’s controversial Continuum School all sat down to eat together like a close, if boisterous, family.

The school caters for children with behavioural and emotional problems and really is the last chance at education for the 16 Essex teenagers who go there.

Aged between 14 and 16, they are taught in classes of one and two to combat the disruptive behaviour which has got them kicked out of mainstream schools.

Education at the school goes beyond learning to pass exams and aims to tackle pupils’ behavioural problems and teach them how to behave appropriately in the community.

Sharing meals together is a big part of that and the school also sits down to eat breakfast together every day.

Continuum’s head of education Linda Moss said: “Lot’s of subliminal learning goes on during mealtimes.

“Most of them are quite unhappy young people. They’re not used to having a laugh and a joke at their own expense. We try to teach that it’s all right to take the mickey out of somebody, as long as it doesn’t hurt their feelings.

“Some kids are not very good at using a knife and fork, and for some, when they come here, it’s the first time they have sat down at a table to eat.

“Everything we do here is a piece of work, right from saying ‘good morning’ to teaching them maths and thanking them for their behaviour.

“When you read the profiles of some of the children, you’re amazed they get to school at all. That’s not apportioning blame to parents, its because life’s hard.”

Many of the children come from difficult backgrounds and suffer from conditions including dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which contribute to their behavioural problems.

Some of them are already known to the police.

Continuum is a national not-for-profit organisation which is contracted by Essex County Council to provide education for children who have been expelled from mainstream education.

When the school opened last September, nearby residents complained to police about the behaviour of the young people in the areas surrounding the school in Vanderwalt Avenue.

Linda added: “A lot of our youngsters are very aggressive because that’s their life experience.

“They look like adolescents, but their tantrums are like those of two-year-olds.”

It was not long before the Echo was treated to a tantrum from one of the students who refused to go into his lesson after lunch.

Although not violent, the teenager unleashed a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse at his teachers, seemingly playing up for the audience.

Staff reacted with patience and a sense of humour and the youngster was eventually persuaded to go into his lesson.

Headteacher Richard Collier said: “They might not always express themselves how we would like, but that is why we are here – to teach them rights and wrongs.

“Hopefully in the future he will think twice about refusing to go into his lesson and realise it’s not worth it.”

The students will not go back into mainstream education after coming to Continuum.

The school has a strong vocational focus with students spending time at the school’s workshop on Charfleets Industrial Estate, on the other side of Canvey, where they can learn skills including mechanics.

They are also encouraged to get work experience.

Pupils are bought into the school by taxis, with most students in school between 80 and 90 per cent of the time.

Linda said: “This is where you come when there is nowhere else to go. We are running out of time with these kids as once they get to 16 they are out of education.

“The plan is to get them as ready as we possibly can for the world of work and to fit into society and give them different skills, hobbies and interests.”