Priorslee Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 June 2026

Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel part of Priorslee's friendly and welcoming community. They describe positive relationships with staff, saying adults listen and offer help when needed. Older pupils demonstrate secure knowledge across the curriculum and achieve well. Learning in the rest of the school is variable. Pupils read regularly and talk about books they enjoy. In lessons, many explain their mathematical thinking clearly. In contrast, some pupils do not secure basic writing skills or build knowledge in enough depth in wider curriculum subjects. This means pupils do not achieve as well as they should in some subjects and are not as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of learning. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is mixed. Pupils with SEND take part in all aspects of school life. Extra help in small groups or individually supports their learning effectively. However, in some lessons, work is not closely matched to pupils' needs. This limits how well pupils with SEND develop their knowledge and skills over time. Pupils show consideration for one another. They usually conduct themselves well in lessons. They play harmoniously at social times. Bullying is rare and pupils are confident that adults will help them if needed. Pupils attend regularly and understand the importance of coming to school each day. Pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe, including when using technology. They learn about respect and responsibility through everyday routines. Pupils enjoy a range of wider opportunities, including football, art and cooking clubs. They take pride in seeing their personal achievements displayed on the 'wow wall'. They value visits to the local care home, where they read and talk with residents. These experiences help pupils build confidence and feel part of the community.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly and that teaching is consistently adapted to meet their needs so they make the progress they are capable of.
• Leaders should ensure that teaching is consistently effective across all year groups so that pupils build knowledge securely over time and achieve well across different subjects.
• Leaders should ensure that improvements to writing and the wider curriculum are embedded consistently so that pupils build, revisit and deepen their knowledge over time.
• Leaders at all levels, including those responsible for governance, should continue to refine the use of monitoring and evaluation so that variation in practice is identified and addressed quickly.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)