Priorswood Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 November 2022

Pupils at Priorswood Primary are proud to be members of their school. They enjoy coming to school, feel safe and attend well. They are keen to talk about what the school offers them. Pupils study a broad range of subjects, including learning in the forest school area. These outdoor lessons build pupils' resilience, independence and teamwork skills. Leaders provide a range of opportunities for pupils to enrich their learning and extend their interests and talents. Pupils show positive attitudes to their learning. They support and encourage each other beyond the classroom environment. Pupils conduct themselves well around the school. They know what adults expect of them. Pupils show a high level of respect for their peers and staff. Staff model strong relationships and clear expectations. Pupils see them as effective role models. As a result, the school is a calm and purposeful place to learn. Pupils understand what bullying is. They say that it rarely happens. Pupils are confident that concerns would be acted on quickly if they occurred. The majority of parents and carers who shared their views recognise the dedication and care provided by staff, and the impact this has on their child.

What the school should improve

• In some foundation subjects, the curriculum does not identify the essential knowledge pupils must know and remember. As a result, pupils do not always link what they have learned before to their new learning. Leaders need to ensure that the specific knowledge they want pupils to learn is identified so that pupils know and remember more over time.
• As a result of significant instability in the leadership of SEND, there is not a clear and coherent overview of the provision that all pupils with SEND receive and the impact it has. As a result, pupils with SEND do not always get the most precise and targeted support they require to learn as successfully as possible. Leaders must ensure that they have secure systems in place to give them the most accurate information about how well pupils with SEND learn the intended curriculum.
• Leaders, including those responsible for governance, have not fully considered how the curriculum supports pupils to have a deep enough understanding of the fundamental British values and protected characteristics. Consequently, pupils are not as prepared as they could be in order to be active participants of life in modern Britain. Those responsible for governance need to ensure that they challenge leaders so that the provision for personal development enables pupils to develop a deeper understanding of protected characteristics.

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