Priory School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 June 2024

Priory School is a happy place. Pupils enjoy supportive friendships. Bullying and unkindness are rare. Pupils learn to understand and manage their emotional triggers. They flourish in the school's safe culture, including in the sixth form. Pupils get the practical help they need. The school supports families with transport and pupils with hygiene. Pupils eat high-quality meals. Boarding teaches them independence. Pupils learn a lot of life skills, such as about money and the world of work. The school facilitates trips, ranging from nearby locations like local shops to distant places like Germany. Pupils benefit from the school's ambition to prepare them for life beyond school. In recent years, all have gone on to positive next steps in education or training. Regular routines support purposeful behaviour. For instance, the daily 'meet and greet' readies pupils for school. They receive skilful support for their social and emotional needs. Consequently, pupils can focus on learning. They stay calm if a peer occasionally gets upset. Pupils do well with their learning and take pride in their work. They get strong support for their needs. However, the curriculum they learn is not always as effectively planned or taught as it could be.

What the school should improve

• The curriculum does not, in all areas, identify precisely enough the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn. This means that teachers sometimes do not know clearly which areas to emphasise and revisit so that pupils remember the key content. The school needs to make sure that all areas of the curriculum are comprehensively planned.
• In a few cases, teaching is not well adapted to support pupils with different levels of prior knowledge and understanding. This means that some pupils finish tasks easily while others struggle. The school should make sure all teachers get the training and support they need to adapt the curriculum effectively for pupils' varying levels of understanding.
• In some areas, subject leadership is not embedded well enough. Where this is the case, subject leaders do not have the knowledge they need of their curriculum to ensure it is delivered as the school intends. The school needs to make sure subject leaders get the guidance and support they need to fulfil their roles effectively.

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