Priestley College

Overview

Priestley College is a 16 to 19 academy where students benefit from an "inclusive culture" and feel "cared for." The report highlights "highly effective relationships with employers" and "ambitious curriculums" that are "carefully planned and logically sequenced," resulting in most young people progressing to positive destinations.

Strengths

• Students enjoy a "calm and respectful environment" with "high levels of respect" for teachers and peers, alongside high attendance.
• Leaders have "highly effective quality assurance and improvement processes" and nurture strong links with employers to design curriculums meeting regional skills needs.
• Teachers use "recall and retrieval teaching strategies" effectively, helping students "deepen their knowledge and apply previous knowledge well to new learning."
• Students access "unbiased, impartial careers education" and a wide range of additional activities, such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and mental health first-aid courses.
• Provision for students with high needs is strong, with staff using education, health and care plans to "carefully plan individualised learning."

Areas to improve

• Review the curriculum and use of starting points for students on adult programmes, as adult mathematics students "do not progress as quickly as they could."
• Improve feedback in health and social care and functional skills mathematics so students know how to improve their work and rectify errors.
• Improve the consistency of assessment to ensure all students "rectify misconceptions or gaps in learning."

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective," noting that students "feel safe" and are confident concerns will be "dealt with swiftly."