Priory School

Overview

Priory School remains an outstanding special school where pupils enjoy a "happy" and safe environment with "supportive friendships." While the overall judgement is unchanged, inspectors noted that a graded inspection might yield a lower rating due to inconsistencies in curriculum planning and teaching adaptation.

Strengths

• Pupils flourish in a "safe culture" where bullying is rare and they learn to "manage their emotional triggers."
• The school provides excellent practical support, including high-quality meals, transport, and life skills that prepare pupils for "positive next steps."
• The reading curriculum is a strength, with pupils learning phonics successfully and showing "considerable pleasure in reading."
• Staff skilfully support pupils’ special educational needs using precise information from education, health and care plans.
• Behaviour policies are "carefully matched to pupils’ needs," resulting in high attendance and improved self-regulation.

Areas to improve

• The curriculum does not always identify precisely the most important knowledge, meaning teachers sometimes fail to emphasise key content for retention.
• Teaching is not always well adapted to pupils’ varying levels of understanding, causing some to finish tasks quickly while others struggle.
• Subject leadership is not embedded well enough in some areas, limiting leaders’ oversight of how subjects are taught across year groups.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."