Priory School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has its core values of respect, courage, happiness, ambition and pride at the heart of everything that it does. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are happy here.

The school has thought carefully about what it wants pupils to learn. The curriculum is designed to be ambitious for all pupils. Leaders and staff sensitively devise and adapt appropriate curriculum pathways that meet pupils' specific needs and enable them to achieve positive outcomes.

Behaviour is a real strength of the school. Pupils support each other kindly, inside and outside of lessons. They know that they are working together to achieve success.

Relationships between staff and pup...ils are also very positive. The school works well to ensure that pupils and their families know the importance of coming to school every day. Attendance is high and pupils are kept safe.

Promoting each pupil's personal development is a key thread that runs through the whole school. Leaders want to prepare pupils for their future life in the wider world. This aim is realised well.

For example, pupils learn how to prepare meals in their cookery lessons. They also enjoy, and are proud of what they achieve through, their work experience placements.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have carefully designed a curriculum to meet the diverse needs of their pupils.

They are ambitious in supporting pupils to prepare for their adult lives.

The school places the utmost importance on supporting pupils to develop their communication and reading skills. Staff use a range of strategies to develop pupils' confidence and skills.

In addition, the school has recently introduced a new phonics programme to further develop the school's early reading curriculum. Teachers receive training to make sure that they can successfully deliver the programme. Assessments are used effectively to identify where pupils need further support and to make any necessary adaptations to pupils' learning.

Overall, the school's actions to strengthen the curriculum for phonics are having a positive impact on how well pupils learn to read. Nevertheless, some of the developments to support pupils to become enthusiastic and confident readers are not securely embedded.

Across the school, from Year 7 through to the sixth form, the school aims for pupils to develop a rich appreciation and understanding of their subjects.

The sixth-form curriculum prepares students for their next steps. To build on this work, leaders have introduced a 'three journeys' approach, which intends to make sure that students get the most aspirational curriculum possible. The school is currently refining this approach.

Some aspects are not fully embedded. This means that there are instances where students' outcomes do not consistently match the school's increased ambition for learning in the sixth form.The school uses assessment to check that the curriculum is having the intended impact on how well pupils learn.

These assessments allow teachers to identify when further support is needed and help them to put successful adaptations in place.

Pupils' needs are carefully identified when they join the school. This enables appropriate learning plans to be put in place to support their development.

From Years 7 to 11, the five different learning pathways are planned and taught in a way that supports pupils' learning effectively. For each pathway, the core themes for learning have been carefully identified, and these are complemented by tailored approaches, such as circle time and sensory work. All of this helps to promote pupils' well-being and wider development, including their preparation for life after school.

Behaviour is a strength of the school. The school uses a range of effective strategies to help pupils to feel calm and manage any anxieties. This means that pupils can focus without disruption on their learning.

During their time at the school, the support and care provided help pupils to grow in independence and lead to fewer incidents in which pupils become dysregulated and overwhelmed. In lessons, pupils care for and support each other. This, too, contributes to purposeful classrooms that foster pupils' learning.

Leaders know that pupils' attendance at school is both critical to their learning and their safeguarding. They work closely and sensitively with parents and carers and external partners to promote high attendance. For example, they work with transport companies to ensure that buses and taxis arrive each day and on time for pupils.

The school's effective approaches have led to a significant improvement in attendance over the last two years.

Leaders place much emphasis on the personal development provision, and how important this is for getting pupils ready for their future lives. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

They are also helped to develop an awareness and appreciation of different cultures and religions. Through the student council, they take on leadership responsibilities and have the opportunity to shape the life of the school, including what food is served. They also take part in educational visits, and some pupils complete The Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

The well-developed careers programme also contributes to pupils' readiness for their next steps in education, training or the world of work.

Staff appreciate the support that they receive for their well-being. They feel listened to by leaders.

The governing body has focused on developing its expertise since the last inspection. It provides effective support for the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• While pupils are well supported overall in the development of their reading, some aspects of the school's work are not, at present, fully established. This means pupils are not developing their confidence in and enthusiasm for reading as well as they could be. The school should continue to work on embedding its new approach to phonics to maximise how well it supports pupils to get better at reading.

• New approaches to the curriculum in the sixth form are not fully established. While students' outcomes are positive overall, there are times when the curriculum is not supporting them to achieve as highly as they could. The school should provide training for staff so that the new curriculum is consistently well implemented and, in turn, strengthen students' outcomes.