“Prior’s Court is an exceptional school that serves some very special pupils outstandingly well.”

That was the verdict from Ofsted inspectors who have graded Prior’s Court’s education provision as “outstanding” for the second inspection in a row.

Inspectors were full of praise across all areas of the education provision in their report after a three-day visit to our School provision during March. “Outstanding” ratings were given in all five areas of the inspection – the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision.

Highlights of the report included:

• “Pupils here achieve things of which they and their parents and carers could previously only have dreamed.”
• “Through its intensive support, the school gives a voice to its pupils, many of whom have struggled for years to be heard.”
• “Every step that pupils take through the curriculum is meticulously planned and carefully assessed.”
• “The school is a key partner when developing pupils’ plans and provides extensive support to help prepare pupils for adulthood.”
• “Pupils feel safe at the school because they know that staff will support them every step of the way.”

Sue Piper, our Director of Young People’s Learning and registered headteacher, said:

This is a wonderfully complementary report which the staffing teams at Prior’s Court fully deserve. I am thrilled with the “outstanding” grade which reflects the hard work of all the teams involved and their knowledge of not only autism, but the needs of each individual young person at Prior’s Court.

This achievement is of particular note given the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges posed both over the past two years and those still ongoing.

We have high aspirations for our young people and are very proud of their achievements as they work towards our ambitions for them to be healthy, happy, more independent and have the opportunity to work.

Prior’s Court School, managed by Prior’s Court Foundation, provides education and residential care for young people aged 5 to 20 with autism and associated complex needs.

Prior’s Court School was rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted after the previous most recent education inspection in 2017.

Prior’s Court School is rated as “good” by Ofsted for its residential care provision, while the four homes in Prior’s Court Young Adult Provision are all rated as “good” by the Care Quality Commission(CQC).

The full report can be read on the Ofsted website and the Prior’s Court website.