Prior's Court School rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted for third time

Priors Court school has been rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for the third time in a row.

Inspectors called the Hermitage-based charity’s education provision for young autistic people “remarkable” following its latest inspection in February.

The school was rated as ‘outstanding’ in all criteria. Highlights of the report read:

“Pupils benefit from the high ambition that the school has for what they can achieve,” and that “every part of the school is calm and positive.”

It also praised the bespoke accreditations sixth form students have gained in vocational studies including ground maintenance, barista training, commercial laundry and baking in the ‘Bread and Beyond’ onsite bakery.

School principal Helen Franks said: “This was a simply amazing report to read and the praise in it for the staffing teams is fully deserved.

“Those staffing teams go above and beyond every single day of the week.

“A huge thank you to them and to everyone who played a part in this fantastic outcome.

“We have high ambitions for the young people at Prior’s Court and the amazing successes they achieve is noted in the report.”

She also thanked the charity’s director of learning Sue Piper, adding: “This was the first Ofsted inspection in many years in which Sue has not been our principal, but her support has been invaluable.”

The school received the same grading after its inspections in 2022 and 2017.