The Old Priory School

Inspection of The Old Priory School Priory Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 9PG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every pupil feels welcome and valued at this school. Pupils have often experienced disruption in their education prior to joining the school. Many begin their time at this school with a negative view of education. The school’s work to remove barriers, and to challenge pupils’ negative views of education is exceptional. This leads to pupils feeling safe and settled and attending regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a transformative impact on pupils’ behaviour and attitudes. Staff empower pupils to understand their own feelings and behaviours. Consequently, pupils learn to identify why things might not have gone well, and how to do better next time. Staff expertly plan for each pupils’ success, but also know exactly how to respond in the moment if a pupil is struggling. Staff are meticulous in their work to understand exactly what each pupil needs to thrive at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s academic aspirations for every pupil are high. Pupils engage well with teachers who are expert in their subjects. As a result, pupils achieve well. Staff ensure that every pupil benefits from the wide range of enriching opportunities offered by the school. The school’s vocational offer, encompassing woodwork, bricklaying, bike maintenance and cooking, contributes strongly to pupils’ life skills and preparation for adulthood. Pupils greatly value the opportunities the school provides.

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better?

The school has redeveloped its curriculum to strengthen its educational offer and to ensure that pupils achieve well academically. Expert teachers have been recruited, and the school has fully reviewed its staff training programme. All staff are well supported to further develop their subject expertise, as well as developing their understanding of how to teach new knowledge effectively to pupils.

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better?

Since the last inspection, the school has focused on developing a culture of reading across the school. The positive impact of this work is clear. Pupils attend reading club at lunchtimes and some learn to enjoy the calming effect of a good book. Pupils at an earlier stage of learning to read are quickly identified. The school has recruited staff with experience of teaching phonics, who oversee catch-up support for these pupils. Most pupils now read confidently and fluently enough to access learning across the curriculum.

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better?

Less work, however, has been undertaken to support pupils to develop their writing fluency. Several pupils have gaps in their knowledge of how to form letters and have not practised writing enough to be able to write with accuracy, fluency and ease. This is not effectively addressed before pupils are asked to undertake complex writing tasks. This is leading to some pupils becoming reluctant writers. 22 to 24 October 2024 The school’s vocational education is a strength. The curriculum has been carefully sequenced so that pupils master a broad range of techniques, as well as the safe use of tools, before applying what they have learned to increasingly complex projects. Pupils take great pride in what they produce in woodwork and bricklaying classes. The physical environment at the vocational site has been developed by staff and pupils together, with pupils using their woodwork skills, for example, to help

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better?

build and fit the kitchen. This supports’ pupils developing sense of belonging, as well as helping to prepare them for adult life.

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better?

Pupils’ personal development is central to the school’s work. The school has developed a comprehensive citizenship curriculum that encompasses personal, social and health education and relationships and sex education. The programme takes very careful account of pupils’ diverse and often very challenging life experiences. Staff are expertly trained so that they are confident in delivering challenging subject matter.

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better?

The school’s values are carefully threaded through the curriculum. The thoughtful assembly programme supports pupils in understanding how they can develop positive character traits, and how this will support them to overcome even the most challenging circumstances. The school’s house system, clubs and purposeful programme of trips and visits all contribute to pupils’ developing character. Pupils benefit from being taught about other cultures and the diverse life experiences of others, including through a pen-pal programme with a school in Uganda.

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better?

All pupils have high attendance. Work to support pupils’ behaviour and attitudes has a highly tangible, positive impact on pupils’ lives. Staff encourage and train pupils to become experts in managing their own behaviours. Pupils have very high levels of confidence in staff. Frequently, if a pupil is struggling, they will proactively approach staff, before anything goes wrong, so that they receive the right support. Consequently, over time, there is a dramatic improvement in the behaviour of every pupil.

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better?

The school takes every opportunity to support pupils’ preparation for adulthood. There is a comprehensive and effective careers programme. All pupils undertake work experience. The school ensures that every pupil has a clear next step into further education or training.

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better?

School leaders, and those responsible for governance have a very clear vision for the school. A director of the proprietor body works alongside the headteacher to oversee and evaluate the work of the school. Together, leaders and those responsible for governance ensure that the independent school standards remain consistently met. The school is compliant with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 22 to 24 October 2024

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school has not effectively planned how to develop pupils writing fluency. This impacts negatively on how well some pupils are able to access the school’s full curriculum. The school should develop a clear approach to developing pupils’ writing fluency so that they can record their work with greater confidence, ease and willingness to better access the full curriculum.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 22 to 24 October 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 131422 DfE registration number 886/6076

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School details

Inspection number 10342022 Type of school Independent Special School

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School details

Proprietor Ethelbert Specialist Homes Ltd

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £28,470 - £37,960

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School details

Email address julie.bayley@ethelbert.net

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 29 November to 1 December 2022 22 to 24 October 2024

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Information about this school

 Pupils at The Old Priory School have complex emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. Most have experienced significant disruption to their previous education. Almost all pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The headteacher was appointed in September 2023. They are the headteacher of this school and one other school within the Ethelbert Specialist Homes Ltd group.  The school operates an additional site at 8 Park Lane, Margate, Kent CT9 1RQ. This site is used to provide vocational education and training.  The school’s last standard inspection took place from November to December 2022 when its overall effectiveness was judged to require improvement.  There are currently 15 pupils on roll. The school is registered to admit up to 33 pupils.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school's suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school's education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors met with the headteacher and the chair of the proprietor body.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, science, citizenship and vocational studies. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. For the early reading deep dive, inspectors listened to pupils reading. They also considered other subjects. 22 to 24 October 2024  The inspectors considered pupils’ behaviour and attitudes throughout the inspection and discussed the school’s analysis of pupils’ behaviour and attendance with leaders.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors considered personal development through all deep dives. They met with leaders to discuss the school’s personal development programme. The inspectors talked to pupils about the school’s personal development programme.

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Information about this inspection

 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey.

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Inspection team

Alice Roberts, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Emma Law Ofsted Inspector 22 to 24 October 2024 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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