Priory School's residential provision in Bury St Edmunds falls to 'good' Ofsted judgement

A special school's residential provision has dropped from 'outstanding' to 'good', with Ofsted saying leaders had failed to action fire safety shortfalls.

The Priory School's trust, SENDAT (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Academies Trust), said they were working hard to rectify all issues identified in the education watchdog's report.

An inspection at the Bury St Edmunds setting in September found senior leaders and managers had failed to action several shortfalls listed as priorities in the school’s fire risk assessment.

The issues were around fire doors and electrical hard wiring, the latter of which 'requires extensive work to bring this to a satisfactory rating'.

The inspector wrote: "These serious shortfalls have the potential to compromise children’s safety."

Some shortfalls were rectified during the inspection, such as adding fire door closure checks to weekly fire alarm checks.

The inspector also said staff have access to a range of training courses, but leaders and managers had failed to provide them with training to support children with ligature risks.

Ofsted found the effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good, but how well children and young people are helped and protected was deemed good, as well as the overall experiences and progress of children and young people.

A SENDAT spokesperson said: "Naturally we are disappointed the overall residential Ofsted rating has moved from outstanding to good.

"There is always room for improvement, irrespective of any independent judgements, and we are confident in the quality of provision delivered to students by our residential team. We are working hard to rectify all issues identified in the report."

The Ofsted report found the residential provision did not meet the national minimum standards over fire safety and staff training, particularly over ligature removal.

Other points for improvement included:

• School leaders should ensure that children experience more community-based activities;
• School leaders should ensure that all rooms are appropriately ventilated;
• School leaders should ensure that photos and contact details of the independent person are on display in residence for children.

The inspector also said children enjoy their time there and feel safe, and the staff help children to develop their independence skills.

They also noted positive aspects in the leadership and management of the residential provision.

Priory School itself was judged by Ofsted to be outstanding in 2014 and a short inspection in 2018 found it continues to be so.