Priory School

Priory School is a highly inclusive primary school where pupils feel safe, nurtured and part of a strong community. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are all good, and safeguarding is effective. The school has seen significant changes in leadership and governance since its last inspection and was receiving its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. It also has two specialist resource provisions, Orchard and Woodland, for pupils with education, health and care plans. Leaders are ambitious for pupils and are swiftly refining the curriculum, with effective early years practice, strong communication support, and expert SEND provision in the specialist classes. However, not all pupils achieve as well as they could. In some subjects, teaching is less precise, teachers do not consistently check that pupils understand new ideas before moving on, and some staff do not adapt mainstream learning well enough for pupils with SEND.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive school with a strong sense of community
• Pupils feel nurtured and safe, and trust adults to support them
• Buddy leaders help pupils make friends and join in at playtimes
• Most pupils behave very well because of high expectations and consistent routines
• Pupils enjoy learning because teachers make lessons interesting
• Strong focus on communication helps pupils interact and share ideas
• Early years curriculum develops communication and interaction skills well
• Most children learn to read confidently
• Effective support for pupils with complex needs in the Orchard and Woodland provisions
• Staff use symbols, visual aids and other tools to help pupils participate fully
• Bullying is very rare and staff help pupils understand unkind behaviour
• Attendance is improving through close work with families and professionals
• Pupils learn about different cultures and faiths and are encouraged to be proud of who they are
• Staff feel well supported and speak highly of the positive, open culture
• Governors know the school priorities well and provide effective support and challenge

Areas for Improvement

• Not all pupils achieve as well as they could
• Curriculum refinement is still ongoing in some subjects
• Teaching is less precise in some subjects, particularly those under review
• Teachers do not consistently check that all pupils have grasped new ideas before moving on
• Some staff do not adapt learning well enough for pupils with SEND in mainstream lessons
• Some pupils with SEND struggle to learn as well as they should

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Priory School attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.4% of pupils at Priory School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Priory School had 20.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.4% of pupils at Priory School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 18.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 60 pupils and resourced provision with 36 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Priory School received £10,802 and spent £10,210 for each of its 586 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,389,000 (£2,373 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Slough · Slough local authority: places and applications

What is Priory School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Priory School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Priory School last inspected by Ofsted?

Priory School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Priory School have?

Priory School has 591 pupils on roll.

What age range does Priory School cover?

Priory School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Priory School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Priory School?

Priory School is at Orchard Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 6HE.