Priorslee Academy

Priorslee Academy is a welcoming, well-run school where pupils feel safe, attend regularly and behave well. Safeguarding standards are met, and provision for attendance, behaviour, early years, leadership and governance, and personal development is at the expected standard. Pupils benefit from a caring ethos, strong reading and improving mathematics, effective pastoral support, and a broad enrichment offer. Recent leadership and governance changes have been managed with clarity and stability. However, the school's overall impact on achievement is not yet consistent. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, and inclusion need attention. Teaching quality varies too much, especially in the wider curriculum, and pupils do not always build enough depth of knowledge or recall prior learning. Writing is a particular weakness, with handwriting and spelling errors not consistently addressed, and pupils with SEND do not always receive precisely adapted work. Disadvantaged pupils make uneven progress and the disadvantage gap remains substantial. Leaders recognise these issues and have begun to refine the curriculum and improve training and monitoring. The school is part of Mighty Oaks Academy Trust and has experienced significant leadership and governance change; the current head and acting CEO have provided stability. While the direction of travel is positive, the impact of recent actions is not yet fully embedded across all classes.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy school and attend consistently, supported by rewards such as the 'Always Club'
• Pupils behave well, the playground is orderly, and bullying is uncommon
• Early years provision has been strengthened, with an ambitious curriculum and well-taught phonics
• Leaders have provided clarity and stability through significant leadership and governance transition
• Governance is effective, with governors and trustees checking information and providing appropriate challenge
• Reading is taught well and pupils learn to read fluently
• Mathematics teaching has improved and pupils apply number knowledge confidently
• The personal development programme helps pupils understand values such as kindness, resilience and respect
• Pastoral support is highly effective and helps pupils manage feelings and take part fully in school life
• Pupils learn about British values and different faiths and cultures
• Effective one-to-one support helps pupils catch up and build confidence
• Leaders monitor participation so all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, access enrichment opportunities
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should in some wider curriculum subjects
• Pupils do not consistently develop sufficient depth of knowledge or recall prior learning
• Progress in writing is inconsistent, with weaknesses in handwriting and spelling
• Teaching quality is too variable, particularly in the wider curriculum
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are not always precise enough, limiting their progress
• Disadvantaged pupils make uneven progress and the disadvantage gap remains large
• Monitoring and evaluation do not yet ensure consistent practice across all classes
• Some pupils lose focus and become distracted in lessons

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 Priorslee Academy attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.8% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Priorslee Academy 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 Priorslee Academy had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.3% 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, 7.1% of pupils at Priorslee Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 2023–24 Priorslee Academy received £5,743 and spent £5,968 for each of its 450 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £363,000 (£807 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Mighty Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, income was £6,376 and spending £6,501 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Telford · Telford and Wrekin local authority: places and applications

Priorslee Academy is part of Mighty Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Buildwas Academy Telford

What is Priorslee Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Priorslee Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Priorslee Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Priorslee Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Priorslee Academy have?

Priorslee Academy has 434 pupils on roll.

What age range does Priorslee Academy cover?

Priorslee Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Priorslee Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Priorslee Academy?

Priorslee Academy is at Priorslee Avenue, Priorslee, Telford, Shropshire, TF2 9RS.