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How will I know if my child/young person needs extra help or has special
educational needs?
As Prior's Court is an autism-specific school, all young people will have a
diagnosis of autism (or may be awaiting a diagnosis) and an Education Health
and Care (EHC) Plan.
To identify if the school could meet a young person's needs, the Practitioner
Panel first looks at reports (Education Health and Care Plan, Annual Review
documents, reports from specialists). Following this, an assessment of the young
person is arranged with parents/carers and the local authority. The assessment
usually takes place at Prior's Court School and is undertaken by senior lead
practitioners with significant experience and members of the multi-disciplinary
team where appropriate.
2. Supporting young people
How will the school staff support my child/young person?
As an autism-specific special school, Prior's Court focuses on providing the most
appropriate training to ensure that staff are specialists in autism best practice,
uniting this knowledge with the needs of the individual child to enable them to
make sense of the world around them and make significant progress.
The team is led by a Director of Education and Lifelong Learning and a Director of
Care Services who are not only responsible for the operational management of
the school but are committed to developing and delivering the autism training
for staff which is provided from induction onwards. They have many years of
experience of autism best practice and, among other qualifications, are proud to
be Advanced Level Consultant Trainers in the TEACCH methodology, which is at
the heart of the school's autism approach and best practice.
Because Prior's Court uses a Waking Day curriculum, learning taking place
in the education day as well as during first thing in the morning, evenings and
weekends. There is a strong commitment to ensuring that all teams work closely
together with shared goals and careful planning to make learning consistent for
the young people.
The Education and Residential Care departments are supported throughout 52
weeks of the year by an experienced operational leadership team and on-site
multi-disciplinary and therapeutic professionals including Speech & Language
Therapists; Occupational Therapists; a Positive Behaviour Support team; Nurses;
and specialist teachers focussing on IT, outdoor learning and physical exercise as
well as vocational instructors to develop skills in areas such as; Horticulture;
Animal Husbandry; Catering & Hospitality; Trade Skills; Administration & Finance;