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Prior's Court was set up in 1999 by Dame Stephanie Shirley, an IT entrepreneur
and mother of an autistic son who wanted to create the school she wished had
been available when her son was young.
Some young people at Prior's Court may have other medical conditions or
additional needs such as epilepsy or ADHD. Some young people may exhibit
challenging behaviours. Many students are non-verbal, pre-verbal or have limited
functional language. Academically, the majority of students are working below
national curriculum levels. Prior's Court School has a levelling system that
replaces what were previously known as 'P levels' and focuses on 'I Can
statements'.
The school is largely residential with weekly and termly placements over 38, 44
or 52 weeks of the year; there are also a limited number of day places.
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 (such as
Education Health and Care Plan, Annual
Review documents, and 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 Young People's Learning and a Director of Young
People's Wellbeing 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