Many staff members currently at Prior's Court have been with us since the very early days.

Thanks to these long-serving staff members for sharing their memories from the first days of Prior's Court and our work supporting autistic young people with complex needs:

"I remember how impressed I was at how organised and professional the school was, and still is, with the facilities and staff. There were stories I had heard about how young people were treated by other organisations at the time but Prior's  Court School truly offered the best possible start in life for our young people.

"Watching each young person grow over time has made the last 21 years fly by. Each shift is different and you can smile about something different on every one.  Also watching the school develop and improve year-on-year with positive changes and a good understanding in the world of autism. and the training offered is very comprehensive.

"I do remember the 38-week contracts where we had all the school holidays off. Also everyone had two weeks of training all at the same time and we would have team-building events. Guests would come and give lectures on autism - one lady, an author who had autism, explained how it affects her day-to-day."

Anita joined Prior's Court in 2003

1. "It was a difficult tasks to support two young people as the ratio was 1:2 (two young people for one supporting staff). It was hard to keep up with the challenges around this however, we worked so closely as a team and supported one another so well.
2. "We also used to make sure that young people go to the gym every morning to have morning exercises before the start of school day. Education staff will come and meet us in the gym where handover will take place then morning exercises to prepare young people for school day.
3. "A fun day for staff on every last day of the term as the whole school operated on 38 weeks contracts therefore, on the last day of every term when all young people have gone home we used to all go out in town. We would then be off for the summer."

Joel, joined Prior's Court in 2003

• "The first external holiday with the young people from Charlotte House. We went to a Scout retreat. Young peoplehad the best time- lots of walks(getting soaked and stuck in bogs!); new activities tried- climbing/canoeing/hill toboggan. Evening entertainment- mainly by staff!
• "Opening Charlotte House and the young people going on the first work placements that Prior's Court School tried.
• "End of term in Todhunter House where the rule was that Joel and Phineas cooked, the rest of us ‘shut down’ the home, but nobody was allowed to leave until we had all eaten together!
• "Introducing my baby to the young people in Todhunter House.
• "Long summer evenings in Giles, Millington and Shirley where we would get the hose pipes/paddling out where all the three houses would join together on where is now ‘Palmer Garden’.
• "Christmas concerts- all the homes would pick a theme and perform in the Princess Theatre. Always chaos but the best fun and heartwarming to see how proud the young people were on stage and their parents being able to watch.
• "Snow Days are always fun - late-night snowball fights!"

Laura, joined Prior's Court in 2002

• "Opening the post-16 department and buying Charlotte House and moving the young people in (2003/4)
• "First residential trip to an activity centre with Charlotte House (2004 ish – I definitely still have photos of this!)
• "Christmas performances in the early years in the Princess Theatre
• "The great ‘snow in’ sometime maybe 2008-ish!
• "Our first offsite work placement – in Curry’s circa 2004 – well done Emily!"

Ruth, joined Prior's Court in 2000

• "Working 38 weeks a year as young people all went home during the remainder of school year.
• "We only had 3 homes open (Giles, Millington and Shirley Homes) and worked as a team together at night.
• "There were only very few young people in each house and they shared bedrooms.
• "When we were first appointed we did a week training but had lots of workbooks to complete throughout the year.
• "Our shifts were 9pm to 7am and had 3-hour shifts too called twilight 9pm-midnight which were helpful as young people took a while to settle to sleep
• "We enjoyed all getting together at Christmas time to celebrate which were appreciated and nice to mingle with the Days team.
• "We had support and day staff that lived on site due to travelling from afar Wales if I remember rightly!
• "I personally did not have any experience working with autistic people but as I was a mum of three it came very natural to me and gave me lots of job satisfaction and of course I enjoyed the challenge! I was always very intrigued and interested in social care at school so the job came very natural to me.

I've seen lots of changes in my time! "

Trudi, joined Prior's Court in 2001

"On my observation date, I remember thinking what a wonderful place to teach young people and how much I wanted to be a part of things! and I guess still here 23 years later it did capture my heart!

"The growth! Can you imagine there being no Cottages, no Todhunter/Fleming Houses, no young people houses on the main drive (they were the on-call houses), Palmer and Beacon homes in the Court Building, no Jubilee Building, no bakery, no Bradbury Hall, no Health & Wellbeing Hub, no Track. I could go on but it really makes you reflect on how lucky I have been to see that growth but also how challenging to find ways around site now.

"Being amazed at how the structure and communication systems worked for the young people and being given the youngest children in the school to teach, I couldn’t believe their ability to self-manage their day."

Sue, joined Prior's Court in 2001

Read more on our 25th anniversary blog