We consider our relationships with the families of young people at Prior's Court to be partnerships.

Parents/carers are involved in discussions at all stages of a young person's stay with us and are supported throughout by staff including keyworkers, home managers and teachers.

Training and information sessions take place throughout the year, and there are opportunities for families to meet staff and get involved in school events, such as sports days and assemblies.

We aim to provide extra support when families and young people need it most – such as when joining, leaving, changing placement (e.g. from day to residential) and any other key points throughout the time with us.

Supporting parent contact and communications

A family room and an onsite flat are available for parents and families to use to spend time during visits or for overnight stays.

All parents are invited to the Statutory Annual Review of their child’s special educational needs. Where appropriate this will be complemented by social services care reviews.

An e-newsletter is sent to parents every six weeks, providing updates on events at Prior’s Court, policy changes, staff changes and other items of interest, with letters home about key updates sent via email regularly.

Parents have access to a private Facebook group, each house has a WhatsApp group and there is a site-wide WhatsApp group to interact with other parents to create a community of support. Access is also given to a specific Parent Information area of our website, which contains key documents, letters home and other resources.

A Parent Forum hosted by senior leaders of the Prior’s Court team is held regularly with parents encouraged to suggest topics for discussion.

All parents have access to the Parent Portal section of our data recording system Prior Insight. This portal consists of reports on a range of areas including behavioural incident counts, seizure activity, detailed food and drink intake, and any injuries. An image and video gallery of recent activities is also available. This helps parents get a closer look at what their child is doing on a day-to-day basis and help them to better understand their child’s autism.

Parents are also able to follow us on our social media channels including Facebook and Linkedin to see photos and updates about our activity.

Arrangements for contact between parents, carers, relatives and friends are agreed during pre-admission visits and detailed in each young person's care plan. Arrangements are individualised to meet the needs of the child and parents/carers.

Staff support young people in making phone calls or video calls to home, using services such as Skype or FaceTime. Key staff will also communicate with parents at a pre-arranged time at least weekly (or more frequently, for example when a child has recently joined Prior's Court).

We are so thankful to Prior’s Court and count ourselves so lucky that Henry has had 15 happy years with you. The thing that shines out to us is the caring culture across the organisation and that makes such a difference. So many staff have gone the extra mile over the years and we really, really appreciate it. 

Parent of a young person at Prior's Court

Listen to testimonials from current families

Annual Parent Survey report

A survey is issued to parents of young people within the School and Young Adult Provision on an annual basis to ascertain their views on the provision at Prior’s Court.

Headline figures from the 2023/24 Parent Survey:

• 100% of parents surveyed would recommend Prior’s Court to others.
• Questions with a more than 90% answer rate of “Strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” were:
  • I feel my child is safe and secure.
  • I feel my child is healthy.
  • I feel my child is happy.
  • I feel my child is accessing a good range of experiences.
  • I am happy with communication regarding incidents.
  • I am happy with communication regarding.
  • I am happy with communication regarding events & activities
  • I felt well supported during the application and joining process
  • I feel that staff are knowledgeable about autism
  • I feel that staff are knowledgeable about my child
  • I feel that staff are caring with my child
  • I feel that staff are supportive to my family
• Parents also reported their child making "good" or "outstanding" progress in managing sensory needs, sleep, personal care, daily living skills, vocational skills and work experience.
• Areas for improvement noted included:
  • upkeep of environments
  • communication between staff
  • staff retention
  • variety of off-site activities available

All the "areas for improvement" points were noted and are part of Prior's Court's ongoing improvement plans.

Information for parents/carers of young people at Prior's Court