What is a Thinking School? 

  As a Thinking School Priory Integrated College aims to help our pupils to think reflectively, critically and creatively, enabling them to employ these skills and to make meaning of the knowledge they receive.   We want our pupils to be able to        demonstrate independent  learning skills, resulting in high levels of achievement, confidence to learn and gain enjoyment and satisfaction from learning.

The Priory Classroom has evidence of:

• Thinking skills being developed.
• Tools and strategies being shared to support thinking.
• High level question and answering to encourage thinking.
• The infusion of thinking through the curriculum content.
• Students having confidence to tackle tasks independently.

The school is currently working with Thinking Matters to use a range of thinking frames to help pupils’ primarily with their literacy and extended writing.  Thinking frames are meta-cognitive tools which help pupils visualise their thinking and then aid them in communicating their thoughts and ideas.  There is a Drive Team within the College to roll out the Thinking Frames, conduct staff training and monitor and evaluate their impact.

A Restorative Approach

Priory College is a school that employs restorative practice techniques when there is conflict between people within the school community.  This may be between two pupils, or a pupil and a member of staff.  A restorative school is one which takes a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm.  Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right.

Our aim through this approach is to:

-Increase pupil attendance,

-Reduced exclusions and improve achievement

-Alleviate problems such as bullying, classroom disruption, truancy and poor attendance, antisocial behaviour, and disputes between pupils, their families, and members of staff.