Dear Parent/Carer,
Firstly, may I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a happy new year. We are very pleased to see your child returning to The Priory School today, in spite of the cold, and look forward to starting the Spring Term.
I am writing to provide you with an update regarding our new School Improvement Plan (SIP), which I launched to teaching and support staff yesterday during our INSET day. Within this three-year plan, we have created a new vision for the school that communicates who we are and who we aspire to be, a series of five aims that will enable us to work towards fulfilling our vision, and a comprehensive range of one-, two-, and three-year actions.
In this letter, I will briefly introduce the new vision and new aims published within our SIP with a view to ensuring that you, as valued parents/carers, are fully aware of the school’s strategic direction moving forwards and have confidence that your child’s education remains at the forefront of our thinking.
Our vision
During our strategic planning day in November 2025, the senior team spent a significant amount of time discussing what we think our vision should be. We based our discussions on the qualitative data provided in staff, student, parent, and governor forums to enable us to capture the essence of the school now, but also our aspirations for the school moving into the future. After much discussion and deliberation, I am pleased to share our new vision for The Priory School, Hitchin:
Excellence in education, for every young person, every day
Over the coming months, you will start to see our vision feature more prominently in our literature and school communication, and through the work that we do on a daily basis. It is our hope that having an aspirational yet inclusive vision enables us to remain focussed on providing the very best possible education for your child during their time with us.
Our aims
To enable us to work towards and achieve our vision, we have set ourselves five ambitious aims. These aims cover the main areas of life within a school and will form the basis for the actions we take over the coming three years. Our new aims are:
Aim 1: Ensure all students make excellent progress and attain their full academic potential
Aim 2: Deliver excellent teaching of subject knowledge where students have the skills necessary to value, enjoy and further their learning
Aim 3: Promote a rich and expansive programme of personal and cultural development for all students
Aim 4: Maintain a secure and caring community, which encourages academic ambition and excellent attendance alongside our core values of Responsibility, Respect, and Resilience for all
Aim 5: Be motivational leaders of education at a school, regional and national level, inspiring all to achieve high standards, to be personally ambitious, and to be mindful of wellbeing
Within our new SIP, each aim is complemented by a huge array of one-, two-, and three-year actions with a member of our senior team responsible for completion. We will review our SIP on an annual basis to ensure it remains relevant and focussed on our overall vision for the school.
I hope that our new SIP, vision, aims, and actions give you confidence in our plans for the school and the direction of travel moving forward. As ever, our primary focus remains to provide the very best possible education, enrichment opportunities, and support for your child.
I would like to close by thanking those of you who gave up your time to write or join one of our parent forums. Your feedback was fundamental in shaping the creation of our SIP, vision, and aims.
With warm regards,
Matt Blayney
Headteacher