How we measure progress

Progress at Prior’s Court School is measured using our I Can statements system. Simply put, an I Can statement is what a young person is able to do in any given task, activity or learning scenario across our seven Areas of Learning.

I Can statements build on each other but are broken down into achievable steps towards a much bigger goal.

We recognise that young people all have different starting points and require different levels of support. We use ten levels ranging from 'Encounter' to 'Application' and feel that this supports the journey and challenge of each young person.

All young people at Prior’s Court are functioning below National Curriculum levels. The I Can statements represent the journey of learning towards a level being achieved.

---

Measuring learning progress in all environments

Our I Can statements system allows us to measure progress not only in traditional teaching environments such as the classroom but also recognise the importance of generalising that skill to different times and places. The Areas of Learning focus on all areas that are important to enable young people to live as independently as possible. We recognise that Daily Living Skills such as cleaning teeth and dressing are essential life skills.

The breadth of this system is huge with the seven Areas of Learning breaking down into more than 30 Learning Programmes, hundreds of Focus Areas, and thousands of I Can statements, to provide a holistic view of progress across a wide range of scenarios.

There are also five prompt levels:

1. Experience recorded
2. Physical prompt
3. Gestural prompt
4. Communicated prompt
5. Mastered

The ambition is for young people to gain skills at a mastered, most independent level. Independence is recognised as still requiring structure and visual support. We recognise the complexities of our learners and therefore when they achieve the I can (regardless of level) we celebrate that success and recognise this as a skill gained.

---

Progress data

The table below shows the average number of I Can statements achieved per young person as set, with prompt levels, within each Area of Learning over the past three years. This data covers both Prior’s Court School and Prior’s Court Young Adult Provision.  

Area of Learning	2022-23	2023-24	2024-2025
Communication	6.5	10.5	14.2
Daily Living Skills	10	8	7.3
Functional Academics	15.5	52	47.3
Healthiness	10	11.5	-
Healthiness - Care	-	-	2.9
Healthiness-PE	-	-	7.6
Keeping Me Safe	5	7.5	6
Positive Behaviour Support	9.5	14	10
Vocational Learning	53.5	43.5	58.8
Average I Can's achieved per young person	15.5	21	18.4

Notes on this data:  

• With the three years of focused data, year-on-year we are able to set targets that stretch (i.e. ambitious targets)  

• Alongside this, we review the whole of the framework for each young person to see what skills they have gained through regular practice. This ensures all skill development is recognised.  

• Where progress is not yet at the level we would hope for a young person, this is often because they still require some level of staff support or prompting to complete a task at the set level, therefore while they haven’t yet achieved the skill, they are working towards it. This is reviewed regularly across the year, looking at many factors, and support is provided to improve outcomes where appropriate.   

In 2024/25, we set individual targets for every young person in six Areas of Learning (Communication, Daily Living Skills, Healthiness, Keeping Me Safe, Positive Behaviour Support) and one of either Functional Academics or Vocational Learning, dependent on their age. We also divided Healthiness into two sections to allow for targets to be set where there were different areas of accountability from staff members. 

The table below shows the percentage of young people (in the School and Young Adult Provision) who achieved expected, or higher, progress:   

Area of Learning	2023-2024	2024-2025
Communication	78%	90%
Daily Living Skills	29%	53%
Functional Academics	89%	96%
Healthiness	54%
Healthiness -Care		33%
Healthiness-PE		85%
Keeping Me Safe	78%	75%
Positive Behaviour Support	95%	75%
Vocational Learning	74%	73%

 Outcome data in most Areas of Learning has remained consistent or improved against individual targets. We now have two years of data, and therefore even more ambitious individual targets are set.  

Due to a shortage of Speech and Language Therapists, whilst young people have continued to work on communication skills, not all young people have been assessed at the end of the year as we have prioritised therapists to be working with the young people and upskilling staff. Therefore, the data reflects progress for approximately half of the young people. Others will have made progress but have not been assessed by a therapist.  

We continue to support staff in leadership, delivery, and moderation to ensure all seven Areas of Learning are achieving the best possible outcomes.  Where we have separated Healthiness, the overall figure remains roughly the same percentage, but there will be a focus this year on improving the outcome in Healthiness Care. It is noted that the figures for number of I can’s available are less than other Areas of Learning, and therefore overall data for this area is affected when a small proportion of young people make below progress.  

How learning is accredited