Ark Schools stand for:

  • High expectations
  • Exemplary behaviour
  • Excellent teaching
  • More time for learning
  • Depth before breadth
  • Knowing every child

The Ark Priory Primary Academy mission statement is:

"To begin the journey to provide every pupil with the opportunity to go on to university or pursue the career of their choice."

Our academy poem encapsulates our vision and aims.

Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
And we pushed,
And they flew.

-- Christopher Logue

Our values, Exploration, Endeavour and Excellence, underpin this.

Our children arrive at Ark Priory at an early stage in their development and experience i.e., with their whole lives ahead of them.

It is our responsibility to encourage, develop and inspire them to achieve early successes that are maintained in secondary school, university and beyond. Our values help us to achieve this.

  • Exploration - We encourage all pupils to push and develop themselves through new experiences. Once we develop courage, independence and curiosity we embrace the unknown and seek answers.
  • Endeavour - Hard work and self-improvement are required to reach your goals and the sense of satisfaction and reward that follows endeavour requires courage and risk taking – effort and progress are recognised more than just outcomes.
  • Excellence - The culmination of exploration and endeavour – be courageous, challenge yourself, try your best and you will achieve excellence.

Ark Priory Primary Academy has at its core the pursuit of the highest standards possible in education. We believe in high aspirations, high challenges and high achievement for all. Through our extended curriculum and community life we seek to meet the needs of the whole child. Our motto, Courage to fly! is at our core. If children are confident and willing to take risks to improve, to learn new things and to embrace new experiences they will be resilient and equipped to deal with life and to be both successful and happy. In fact, we are committed to playing our role in helping our children play their full part in society. We will do whatever it takes to provide our children with the determination, skills and knowledge to attend university or to follow an appropriate career path of their choice.

We believe in the potential of every child who joins Ark Priory Primary Academy and we will strive to create a positive learning environment in which our pupils:

  • develop enthusiastic and enquiring minds
  • question and present rational arguments
  • adopt an independent, positive and engaged approach to learning
  • challenge themselves and others to achieve excellence

We will provide high quality learning and teaching experiences that take into account the intellectual, social, physical, ethical and spiritual development of our pupils.

This will be achieved through:

  • high expectations for pupil achievement and behaviour, and equally high expectations for the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.
  • all parents commitment to the home-school agreement.
  • an orderly and respectful environment, where pupils can focus on learning, teachers can focus on teaching and parents can share their thoughts and concerns whilst celebrating their child’s successes.
  • assessment driving achievement, with regular feedback to inform teaching and help staff to formulate targets. Intervention and support will be provided for those pupils who do not make the expected level of progress and further challenges will be provided for those who excel.