Read the latest news from our college here:
Please find below a copy of the OFSTED report from the Monitoring visit we received in March.
The report can also be viewed by clicking on this link OFSTED Monitoring Visit 23rd March 2021
The closing date for responding to this consultation is: Wednesday, 23 June 2021 at 5pm This consultation invites you to comment on the proposal to increase the physical pupil capacity at Exmouth Community College, an 11-18 secondary academy trust in Devon. The proposed changes are intended to address the demands for increased local pupils to attend their local secondary school. This is because of the delivery of East Devon District Council’s local plan for increased housing development in Exmouth and Devon County Council’s responsibility to provide places for all pupils in Devon.
Exmouth Community College, at the request of Devon County Council, is proposing to increase capacity from 2,418 pupils to 2,650 (an increase of 9%) to ensure there are sufficient school places to support local need.
Cohorts of students within the local learning community are forecasted to exceed 500 in the next few years and all will be above 400 for the foreseeable future, currently the College offers an intake of 390 per year which aligns to the current capacity of the College including post 16 provision. As a result, the College will not have sufficient capacity or accommodation to support local children to attend their local secondary school.
Whilst Devon County Council forecasts recognise there will be migration to schools outside of the catchment area, there is still a statutory requirement to ensure there is capacity in the Exmouth area to meet known and future numbers including increased local housing development and future local plans. The East Devon Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2013-2031 confirms ‘Secondary education facility - With the potential for over 1300 dwellings within the College catchment area, the institution will be over capacity within the plan period’.
To accommodate the increased capacity, it is proposed to build an eight-classroom extension to the existing Maths Block at the Gipsy Lane site. This new extension will provide sufficient accommodation to support the increase in capacity. Plans of the proposed new building are available on our website at: www.exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk. All capital costs associated with the building will be funded by Devon County Council and East Devon District Council, the latter through proceeds from contributions from new housing.
Therefore, this additional capacity will mean that in the future as Exmouth grows as a community, this new build will ensure that local children who wish to come to their local school will be able to do so as well as providing modern facilities suitable for delivering a 21st century curriculum.
As a larger than average school, due to the economies of scale, we are able to offer high quality, wide ranging and inclusive provision which includes:
• a very broad GCSE curriculum which includes courses from Engineering to Health and Care as well as differentiated courses within subjects, such as academic and vocational routes through Business Studies and Physical Education.
• a highly academic offer at Post-16, including Photography, Psychology, Criminology and Textiles, that has enabled students to regularly earn places at top Russell group universities including Oxford and Cambridge.
• a vocational offer at Post-16 with a wide suite of courses including Media Studies and ICT which allows students to bridge across to further study and potentially university as well as providing access to high quality apprenticeship schemes.
• additional support for students through our REACH Centre and STEPs behaviour for learning hub. • a well-resourced pastoral team to look after individual students.
• a very well-regarded transition programme for new students moving to the College.
• a very wide range of extra-curricular opportunities including Dance, Drama, Music and PE amongst other areas.
• excellent sporting facilities with two floodlit artificial grass pitches, several gyms, climbing wall and fitness suite.
• modern facilities across the College, with other new facilities being developed including a new £13.5 million block for Drama, Library, Humanities, PE, Technology and Science and a new purpose-built auditorium which will seat 450 people.
As well as providing additional accommodation, the proposal will support improved curriculum delivery for our Maths department and Post 16 education. In addition the proposals will enable the College to expand its SEND provision by freeing up other spaces in the College as dedicated SEND resource areas. The new building will also provide a number of smaller teaching spaces for specific intervention and one to one work. The new block will also be fully accessible and provide spacious and bright classroom environments.
This new block will enable us to realise our ambition to provide our students with a College campus which is amongst the best in the south-west.
The College values highly the views and opinions of the community within which it operates. We now seek your views regarding the physical expansion of capacity at the College to meet the increased demand for pupil places in the local area of Exmouth.
As the College is an academy trust, the decision maker for the expansion of the physical capacity rests with the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC). The College will submit information gathered from this consultation to the RSC as part of its business case for the increased capacity.
The College will carefully consider your views, and this will help us plan for the future.
If the decision is made to proceed further with the increase in capacity, then the timetable for the remainder of the process is likely to be:
Consultation – Wednesday, 19 May – Wednesday, 23 June 2021
RSC makes decision – June / July 2021
Building work commences – August 2021
Building work completed – June 2022
Responding to this consultation You can respond to the consultation by:
emailing: consultation@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
or by writing to:
Consultation on changes to provision Exmouth Community College Gipsy Lane Exmouth EX8 3AF
Please note that all comments will be properly considered, but we will not send individual responses to any specific points raised.
Consultation responses will be shared with the Governing Board and the RSC.
Closing date for responses is: Wednesday, 23 June 2021 at 5pm
Please find attached below the plans for the new building
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you remain safe and well.
As you may be aware this week the Department for Education released updated guidance on the use of face coverings in schools.
Before going through the key points of the new guidance, I would just like to repeat how proud and grateful I am for the support of students, families and staff during this period where we have had to wear face coverings.
This has been a huge undertaking for everyone and wearing a mask for several hours a day is an inconvenience for everyone which has made communication much more difficult. This is especially the case for certain groups of students and staff who have done particularly brilliantly during this period of disruption.
Thank you all once again for your support on this issue.
With infection rates now low across East Devon we will be following government guidance on face coverings and so the following will apply from Monday 17th May.
Unless exempt, students will still be required to wear face coverings
• On public and school transport to and from College
• In all dining areas within the College
• Where a member of staff or student within a class remains vulnerable and therefore, in that particular lesson, will need to wear a face covering
Students will not be required to wear face coverings in
• Lessons (with the exception above)
• Communal areas such as collection points or when crossing sites
Staff are no longer required to wear face coverings unless they are in communal areas and social distancing cannot be maintained.
Of course, if students still wish to wear a face covering when they are moving around the site because of a vulnerability then they are more than welcome to do this. Please could you write a short note in their planner to explain why if you would like this to happen. If a face covering is required by your child when being taught, then please contact your child’s pastoral team at the College to discuss this issue further.
Since we will now be taking face coverings on and off more often it is really important that we do so safely. I have therefore included guidance below from the Government on how to do this.
It is really important to recognise that as a school community we have done exceptionally well with no large Covid outbreaks at the College over the past 14 months or so.
However, it is still important that we do not become complacent, particularly since coronavirus is very good at mutating and becoming easier to transmit. Therefore, all of our other measures such as collection points to avoid crowded corridors with mixed year groups, regular hand sanitising and staggered breaks will all remain in place for now.
The full updated guidance for schools can be found here and guidance on how to safely put on and take off a face covering can be found here.
Regards
Andrew Davis
Principal
Dear Parents & Carers
Year 11 Update and Leaving Arrangements – May 2021
First of all, thank you for your understanding and support over recent weeks as we have implemented the Government guidance, as it was provided to us, on Assessment Awarded Grades leading to the mini-assessment period.
Our students have shown great maturity and focus during this time and deserve a huge well done for their work in preparation for their mini-assessments. Staff will continue to provide the opportunity for students to revise for the remaining few. Please be aware that in some subjects, such as Languages, additional assessments are needed and students will be written to specifically about this.
Post Mini-Assessments: Once the mini-assessments are finished, staff will deliver any remaining content for their courses that the students have studied, obviously with no assessment, to ensure that each qualification has been completed. We feel that this is important for the integrity of student's education and obviously in view of their continued education, training and employment.
Some subjects will give a real-world slant to their delivery, such as in Maths, helping students navigate the world of bank accounts, bills, loans, mobile phone contracts etc., which I am sure you will agree is so important to their adult life.
Staff as always, will be creative and will look to plan enjoyable sessions, so Business Students, prepare yourselves for the Dragons Den!
Expectations including attendance and uniform: We will continue to expect students to meet all college expectations including wearing the College uniform well, with full attendance until half term and being punctual to all lessons. Students must not leave site at any point during the day for obvious safeguarding and educational reasons. Unfortunately, we will not be able to authorise absences if students stay at home to study before half term. We will continue to record all such information that will subsequently be contained in future references.
Mini-assessments missed through absence: On the afternoons of Wednesday 5th May / Thursday 6th May and throughout the day of Friday 7th May, we will be providing a 'catch - up' opportunity for students who have missed their mini-assessments. Our starting point for this will be the absences on the relevant days and assessments likely missed as a result. Information will be sent to those students with specific details.
Students must ‘remain local’ and be available to come into the College should there be any issue with regards to their assessment evidence for grading. Their grades will be set by the College before the 18th June 2021, which is the deadline for all results to be sent to the examination boards.
Signing off process: Students will be given a 'signing off' form which they will be required to complete, gaining signatures from relevant staff before returning to their tutor. The form itself will require signature from;
· Teachers in return for books and resources
· Student's with a College laptop must return them to the SEN Department on Gipsy Lane site.
Library books will also be checked and returns or payments will need to be completed (signature not needed). This form will need to be completed before Monday 24th May.
Supporting transition into Exmouth College Sixth Form: For those Year 11 students who are coming back to Sixth Form in September, these students will be invited to return to the College, after May Half Term to attend a number of lessons and complete some Post 16 preparatory tasks in relevant subjects. Students will receive a timetable and more detailed information about these sessions. The purpose of these sessions will be to help support the transition from Key Stage 4 to Key Stage 5. In the absence of a Parents Evening this year due to Covid disruption, that took us very quickly into preparation for evidence awarded grades, we are planning a Parents Evening in the last half term, supporting student's progression into Post 16 at ECC.
Supporting transition to other providers: For those students who are not returning to Sixth Form and therefore attending other providers, we would encourage you to contact them to find out about their transition packages. We are aware that the majority of establishments will be offering transition or bridging work onto next steps.
Last Day / Leaving celebration / Prom: We are planning to hold an end of term assembly, in accordance with Covid regulations, on their last day which will be Friday 28th May. This will be an opportunity for students to hear a few parting words from members of the SLT and Key Stage Team, to bring in a shirt for signing and to enjoy being together as a Year Group for the final time. In view of the road map unfolding and opening up of restrictions, we are actively exploring plans for holding a 'Prom' which may be slightly different to previous years, particularly as we have major road works being undertaken along the seafront but may still give an opportunity to celebrate together. Please hold the date of Thursday 15th July and we will send a Forms Quiz asking for the students' thoughts and preferences about this.
We would like to reiterate how proud we are of the way in which our Year 11 students have coped with the challenges of this past year. They have worked hard and shown incredible maturity and resilience. Your support throughout the last 5 years has been incredible and we are privileged to work in and benefit from an amazing community.
If you would like to discuss any of the information in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Mr Findel-Hawkins.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Holt
Assistant Principal
Ben Findel-Hawkins
Head of Year 11
Music Tuition lessons will be re-starting this term. Lessons will be available from our dedicated team of visiting peripatetic teachers.
Instruments covered include:
Drums
Guitar
Piano
Voice
Saxophone
Flute
Student will receive 10 lessons over the Summer term (April - July)
Lesson type and length available are
Group 30 minute lessons 10 lessons will cost £94.47
Individual 20 minute lessons 10 lessons will cost £140.87
Individual 30 minute lessons 10 lessons will cost £211.33
Exmouth Community College students who are entitled to free school meals will receive 50% remission of fees as shown above.
As we resume instrumental teaching we will, of course, be following guidance on how to do this safely. In due course we will provide specific instructions regarding logistics of lessons, but there will be the necessity to follow guidelines regarding hand sanitising, distancing and other safety measures.
To start lessons, please complete the attached application form and return it to Mr. Stock at Exmouth Community College. You will then be sent an invoice with a direct debit mandate to be completed and returned. Lessons only begin once payment has been received.
Any queries, then please do not hesitate to contact Mr Paul Stock: paul.stock@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
Dear Parents and Carers,
Reflecting on the last 11 weeks of the Spring term I am filled with pride in our young people as well as our staff for everything we have achieved together. Our students have moved to remote learning, learnt new processes, and engaged in their learning either in college as a Critical Worker or Vulnerable student or from home. They have returned to College, adapted to wearing facemasks all day, and reviewing their learning in lessons all whilst in lockdown with all the pressures and challenges that presents in itself. Our staff have rewritten schemes of work, learnt new processes and systems to deliver lessons online, supported students in college, built and delivered laptops to those students who need them, arranged support in the 1000s of phone calls that were made home to all of our students over the remote learning period, supported students in their return to college and adapted their teaching to meet the needs of our students after weeks of learning at home. All this followed by a visit from OfSTED last week. It certainly feels that everyone has earned a rest over the Easter holidays.
For those year 11 and 13 students who will be in college or on TEAMS with their teachers over the holidays for additional support for Assessment Awarded Grades, please ensure you make time to switch off and relax too.
Before the holidays begin, I wanted to write to inform you of some updates that will take effect from the start of the Summer Term.
Uniform:
Since returning to face to face learning on the 8th March, our priority has been to settle students back into their day to day routines whilst ensuring staff are able to support students in their wellbeing, and also through the implementation of our “Retrieve, Review and Record Curriculum” which I outlined in the last Parent and Carer update.
Along with the support systems we have put in place, Deputy Principal Mr Turner has updated our Behaviour Systems to ensure they are clear and consistent across the College. You can read more about the update in the letter and presentation sent to all parents, carers and students, available on our website: https://www.exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk/news-and-events/mass-testing-of-students/behaviour-attendance-and-teaching-and-learning-information-on-return-to-full-opening-of-the-college
The introduction of ‘The ECC WAY’ started on the 8th March and tied in with our priorities for welcoming students back by focussing on our routines. We have been extremely impressed with the maturity students have shown and how quickly they have welcomed the refresher of our College expectations around routines. This has included, arriving on time for College and to lessons, waiting calmly and lining up in collection points and following our Covid protocols, to name but a few. Thank you to all students for returning and adapting so positively.
After the Easter Holiday we will be re focussing on students’ uniform and appearance which is addressed through our routines but also our expectation Be Prepared. As a College we are proud of our uniform and strongly believe in the benefits of setting high standards for uniform and appearance across the College which the large majority of our students meet seamlessly every day. There is a lot of research confirming the importance of uniform which forms the basis of our ECC way. We believe that wearing the correct uniform;
Our expectations for College uniform have not changed, and are clearly explained on our website: https://www.exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk/parents-and-students/parent-/-carer-quick-guide/uniform-and-personal-appearance
We do appreciate that uniform has been more difficult to purchase due to lockdown and as students have spent more time outside, or in well ventilated classrooms, they have wanted to wear additional layers. As we head into the Summer term, with warmer weather, we are now insisting that students follow our uniform expectations.
Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with our uniform policy. Students are very aware and reminded frequently about what is expected for uniform. Please note only ECC hooded jumpers on the new zip tops are to be worn in PE, and no hooded jumpers are allowed over the top of uniform. Only one small stud may be worn in each ear, rings and bracelets are not to be worn. Additional piercings are not allowed and will be asked to be removed straight away. This includes nose piercings. Only black socks are to be worn please, or tights, not both. All staff will be checking students’ uniform at the start of every lesson.
Having spoken to our Uniform suppliers (ProServe and ShipShape) we are aware that there is a wait on some items of uniform. Both suppliers have explained that if uniform is ordered and unavailable, then an email to evidence the order is easily available to you on request. Both stores are offering online ordering up until the 12th April when they will be open under normal working hours.
Thank you for your continued support, if you do have any questions or need help with buying uniform, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Tutor or Head of Year.
Communications Update:
In keeping with our commitment to improve communication channels with parents, carers and students we will be making two updates to start from the beginning of the Summer term.
ClassCharts
We have always used ClassCharts to track students’ positive and negative points. The positive points have always been available for parents and carers to view through their own ClassCharts login. This is important as it encourages families to discuss their child’s progress, awards and praise. As our behaviour system has been updated we will be streamlining the praise and negative buttons on ClassCharts to match our ECC Way. Students will now be awarded for:
Equally students may receive a negative point if they do not meet our College expectations in these four areas. Parents and carers will now be able to view any negative points students receive in College via their ClassCharts login. We are trailing this for the Summer term. Please do discuss any points awarded, both positive and negative, with your child to encourage conversations around how they are meeting the expectations of the College and yourselves within College.
If you do not have access to ClassCharts please contact Ms Beaumont beck.beaumont@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
The Student Bulletin
We know that as a large College there is a huge amount of information that is being given to you as parents and carers and to students also. We want to make communications as accessible and streamlined as possible for all staff, students, parents and carers. We have therefore created a Student Bulletin page on our website.
The front page of the Student Bulletin will have general information for the week or month ahead for the whole College. To the right there are quick links to the Daily Bulletin pages for each Key Stage and a Lost Property page.
The Daily Bulletin pages will be updated every day for information that needs to be communicated for that day or the next. This page will be the ‘landing’ page for staff and students whenever they log onto the internet in College. They will check these pages daily in tutor time.
We strongly recommend that parents and carers get into a habit of checking the Bulletin regularly to ensure you are up to date on events and information. The Bulletin will not replace key information being sent home via email and text. We are hopeful that this will help parents and carers to continue to be up to date.
As this is a new format for communication, we would be really grateful to hear your feedback on this once it is up and running. If you would like to make any comments please email Mrs Rowe on Philippa.rowe@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk
As always if you have any questions or need support, please do not hesitate to contact us in college. I would like to sign off by wishing you a happy and peaceful holiday. We look forward to welcoming our students back into college on Monday 19th April
Andrew Davis
Principal
Please view the presentation given by Mr Davis on the action plan for Assessment Awarded Grades below.
A Copy of the email sent home to parents and carers
