Ofsted Report • Educational practice • Communication methodology • Teaching accommodation & resources • Accommodation • Social development • Fees • Applying • Downloads
We accept children of all abilities, aged from 5 to 16, both day pupils and 5-day boarders, and identify and develop the most effective form of communication for each child. We enable pupils to develop their skills in sign language. To ensure that they have a means of expression and communication, we work with them to develop strategies to enable communication with hearing people. We focus on their reading and writing abilities. Where possible, we develop a child’s ability to speak through the support of a full-time speech and language therapist and our experienced and qualified teachers of the deaf. We maximise hearing ability through the support of the School’s audiologist.
Ofsted described us as having ‘high quality teaching’, with
94% of teaching good or better and none unsatisfactory, where all pupils
achieved very well. The education is matched to individual needs and as
such we are a ‘very effective school that is very good value for
money’. Ofsted agreed with us that we are more a ‘learning community’
than a school, where the relationships and ethos are ‘excellent’.
So much so, Ofsted noted that the pupils do not just like the school,
‘they love it’. As a result, the attendance, attitude and behaviour
of the pupils is ‘very good’. We provide ‘very high levels
of care and safety’ without minimising a child’s maturing independence
so that pupils leave us ‘very well prepared for life after school’.
The curriculum follows the National Curriculum as appropriate and is ‘very
good’.
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Most teachers are qualified teachers of the deaf, and are supported by
Learning Support Assistants who are also trained in deaf awareness and
sign language. The National Curriculum is followed throughout the school,
although exemptions are made according to the needs of the child. As communication
is such an important issue for our pupils, they are taught BSL as opposed
to a foreign language. Pupils are taught in small class groups by teachers
of the deaf having access to subject specialists from the broad range
of National Curriculum subjects.
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We identify the most effective form of communication for each child. Where
possible, we develop a child’s ability to speak through the support
of a full-time speech and language therapist and our experienced and qualified
teachers of the deaf. At the same time we maximise any hearing ability
through the support of the School’s audiologist. If a child is not
able to speak intelligibly, we enable them to develop their skills in
sign language so they have a means of expression and communication. At
the same time, we work with them to develop strategies to enable communication
with hearing people. For example, we may focus on their reading and writing
abilities, and/or develop their experience of working with an interpreter.
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The school is purpose
built for educating deaf children. It is a spacious site, with several
playing fields, a swimming pool and gym. It is also well-equipped with
both information technology, and design technology suites and an art and
science block. The library is an attractive and well used room.
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As Ofsted recently noted,
the pupils do not just like the school, they love it. One of the main
reasons for this is the care and support given to the pupils outside of
teaching hours. The care staff are experienced and committed to supporting
the pupils and enabling them to feel at home. The School accepts weekly
boarders, with the timetable running from Monday afternoon to Friday morning
so that they can travel to and from the school on Monday morning and Friday
afternoon. The school day during the rest of the week is slightly longer
than a mainstream school in order to make up for the hours lost to travel.
The School is purpose built, and covers 12 acres with extensive grounds.
All pupils and students have single rooms and there is also a flat available
for parents to stay in if they visit their child at the School. Parents
of residential pupils are given weekly reports from the care staff and
communication with the family, through email, minicom, mobile phone and
text messages, is encouraged.
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Trips and social activities
are organised regularly for the pupils, and we carefully manage a programme
that gives the children increasing independence. There are numerous opportunities
for social development, from activities on Dartmoor and the coast, to
the youth club for deaf and hearing children that meets on site. We encourage
the pupils to mix socially with hearing children through joint activities
with other schools.
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The school operates a fee matrix where the fee for each child reflects
their individual needs and whether they are a day pupil or a weekly boarder.
The fees range from £25,000 to £40,000 depending on the needs
of the child. The overwhelming majority of pupils have their fees paid
for by the pupil’s Local Authority.
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We welcome enquiries
from throughout the country. With the expansion of flights from the airports
in Exeter, Plymouth and Bristol, it is now possible to travel to the school
from most parts of the United Kingdom. We strongly recommended that anyone
who is considering the school for their child should come and visit us
and stay for a couple of days whilst we carry out our own assessment.
Specialist staff, including an audiologist, speech & language therapist
and teachers of the deaf, will make their recommendations and the child
will also spend some time in lessons at the School. The parents or carers
will also have chance to meet the care staff and stay in the parents’
accommodation on site.
If at the end of your visit we believe the pupil will benefit from attending
the School, and of course if the pupil and their parents do too, then
we will fund a one day assessment that will be carried out at the Burwood
Centre in Berkshire. This will give a thorough assessment of the child’s
needs and as such will be an essential part of an application to a Local Authority
to fund a place at the School.
Each Local Authority has its own views on the need for pupils to attend schools like
Royal School for the Deaf Exeter. If they do not agree that the child
should become a pupil at the school, we will fund the parents’ appeal
against their decision. All the paperwork will be prepared by us and we
will work hard to minimise the worry and stress that tribunals can sometimes
cause. We will also enable you to get in contact with parents of existing
pupils who have gone through a similar process and can support you. In
nearly half of all tribunal cases, the Local Authority agrees to the placement before
it reaches court. For those that do go to court, the success rate for
parents is high.
Exeter is a beautiful historic city with numerous attractions including
galleries, sports centres, a cathedral, an art centre and a deaf club.
There are a wide range of water sports on the River Exe, which the school
overlooks, including canoeing and sailing. The school is a 10 minute walk
into the city centre. There are numerous beautiful beaches nearby which
offer sporting and leisure pursuits and Dartmoor National Park, with its
walking, climbing, horse riding and caving, is also easily accessible.
Exeter is easily accessible by road, rail and air. The School is only
10 minutes drive off junction 30 on the M5, and only two hours train ride
from London. Exeter Airport now has flights from many parts of the UK,
including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Guernsey
and Jersey.
For further information or to arrange a visit to the School, please
contact Lee Fullwood, Head of School, Royal School for the Deaf Exeter,
50 Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4NF. Tel: 01392 272692.
Email: info@rsd-exeter.ac.uk.
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