Proposed Changes to Ellesmere College

Overview

About the School

Ellesmere College is a community special school maintained by Leicester City Council; the college has Specialist Sports College Status. Ellesmere provides day education for young people with general learning difficulties who take part in a wide ranging personalised curriculum. An increasing number of students have additional needs such as social, emotional and behavioural difficulties; speech, language and communication difficulties; and autistic spectrum disorder. The college is registered to admit male and female students aged 11 – 19.

Young people who attend the college have a statement of special educational needs or have been placed at the college whilst a statutory assessment of their special needs is carried out by the council.

Ellesmere College has capacity for 241 young people: there are at present 204 young people attending the college. The college is due to be re-built under the Government’s “Building Schools for the Future” programme. The college is to be relocated within the grounds of former Riverside College (now closed) within a new building designed specifically to accommodate young people with special educational needs. The building will have capacity for 247 students.

The Co-Principals of Ellesmere College are Lisa Pittwood and Lin Richardson.

Ellesmere College is currently situated in Ellesmere Road, Leicester, LE3 1BE.

The Proposal

The Council is proposing to change the age range of Ellesmere College, from its current age range 11 – 19, to an age range of 10 – 19, thus allowing the college to admit young people in Year 6.

The proposal is led by Leicester City Council and is supported by the governing body of the college. Before any decision is made by the council, we would like to hear your views on the proposal. We believe that the changes we are proposing will provide the pupils, parents and community with excellent provision. 

Your views are important to us. Please take the time to read this information and if possible, attend the consultation meeting and let us know what you think of the proposals.

When will the proposal take effect?

The proposal for Ellesmere College to extend the age range to admit younger pupils will take effect in August 2014. This is the planned completion date for the re-build.

What are the benefits?

• Improved access to special schools in the city providing more young people with specialised support;
• More young people able to attend schools with skilled staff who can provide high quality teaching and high quality therapeutic input;
• Young people with special needs in the final year of their primary education will have access to a modified curriculum adapted to meet their individual needs;
• Greater choice for parents when considering the most appropriate learning environment for their child with special needs.

Public meeting

Two public meetings regarding the proposal will be held:

Date: Monday 3rd June 2013

Time: 2:00pm and 6:00pm

Venue: Ellesmere College, Ellesmere Road, Leicester, LE3 1BE

At each meeting you will be able to hear from council officers and senior staff from the college. After a short presentation you will be able to ask any questions you may have. The meeting should last about 45 minutes.

The meeting is mainly for parents and carers of young people who attend Ellesmere College, but school staff and their representatives, governors and young people may also attend, although dedicated meetings for these groups will be held during the consultation.

Responses to this consultation can me made online using the Online Survey link below, or by post using the attached response form.

What happens next

A number of people and organisations including pupils, parents/carers, staff and their representatives, governors, local schools, local MPs and the community will be consulted on these proposals during the consultation period of Monday 3rd June 2013 to Sunday 14th July 2013.

All responses to the consultation will be presented to the City Council Executive to enable a decision on the way forward to be taken. If it is decided to proceed with the proposal, then a statutory notice will be published to seek formal representations. At the end of this period, the City Council Executive will determine whether to implement the proposal to take effect from August 2014.

At each stage of the proposals, information will be updated on the council website.