More information is available on Torbay Council's website:  https://www.torbay.gov.uk/DemocraticServices/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=5840

We would like to reiterate the background and reasons behind this.

The ERP hosted up to 3 children per year group with Autistic Spectrum Conditions in Years 7-11.  

The College has seen an increase in a wider range of other high needs and requires the resources to be able to support all students, regardless of primary area of need.

The College has very limited space; the site has a footprint that falls well below the average for secondary schools and our site restrictions mean there is no capacity for expansion.  We therefore need to be able to adjust our allocation of resources according to the needs of students on roll, rather than working within the confines of what is prescribed for the provision of an ERP.

The local authority allocates places in an ERP and specify the level of service to be provided.  Following the closure, the College will continue to support children with high levels of need but will be able to do so with more flexibility, for example, by continuing to provide the support of our specialist staff into the Sixth Form.

The College previously hosted an ERP for Hearing Impairment.  This was decommissioned last year and the College has taken this provision ‘in-house’.  This has been successful and allowed us to support the needs of more children, as well as enhancing the level of support provided to those students who held places in the ERP.  This gives us a successful model for the proposed changes to our ASC provision.

Our priority will be to ensure the students we already have in the ERP are well-supported and are not unsettled by this change.  We will continue to provide them with the level of support they currently receive, and their provision will look and feel no different.  They will have access to the same support, staff, and spaces as they currently do.  No staff roles will be put at risk.