Exmouth Community College could be latest to join Ted Wragg Trust

Under achieving Exmouth Community College (ECC) is consulting parents over plans to become the latest school to join Devon-based Ted Wragg Trust. Following the outcome of the consultation and if approval is granted by the Department for Education, the school in Gipsy Lane could become of the trust in 2025.

The current single academy trust was last inspected by Ofsted in February and was rated as 'requires improvement' overall. At that time, it was said to have 2,174 pupils.

The school is also rated bottom among secondary schools within the Devon County Council catchment area for 'Progress 8' performance, according to the latest government data for the 2022/2023 academic year.

Headteacher Tom Inman joined the school in September 2023. It has now been confirmed the vision for ECC is for it to become a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT).

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In a letter sent to parents on April 26, he said: "We have, for some time, been working with the Education South West MAT with a view to potentially joining them. We have hugely valued our partnership with them over the last 18 months and are incredibly grateful to them for all the support that they have given us.

"However, the Department for Education, whose permission is required, confirmed to us recently that they did not feel that Education South West currently had the capacity to incorporate a school the size of Exmouth. We have been aware of this possibility for some time and so, over the last couple of months, have been carrying out a ‘due diligence’ process with two other MATs, the Ted Wragg Trust (based mainly in Exeter) and the WestCountry Schools Trust, based mainly in Plymouth, which the DfE have indicated would be options for us to join.

"This process has been very thorough, involving a range of activities to really ‘get under the skin’ of both organisations so that the governing board could consider the best option for ECC going forward. At a meeting on Tuesday evening [April 23] the governing board took a decision to request to join the Ted WraggTrust.

"As well as schools in Exeter, the Ted Wragg Trust has recently incorporated a number of schools in south east Devon including Honiton Community College and Sidmouth College. It is led by CEO Moira Marder, who has a very strong and values-based vision for education that we feel chimes strongly with our own principles and our recently relaunched vision.

"The trust has a strong track record of supporting schools to improve, evidenced through exam results and Ofsted inspection reports, but, perhaps more compellingly, the trust has a broad view of education and a real commitment to tackling the wider challenges that we face in education and that especially affect the most disadvantaged. It is their view, shared by our governing board, that this can be more effectively achieved through really strong local collaboration, as provided by the Ted Wragg Trust.

"Of course, no single school or ‘MAT’ has all the answers, and Moira and the team are excited about how, with us, the trust can continue to develop and improve just as we aspire to."

Parents and carers are being offered the opportunity to meet key members of the Ted Wragg team during consultation events that will be held at the school starting this month.

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A spokesperson for the Ted Wragg Trust said: "Exmouth Community College is a wonderful school within a lovely community, and we are so pleased that they have requested to join our family of schools. We've got to know the school well and we're looking forward to meeting and hearing from even more staff, students and families during the planned community consultation sessions.

"The next part of the process, overseen by the Department for Education, is an application to the Headteacher Advisory Board and we're working with the school to support the final approval stages of the process."

In a press release, Mr Inman added: "We have been working for a number of months on the prospect of Exmouth Community College joining a Multi-Academy Trust, which is a vital next step in continuing the exciting journey that we are on, as endorsed by our recently published Ofsted report.

"We now step into a period of community consultations which will give parents, students and staff the opportunity to get to know the trust, its values and, most importantly, learn the great benefits that working together will afford our young people and the whole community.

"We look forward to working in partnership with the Ted Wragg Trust and the support that they will be able to bring to continue the work of giving the Exmouth community the best Secondary School that we can for future generations of our brilliant young people."

Last year, the Ted Wragg Trust celebrated its 10th anniversary. At that time there were 16 schools within the trust, including secondary schools, primary schools and one all-through school, and it was educating more than 12,500 pupils across Devon.

The trust has schools achieve better exam results and performance scores after joining them. However, it has also had a huge backlash from many parents over its Reset behaviour policy across its schools.

It has been branded a 'military camp' by some and accused of 'failing' children because of its 'unrealistic' policies. The trust has previously assured it has and will continue to address those concerns.