Ellen Tinkham School A GSG School
- Ellen Tinkham School
Hollow Lane
Pinhoe
Exeter
Devon
EX1 3RW - Head: Mrs Nikki Burroughs
- T 01392 467168
- F 01392 464011
- E school@ellentinkham.devon.sch.uk
- W ellentinkham.devon.sch.uk/
- A state special school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 19 with severe or profound learning difficulties, and physical, sensory or behavioural needs.
- Read about the best schools in Devon
- Boarding: No
- Local authority: Devon
- Pupils: 238 (70 girls - 168 boys)
- Religion: Does not apply
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Good 1
- 16-19 study programmes Good 1
- Early years provision Outstanding 1
- Outcomes for children and learners Good 1
- Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1
- Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 1
- 1 Full inspection 19th April 2023
- Previous Ofsted grade: Outstanding on 2nd March 2011
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
The ‘boy’ rabbits had just had babies when we were there, much to everyone’s surprise and delight. There’s even a school dog, a collie, currently in training. Pupils love this department and one parent told us, ‘Facilities and activities are fantastic and always being added too. Children have an opportunity to experience their particular interest or "have a go". They love rural skills.’ As well as local day trips, there are residential trips aplenty. It’s worth popping into reception just to see the videos from these trips. Amazing skiing and very brave (and happy) pupils. For the older pupils…
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What The Good Schools Guide says
Executive head teacher
Since 2022 Mrs Nikki Burroughs.
Entrance
A school for Severe Learning Difficulty and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, applications go through Devon County Council. The school will consider all EHCPs sent to them. They assess the child’s needs plus the needs of others in the school to decide if they can fully support them. Once a place is confirmed, a home visit is arranged, plus two or three taster days. One parent told us, ‘The entrance process and visiting the school was very stressful and took a long time to get agreed. Settling into the school was a lot more organised and focused on our child; this was a gradual process.’ All places are full-time but parents of children under 5 years old can opt for a phased transition from part to full-time.
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
The Good Schools Guide writes: Ellen Tinkham is a Community Special School catering for pupils with severe learning difficulties. All pupils have EHCPs. Admission to the school is determined by the LEA special needs panel. Prospective parents are encouraged to contact the Headteacher and arrange a visit at anytime during the school year. The school operates a "Parent Buddy Scheme", with prospective parents and pupils being shown around by another parent. School age pupils follow the national curriculum, adapted and extended as necessary. Older students in further education follow programmes based around Accreditation for Lifelong Learning (ALL). The Hollow Lane club, based at Ellen Tinkham provides after school and holiday care for children with special needs.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | |
| Aspergers | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | Y |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | Y |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | Y |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | Y |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | Y |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
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