Admissions

September 2024

We have seen a significant increase in demand for places at Mill Water School. This is a national issue and is placing pressure on special schools across the country. We have seen a huge increase in requests for visits to see our school, as well as a very significant increase in placement requests for age groups across the school. To give some scale to this, as recent as 2018, it would be unusual for us to have to refuse a placement request for a student whose needs we could meet. However, due to lack of physical capacity, we are now regularly sending out response letters stating that we cannot offer a place. During the last academic year we had just 9 leavers, with significantly more requests for places.

As a result, the Open Morning scheduled for 11.10.24 has been cancelled. However, we will be organising an Open Morning solely for families with children who will be R in 2025.

Mill Water School is a Local Authority maintained special school whose provision meets the needs of pupils with a Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD) or a Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD) which is specified in their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Pupils may have characteristics that include:

    • Severe communication impairment
    • Complex physical and/or sensory impairment
    • Autistic spectrum disorder
    • Complex health difficulty that may be life-limiting
    • Challenging behaviour
    • Social and emotional difficulties
    • Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
    • Obsessive / compulsive behaviours

The school admits pupils between the ages of 3 and 19 years.

Mill Water School works closely with the Local Authority regarding any potential admissions. Every child or young person admitted to the school will have an EHCP. Through the EHCP, the Devon SEN Statutory Team specify the provision required for each pupil and how education, health and care services will work together to meet a pupil’s needs to support the achievement of agreed outcomes.

As a maintained school, Mill Water School is not authorised to offer placements. Places can only be offered by the Devon SEN Statutory Team. The SEN Statutory Team can be contacted on 01392 383000, or more information about Devon’s SEND Local Offer can be found here

If you are interested in finding out more about our school, or for an informal discussion about admissions, please contact the school office on 01395 568890. Open Mornings are also held to provide parents/carers with the opportunity to visit the school. These events will be advertised on the school website.

Parents, carers, and prospective pupils may be invited to visit Mill Water School on more than one occasion before coming to join the school. This is so that everyone can agree that Mill Water School is the right place for the child and to arrange a smooth transition from their current school, or if this is their first school, to make sure that everything goes well from the very start.

If a child is already in a school but parents/carers believe that a transfer to Mill Water School might be in his or her best interests, they should talk to their child's teacher, the Headteacher or the SENDCO in the first instance. A place at Mill Water can only be offered by the Devon SEN Statutory Team.

If a child is not yet in school, parents / carers should contact the Devon SEN Statutory Team for advice on admissions to special schools.