have had these conversations, we will start contacting people who are earlier on in their pregnancy.

Email: Mark.Barry@devon.gov.uk

Phone: 07392 433699

This is the latest email sent to me regarding the merger between Petroc and Exeter College: - Hello Mark,

Thank you for following this up. Although a few weeks ago we were being given the impression from North Devon College that students could be coming to Wings, that quickly changed with a similar message from both them and DCC. As such, we put together a form of words for us to share with the parents of the fourteen children who had planned to come to the Wings College, some for their second year.

This is what we sent to parents:-

'I just wanted you to know that Wings has now received the same letter as sent to you by on behalf of North Devon College that the fourteen students who were going to be attending Wings College from September 2026 will now be re-offered a place at NDC.

We have also been contacted by DCC to say that Wings will not be named on your child’s EHCP, something which would have enabled them to come to Wings.

Having worked for the past eight years with students who have been unable to access Petroc/NDC we are not going to give up trying to find a way of continuing this invaluable and, in many people’s opinion, much-needed work. As such we are still talking with our senior contact in DCC and also urgently looking for alternative funding streams, different ways of working and delivering exciting and inviting programmes.

However, at the moment we cannot promise that the Wings College will continue in its current format from September so you need to decide what is the best way forward for your child when weighing up the next steps. What we can promise is that you and your child are of paramount importance to us and that we only want the best for them. We are always here for you so please free to get in touch'.

The tightrope we are walking Mark is that we are asking DCC for help in enabling the College to continue for a year while we apply to the Section 41 route for becoming a Specialised post 16 Institution, something we have been operating as for at least the past 8 years, while not appearing to blame them for what has happened as a result of a business decision by ENDC (Exeter and North Devon College).

We need people to look for possible solutions rather than keep saying what can't be done and causing children and parents to suffer.

Kind regards

Paul