News

Foxes Academy students recently visited two of the south west’s most renowned hotels. Saunton Sands is a smart 4* art deco hotel with over 90 rooms, it has a spa and sits atop the cliffs overlooking a stunning North Devon beach. Kentisbury Grange is a luxury 4* country hotel on the edge of Exmoor National Park, a stylish boutique manor house retreat with an award winning restaurant ‘The Coach House’ by Michael Caines. Visiting both venues in one day gave the students aspirations for their future careers. The very different settings enabled the young visitors to consider which environments are best suited to their skills and personalities within the world of work.

On Friday 14th December students from Foxes Academy, their families and staff gathered together at the Regal Theatre in Minehead to celebrate the achievements of 2018. Everything Foxes Academy and Hotel does is focused on its students and ensuring that they reach their potential in life, despite the daily challenges that learning disabilities present. Foxes’ Principal, Tracey Clare-Gray welcomed  the audience of 350 people by asking them to celebrate the unprecedented success of gaining a third consecutive ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating and winning the TES  (Times Educational Supplement) Overall Further Education Provider and Specialist Provider for 2018 . Foxes won the award against the country’s top mainstream education providers, “We are the best of the best, and that is something we can all be proud of. We will continue to work really hard to maintain our outcomes, lobbying Government and building partnerships with hospitality employers to share the positive benefits that employing a young person with a learning disability brings. 75% of our 2018 graduates moved into supported accommodation, with 86% entering employment, of which 43% are paid. The national average employment rate for people with learning disabilities hovers at about 6%.”

Foxes Academy celebrated the end of term with a third consecutive ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted. The grade one in every area means we are the only specialist provider of further education to have achieved this unprecedented result in three successive inspections. It is also a year which saw Foxes awarded the TES Overall FE Provider AND the Specialist Provider for 2018.

Foxes Academy has been recognised with two major awards – the ‘Overall FE provider of the year’ award and the ‘Specialist provider of the year’ award at the annual Tes FE Awards 2018.