Welcome to Dawlish College.
It continues to be an absolute privilege to be the Headteacher at Dawlish College – the staff and students are second to none and take all of life’s challenges in their stride. Despite current uncertainties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to hold onto our core purpose in all that we do. Behind all of the decisions taken and measures put in place sits the balance between keeping staff and students safe whilst also providing them with a varied and exciting school experience.
Dawlish College is a vibrant and exciting place to be, where we have the highest expectations of staff and students alike and seek to provide challenge at every available opportunity. As a small school, we have a very proud record of holistic support, care and individual attention: the happiness and well-being of our students is of paramount importance and is a vital foundation for their growth and development. Our college has an atmosphere of creativity and positivity that is generated by the provision of excellent opportunities for every individual thereby maximising the outcomes and improving the life chances of the young people in our care.
As a parent myself, I understand that you want your child to be inspired, supported and challenged to be the best version of themselves within an environment that knows them and values them as an individual. Thank you for entrusting me with the care and education of your child, present or future, and I look forward to unlocking their ambitions as I get to know them and work closely with you.
S Banks
Headteacher
“Students’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development permeates the curriculum and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.” - Oftsed
AT Dawlish College we value our responsibility to educate our young people beyond a subject-based curriculum and appreciate that we are also contributing to the creation of society’s future. PSHE education gives students the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe and to prepare them for life and work in modern Britain.
The PSHE syllabus covers two main strands in Year 7: health and wellbeing and relationships
At the start of Year 7, students begin to explore how they feel about themselves as learners and their individual abilities. They will consider the need for emotional health and wellbeing and the strength that is needed to be resilient in the wider world.
Building from this, students explore the benefits of “Growth Mindset” and how they are able to ‘step up to thrive’ before moving on to a series of projects aimed at developing important personal attributes such as leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative and communication.
The focus for year 8 PSHE is to support students’ understanding of living in the wider world.
Students return to the concept of themselves as learners and re-assess their individual attributes and skills. They then progress on to a unit of study specifically designed to help them become more aware of, and start to consider, their possible future pathways towards career choices and opportunities at universities and future employment. This is designed to support and encourage students to prepare for their Year 9 option preferences in the second half of Year 8.
Throughout tutor/study group time and extended assemblies, KS4 students explore topics and learning activities that link directly to PSHE, Careers, personal learning and thinking skills and post 16 options. They also receive statutory sex and relationship education.
At KS4 tutor/study group time is particularly focussed upon how students view themselves as learners, their self-belief, their motivation to learn and their aspirations for their futures. We recognise that in this increasingly competitive world, we need to equip our young people with these essential skills to minimise the effect that negative, stressful situations can have on a learner. We aim to help our students to face challenges, learn from them and apply these personal skills and attributes that are so essential for employability and a healthy, happy life.
For more information please contact KBukowski@dawlish.devon.sch.uk