Supporting Your Learning
Supporting Your Study Programme
If you are aged 16-18* and on a full-time course with us, you will be participating in the Study Programme. The Study Programme has been developed because we want to help everyone leaving school become well prepared for the workplace and higher education. Our aim is to broaden your experience; combining a specialist qualification, with skills including English and mathematics as well as preparation and participation in employability. For learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), this is an essential part of Preparing for Adulthood. We therefore promote independence as much as possible within the study programme, resulting in bespoke approaches to supporting each individual.
*if you are aged 19+ and have an EHCP you are funded as a 16-18 Study Programme Learner.
Industry Placement and T-levels
It is a requirement for all 16-18 funded Study Programme learners, as part of your course, to undertake a Work Experience Placement with a local employer, who works in the same sector as the area in which you will be studying, this would be for a minimum duration of one week.
Level 3 Study Programme learners are expected to complete an Industry Placement, which is a minimum of 315 hours (approx. 45 days) and involves actively contributing to the workplace whilst working on targets which you have set yourself. These targets may be hard skills i.e. knowledge and skills related to the industry, as well as soft skills i.e. behaviours, values and employability.
The Industry Placement and Work Experience Placement that you undertake will depend on your course and circumstances. This will be discussed in more detail at your interview.
Work Experience and Industry Placements offer an exciting opportunity to enhance your skills and knowledge, allow you to understand first-hand the sector in which you would like to work and get you not only work ready, but potentially open up employment opportunities for you on completion of your course.
Our dedicated Skills to Business team will support you in finding placements that are suitable and will be available at college interview events to arrange this, however you may find it useful to start researching now, where you might like your placement to take place. When the course begins, we will liaise with the learner and employer around the dates of the placement and will complete the necessary paperwork, this will ensure that the placement is planned properly and that it is beneficial and safe for all parties concerned.
Cornwall College will support you with the setting of targets and will ensure all employers are fully vetted in order to meet the high standards that we set.
Great opportunities await you at Cornwall College!
For more information around Work Experience or Industry Placements, or to gain guidance on employers who may be interested in offering placements now, please contact the team on skillstobusiness@cornwall.ac.uk and view more at
Supporting Your Further Studies
If you are aged 19+ and on any of our courses, you may be entitled to learning support in order to help you bridge the attainment gap where an identified learning need exists. To access the various types of learning support we offer, a referral will need to be made to our Learning Support team and an Initial Needs Assessment will be completed by a member of the team to establish the support required.
Supporting Your Apprenticeship
If you are studying an Apprenticeship we are able to offer you learning support on a bespoke basis in line with your individual needs.
At the point of making contact with TCCG, or application, please discuss your needs with your Customer Adviser.
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Provision
We are committed to supporting every learner, to ensure they are equipped with the tools and resilience required to successfully achieve their learning goals and aspirations. Please see our SEND Provision Statement for further information and details should you wish to talk to someone in person.
Whether you need advice, support, facilities or equipment we will do our best to provide it for you. We want to make sure that you have no problems during your study here at college and are easily able to join in with student life.
When you apply to study with us we will ask you to disclose any additional learning needs you may need help with and put appropriate support in place for the start of your studies. All learners are also able to request various assessments throughout their studies, should they feel they may need support in any of these areas.
Supporting Your Special Educational Needs (SEN)
To access the Study Programme, further studies, or your Apprenticeship you may also need additional help from our Learning Support Team. This dedicated team is here to enable equal opportunity, regardless of any physical or learning difficulty / disability and promote progression in line with your learning goals / outcomes. We recognise that you may need support in one or more of the following areas based on the current definition of SEN:
- Communication and interaction needs – difficulty in expressing themselves, understanding what others are saying or difficulties socially interacting with others
- Cognition and learning needs – difficulties in learning or retaining basic skills or a specific difficulty with reading, writing, mathematics or understanding information
- Social, emotional and mental health needs – difficulties making friends or relating to adults. May be withdrawn, isolated or find regulating their behaviours challenging
- Sensory and/or physical needs –sensory impairments or difficulties such as those affecting sight or hearing, or physical difficulties which impact on their learning
For more detail about specific services and contacts please refer to The Cornwall College Group SEND Provision Statement
The Graduated Response to SEN Support
We are committed to providing support in as many formats as possible; all with the aim of meeting your needs but at the same time not hindering your progression. As part of the Graduated Response to SEN Support this means that high quality teaching is the first stage of support we offer. We will continually review your progress and make informed, relevant adjustments as required, which may include working with a member of our support team, or being offered a loan of some useful assistive technology. We also offer a range of targeted interventions to assist you.
Supporting Your Disability
The Equality Act 2010 says that a person has a disability when they have a physical or mental impairment:
- Which is substantial and long-term (for over a year)
- Which has an adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities
This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer.
Children and young people with a disability do not necessarily have special educational needs, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs.
If you wish to discuss your needs with a member of our team, please contact us. A member of the team will be happy to do so, and will be able to discuss the relevant accessibility and / or support options.
Working with Local Authorities
We work closely with our Local Authorities to ensure that any specialist support they commission is delivered accordingly. For more information on services within your Local Authority please refer to their Local Offer guidance:
Cornwall Council SEND Local Offer
Devon Council SEND Local Offer
Plymouth Council SEND Local Offer
Torbay Council SEND Local Offer
We also work with a number of other Local Authorities where learners join us from further afield. If you would like further details regarding process, or contacts, please contact us at: learning.support@cornwall.ac.uk
Useful Documents:
Brilliant Learning Support poster
Higher Education
Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA)
Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) are extra help for HE students who have a disability, a mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, ADHD or dyspraxia. Watch this video from Student Finance England to find out how and when to apply for Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcY7_VXoHmQ
To fill out a DSA form online, go to
www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas/how-to-claim
Contact us
Please contact our specialist team on 01209 616326 or learning.support@cornwall.ac.uk to discuss your specific needs and support requirements. HE students should contact HElearningsupport@cornwall.ac.uk.
Higher Education Senior Tutors (HESTs)
The HEST role is in place to ensure that all HE Students have pastoral and academic support in place to ensure they are successful on their programme of study. The HESTs work closely with HE Academic Tutors and teaching teams; this will include advice and guidance for HE students on financial concerns; such a Student Finance and Cornwall College bursaries; support in applying for DSA, 1:1 advice and mentoring with signposting to counselling where applicable; accessing academic support; progression advice including UCAS applications and any other concerns that HE students may have regarding their experience at Cornwall College.
Contact details are:
richard.brumwell@cornwall.ac.uk or mobile 07500814580
lucy.weaver@cornwall.ac.uk or mobile 07976412525
gill.tonkin@cornwall.ac.uk or mobile 07468710232
Higher Education Academic Advisers (HEAA)
Higher Education Academic Advisors are experts in Higher Education Standards and requirements and how to navigate them successfully. They are available on all campuses and welcome all HE students without any assessment of need.
They provide individual advice and guidance on all academic matters (not subject contents) to support the development of student’s academic skills and confidence to meet the challenges of Higher Education. The type of support commonly provided are; preparation and planning of assessments, development of academic writing skills to required level, style and structure, referencing, revision, exam preparation and much, much more. Support is provided flexibly either through 1-1 meetings, email or telephone contact in a welcoming friendly manner.
Contact details are:
laura.brockington@duchy.ac.uk or telephone 01579 372375
Joanna.barlow@duchy.ac.uk or telephone 01209 721302 / 01209 616259
Karen.warne@st-austell.ac.uk or telephone 01637 857950
lindsey.tucker@bicton.ac.uk or telephone 01395 562446
HE Learning Support Team
The HE Learning Support Team are the first point of call for anything related to HE learning support. If you have a query about a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia/dyspraxia or want some information about a medical or mental health issue, please email, call or come and find us. We are here to help.
We can give you all the information and help you need to apply for Disabled Student Allowance (DSA).
We can also arrange full assessments and support tutors for both reasonable adjustments and formal diagnosis or need.
Key Contacts
For Disabled Student Allowance queries: disabilityadviser@cornwall.ac.uk 01209 616338
For Student Assessment queries: studentassessment@cornwall.ac.uk 01209 616326
For Student Support queries: HElearningsupport@cornwall.ac.uk 01209 616326