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.

Find out more about Work Experience and Industry Placements

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.

Please see our Apprenticeship Hub for more information.

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

Careers Information

At The Cornwall College Group, we are passionate about supporting all members of the community in developing their industry skills and knowledge as well as guiding them through the process of deciding upon the direction they want to take in the future.

Click here for more information on Careers Information, Advice and Guidance

Useful Documents

SEND Code of Practice

SEND Provision Statement

Brilliant Learning Support poster