New students starting in September: You can find more information about College Ready Sessions and submitting your GCSE results in our online Guide. Transport and bursary information will be available from 15 June 2026.
Learning Support
Many students during their time at college require some form of support to ensure they achieve their potential. For many this is achieved through our High Quality Inclusive Teaching, excellent enrichment offer and universal support offer and others require a graduated and more tailored approach to ensure that they can access their programme of study equitably with their peers.
If you have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), identified Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) or a medical need/condition that requires specific equipment or adaptations to the college environment then we can work with you, to ensure your specific needs are met ahead of your start and throughout your college journey. Whatever qualification you decide on, you can guarantee excellent learning support to enable you to achieve your full potential.
Learning support & inclusive practice team
Our team coordinate and provide learning support for learners on all programmes of study and work with learners during their transition to college, during their time at college and transition from college. We are ambitious for and with our learners and focus on developing the skills needed for life beyond college and success in adulthood. The core principals of our support place learners and their voice at the centre and are focussed on but are not limited to: Advocacy, Communication, Social Skills, Independence, Independent Living Skills, Study Skills and the development of Maths, English and ICT skills.
Our Support offer is broad and wide ranging and is planned with learner’s Strengths and Needs in mind, some examples of the support available include: advice and guidance in relation to Special Education Needs and disabilities (SEND), supported social spaces, sensory and calm spaces, assistive technology training, environmental auditing to ensure you can access learning with equity, tuition in maths, English and/or study skills, mentoring, assessment support, independent living skills programme, arrangement of provision as stated in EHCPs etc.
If you or a person you support would like to explore the options available to you in order to achieve your full potential, we are here to help. The best way to access support is to email us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call us on 01872 305708/01736 335020. We can then arrange a time to discuss the types of support available in a bit more depth as well as work with you to design the right type of support package for you.
Support for send on cross-college courses
This is one of a series of videos produced by the Careers Hub CIoS in collaboration with Access Cornwall and Cornwall Council with the aim of showcasing the local post 16 Education and Training offer for young people with an EHCP/SEND.
In this video from Truro College, hear from some of our specialist staff about the learning support and guidance on offer for our SEND students on cross-college courses.
Learning Centres
At both the Truro and Penwith campuses, the Learning Centres provide a range of relaxed and quiet environments for studying, with access to physical and online resources and support from experienced members of staff.
They have open-access computers, study spaces for individual or group work, and free, fast Wi-Fi, allowing the use of personal devices for studying when needed. The safety of students online is important to the College. You can find guides and resources on the UK Safer Internet Centre website and read more about how we keep our students safe on our Safeguarding page.
The Learning Centres stock a wide range of resources that can be borrowed free of charge to help students find credible and relevant information. Resources can be supplied in many different formats.
Online Library Catalogue
The online library catalogue can be accessed both on and off campus and allows students to search for a range of books, e-books, online resources and journals.
Most online resources can be accessed at home as well as on campus and renewals can be managed online by logging in to your library account.
The library staff are always happy to help if you can’t find what you need. Contact details can be found on the Library Hub, our SharePoint page.
Online Library Catalogue: Look4 (cirqahosting.com)
student experience
This is one of a series of videos produced by Headstart Kernow with the aim of explaining different professional roles which young people might work with here in Cornwall.
In this video you will hear from Lisa Briscoe, our Director of Student Experience, about the support and guidance on offer to students during their transition from secondary school and their subsequent time at college.
Additional Information
If you have SEND, are worried about starting college or have other barriers to learning, you may like an extended or supported transition to college. This can involve visits in addition to attendance at our open events or school tasters, perhaps at a time when the campus is quieter or on a 1:1 basis with your parent/carer/next of kin. The aim of these visits is to help you to feel familiar with the environment and the staff long before your start date.
For more information on transition into college at any of our campuses, please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
If you have an identified SEND or medical need that requires specific equipment or adaptations to the college environment, we can work with you, our operations team and any specific healthcare professionals to ensure that your specific needs are met ahead of your start at College.
We may be able to loan you a laptop, reading pen or a dictaphone. We also work closely with other college teams to ensure that resources are adapted to your individual needs and are digitised where possible so they can be accessed by all.
For more information on resources and equipment, please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
Some learners may have some in class support delivered by our team of Learning Support Assistants (LSA). This support is available to some learners, often those with EHCPs, to ensure that all learners have equitable access to their learning and the best possible chance of achieving their desired outcomes.
In class support may help with initial note taking, ensuring understanding of tasks, breaking down longer pieces of work, helping you to remain on task, supporting with medical conditions etc.
If you would like to know more about in class support, or you think you might benefit from this type of support, please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
Our out of class support is available to all. We have a team of highly skilled Learning support tutors who work on a 1:1 basis with learners to develop English, maths or Study Skills. These sessions are tailored through individualised targets and sessions that are scheduled around learners’ timetables.
We also offer LSA mentoring for learners who may have declared SEND but do not require any in class support. This mentoring can act as touch point in the week to discuss any concerns you might be having, work through some classwork with a bit of extra support or just a person to chat to and share your successes.
To further enhance this provision we also have a dedicated quiet calm space designed to meet the needs of our mainstream SEND learners on campus. This space is staffed throughout the day and acts a drop in for learners who may need some time and space away from busy classrooms and open access spaces. Learners can opt to work in there during free periods and access support from our LSAs who will be there throughout the day.
If you would like to discuss any of this further please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
We support a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at Truro and Penwith College. Where specialist support may be required, we can seek further guidance from teams such as the hearing impairment, visual impairment and/or health professionals.
If you have any concerns or wish to discuss specific SEND needs please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
Usually, learners will disclose any medical needs at their interview. The staff member interviewing will document this and pass on the details to us. We will send home medical forms and ask for specific evidence relating to the medical condition.
Once returned it may be that a medical risk assessment is needed in case of emergencies when at college. We will share this with you to make sure you are happy with any arrangements made.
For more information on medical conditions, please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
For learners with EHCP’s you will have hopefully received support from your school and Careers adviser to decide on your options in Post-16.
When you have made some initial decisions, we are contacted and begin a process called Consultation. At this point we always like to be able to talk to you, your school and parents/carers to get an idea on the types of support you might have had and might like at college, allowing us to make sure we have everything you need to be successful whilst at Truro and Penwith College.
Once the Consultation process is complete, your application can proceed and you will be invited for interview at college.
The best way to access support is to get in touch with us, we will be more than happy to discuss the types of support available in a bit more depth as well as work with you to design the right type of support package for you.
Please contact us at learningsupport@truro-penwith.ac.uk or call 01872 305708.
In the meantime, you can access support and information through the following webpages:
Wellbeing and Autism Wheel
SEND Local Offer
Cornwall Council Early Help