What Student Support and Advice Does South Devon College Provide?

Updated

South Devon College provides student support and advice across four broad areas: money and funding, learning and wellbeing, practical day-to-day help, and support aimed at specific groups. The college's own navigation lists dedicated pages for financial support, learning support and SEND, wellbeing, travel and parking, reporting absence, student services, careers advice, and separate information for parents and carers, adult students (19+), and care experienced young people. Which of these applies to you depends on your age, course type, and circumstances — for example, a 16–18 school leaver will mainly use the bursary, transport and learning support routes, while an adult learner is pointed towards the adult student and financial support pages.

Financial support and funding advice

The college groups its money-related help under a "Financial Support" section, with separate routes depending on who you are:

  • 16–18 bursary and transport applications — listed under the High School (14–16) area, which covers bursary and transport applications for that age group.
  • How to apply for an Enhanced DBS — a dedicated page under Help and Advice, relevant if your course or work placement requires a DBS check.
  • Support for Adult Students (19+) — a specific page for learners aged 19 and over, covering the support available to that group.
  • Apprenticeship funding — information for employers on apprenticeship funding and incentives sits in the Employers section, which matters if you are considering an apprenticeship route.

The site does not publish specific bursary amounts, eligibility thresholds or deadlines in the material available, so treat the pages above as the starting point and confirm current figures directly with the college.

Learning support, SEND and wellbeing

Support for learning needs and personal wellbeing is handled through several linked services:

  • Learning Support and SEND — the main route for students who need additional learning support or have special educational needs and disabilities.
  • Wellbeing — listed as "Wellbeing Support for You" under Help and Advice.
  • Student Services — a general contact point for support queries.
  • Careers Advice — available both as a general service and through the Careers section.
  • Safeguarding — a standalone area covering the college's safeguarding responsibilities.

If you are unsure which applies, Student Services is the sensible first contact, since it can route you to learning support, wellbeing or careers depending on what you describe.

Practical day-to-day support

Beyond money and learning, the college lists several practical services that affect daily attendance:

Support area What it covers
Travel Support Getting to and from college
Parking and Permits Parking arrangements and permit applications
Reporting Absence How to report an absence
Levels and Qualifications Explained Understanding what level you are studying at
How to Apply The application process itself

The "What Level Should I be Studying?" page under Adult Learning is useful if you are returning to education and are not sure whether to start at a particular level.

Support for specific groups

Some pages are written for a particular audience rather than a type of support:

  • Care Experienced Young People — a dedicated page for students who have been in care.
  • Support for Adult Students (19+) — for mature learners.
  • Parent and Carer Information — for parents and carers supporting a student.
  • Elective Home Educated Scheme — for home-educated students.
  • Alumni — for former students.

These sit alongside the general Help and Advice section, so if you belong to one of these groups, check the specific page first — it will usually be more relevant than the general support pages.

How to actually get support

The college's navigation shows several login routes — Applicant Login, Parent/Carer Login, Student Login, Staff Login and Governor Login — which suggests that some support processes (applications, absence reporting, permits) are handled through logged-in accounts rather than open pages. The practical sequence is:

  1. Identify which category you fall into (school leaver 16–18, adult 19+, apprentice, parent/carer, care experienced, home educated).
  2. Go to the matching support page rather than the general Help and Advice index.
  3. For anything unclear, use Student Services or the Contact Us page as the entry point.

The available material does not specify response times, appointment availability, or whether support is delivered in person, online or both, so confirm those details with the college directly.