Students with families Childcare for pre-school children If your children are young, you will probably have to look after them yourselves as domestic help is hard to find and is very expensive. There are private day nurseries which take children under school age but many have waiting lists and the costs are high. The Devon Information on Services for Children website has details of playgroups, nurseries, childminders and out of school clubs. See devon.gov.uk/disc and use the search facility. For information on childcare services in Cornwall visit cornwall.gov. uk/health-and-social-care/ childrens-services/childcareand-funding/ and follow the links to the South West.
The University Family Centre Owlets Nursery on the Streatham Campus in Exeter the centre is run by qualified staff and takes children from six weeks to five years of age. You should apply well in advance as demand is very high and places are limited. Email: Owlets@exe-coll.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)1392 400175. For more information please visit: owlets-nursery.co.uk
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Penryn Campus Nursery On the Penryn Campus, our 54-place purpose-built ‘Little Wonders Nursery’ caters for children between 0 to 5 years in three age group rooms: 0 to 2 year olds, 2 to 3 year olds and 3 to 5 year olds. Each room has access to a secure, large, outdoor eco-friendly play and learning area. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8am – 6pm. Find out more at littlewondersnurseries.com/ penryn
Schools If your children are between five and 16 years old, the Local Education Authority (LEA) has a duty to provide a place for them in a local school. You can apply for a school place before coming to the UK, and you are encouraged to do so, but any decision will not be made until you have evidence of a right of abode either through nationality or a valid visa. Click here for more information on Devon LEA and applications. Schools terms in the UK start at the beginning of September. You may be arriving later than that. The LEA will still provide you with a school place. Some schools may have a school uniform; others may have a liberal dress code. Discipline is maintained through an agreed behaviour code within the individual school and there is no corporal punishment in state schools. To help your child settle into the school, it would be helpful if you brought a recent teacher’s report and
some samples of work. You might also like to bring some reading books in your language and a dual dictionary (eg Korean/English) suitable for your child to use in school. Please be aware that schools in the South West have few specially trained language assistants. You might need to contact the local authority for where you live to apply for a school place as you will be applying outside of the standard admissions time. For Devon contact admissions@devon.gov.uk For Cornwall see cornwall.gov.uk/schoolsand-education/schools-andcolleges/school-admissions
