Disability and Inclusion

Our Disability and Inclusion Service provides advice to our students on Specific Learning Differences (SpLD’s) such as Dyslexia.

You may have been referred to us via your academic coach who suspects that you may have a specific learning difference. Alternatively, you may be concerned that you might have a specific learning difference and it is affecting your academic performance.

If you have previously been assessed and already have a report which outlines recommendations, this should be submitted to our Disability and Inclusion Service for review. In many cases a further assessment will not be necessary however please note that, due to the nature of some courses and/or the requirements of Professional Regulatory Bodies, a student with a Specific Learning Difference may be required to undertake a new SpLD assessment.

Please email us if you would like to discuss being assessed for a Specific Learning Difference. We refer students to the Educational Guidance Service for assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get assessed for a Specific Learning Difference (SpLD)?

If you are based in the UK, we can arrange for you to have a SpLD assessment with the Educational Guidance Service where appropriate. For students outside the UK, we will investigate the options available to you in your country. The diagnostic assessor will meet with you and administer a series of tests. This appointment could take a few hours. The diagnostic assessor will then provide a report roughly within 20 working days of this meeting.

Are there any costs involved in getting assessed for a SpLD?

We will arrange for you to have a SpLD assessment with the Educational Guidance Service. There is a £75 student contribution fee. Please note, if you fail to attend your booked appointment with the Educational Guidance Service without giving at least 48 hours’ notice, the university is charged a cancellation fee and therefore we will not be able to fund any future SpLD assessment for you.

What will happen after the SpLD assessment?

Once the assessment process has been completed and you have received a report from the diagnostic assessor, you will need to contact the Disability and Inclusion Service to discuss the findings of the report and its recommendations.

What are the access arrangements for the exam?

If your report has recommended exam access arrangements such as the use of a computer or extra time, it is essential that you alert the Disability and Inclusion Service. It is important that this is done at the earliest opportunity, as we require 28 days’ notice prior to the first exam of the exam period to guarantee adjustments.

Where the deadline is missed students can choose to absent themselves from the examinations and enter a concession application for the absence, explaining the situation including the reason for late disclosure. Further details on concession application can be obtained from the course handbook, the assessment regulations and the campus assessment office staff.

PEEPs are advance plans for those who may need assistance or special arrangements during an emergency evacuation.

If you think that you may need assistance leaving the building in the event of an emergency please contact the Disability and Inclusion Service.

First Aid

If you have any first aid requirements please contact the Disability and Inclusion Service.

If you have a disability, medical or mental health condition, pregnancy, specific learning differences or if you are in the medical aspect of gender transition, please make sure that you let our team know at application stage and provide the appropriate supporting evidence as soon as possible.

This information will allow us to contact you prior to your course to ensure that we can work with you to make informed decisions about the support you may require.

We can then liaise with others who should know about the impact of your disability, such as teaching staff and the assessments office. It is important to understand the value of sharing your disability. If we do not know about it, we may not be able to provide the support you require.

It is advisable and beneficial to share your disability when applying. However, you can let the Disability and Inclusion Service know at any stage of your course. Please note that support cannot be backdated; in some cases of sharing later in the process, students may need to take a break from study in order that sufficient support can be put in place for them. We would therefore encourage you to share your disability to us as soon as possible, as it may affect our ability to put in place certain adjustments by the start of your course.

How your information will be used

The information that you provide will be used to enable us to liaise with those colleagues who need to know about the support that you require.

Your data will not be shared for other purposes without your consent, except where there is a legal obligation to do so or where exceptional issues of personal safety arise.

The information will be processed and held in the university administration systems and used for the administration of your academic related support and any other legitimate university purpose. In doing so, the university will observe at all times the data protection principles embodied in the General Data Protection Regulation.

Where a student shares a disability for the first time to a member of university staff, the staff member is then deemed to have received the information on behalf of the University and has a duty of care to report the student’s sharing of a disability to the Disability and Inclusion Service.

Disabled Students Allowance - Help if you're a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability.

Royal Institute for the Blind - Help if you're a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability.

Dyslexia Association - The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) has been the voice of dyslexic people since 1972.

Dyspraxia Foundation - Offering help and advice to people with dyspraxia, parents, carers, and families about or on the subject of dyspraxia.

Action on Hearing Loss - We're the UK’s leading charity supporting people with hearing loss, deafness and tinnitus.

The Disabilities Trust - We are a leading national charity offering specialist community-based and residential support for adults with acquired brain injury, complex physical or learning disabilities and for people with autism, including those in education.

Access to Work - Get support in work if you have a disability or health condition (Access to Work).

SANE - Mental Health Awareness - We believe that no-one affected by mental illness should face crisis, distress or despair completely alone.

AbilityNet - AbilityNet supports people of any age, living with any disability or impairment to use technology to achieve their goals at home, at work and in education.

Educational Guidance Service - Our large team of Educational and Occupational Psychologists have a wealth of experience working with children, young people and adults who are experiencing specific learning difficulties and social and/or emotional problems.

Student Health Association - The Student Health Association serves as a forum for members to discuss matters relevant to the provision, quality and effective management of student health care.