You can declare a disability or support need on your course application, once you have accepted your offer of a place, once you have enrolled or at any time during your course.

If you have already started your course, you should contact the Disability team via the Gateway desk located in the Library.

In many cases, UK students applying for higher education courses may be able to apply for the Disabled Students Allowance. If you are in any doubt about financial arrangements or funding, please contact the Disability & SpLD team.

To be eligible to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance you need to hold home residency status.

If you are an international student, you should seek advice on what support you might be entitled to from your home country. You could also consider what other funding may be available through grant giving trusts and charities. Further information can be provided by our Specialist Advisers.

Further information on fees, funding and support for international students can be found on the UKCISA website.

The aim of the external DSA needs assessment is to discuss and recommend the type of support you might require on your course.

We have a team of experienced and trained support staff who can work with you to understand your requirements and what you might need to support your learning. This could include accessibility and on-course reasonable adjustments, external specialist support and access to specialist equipment and resources.

For example, adjustments for students with hearing impairments could include:

• Installation of loop systems in lecture theatres
• Improved signage to aid the location of facilities
• Special communication and safety equipment in the halls of residence
• Co-ordination of support such as interpreter, communication support worker and/or notetaker
• Personal evacuation plan (known as PEEP)

We have qualified first aiders on site who will be able to administer epi-pens in emergency situations. However, our staff are not trained to administer any other medications to students, so it is important that you are able to self-medicate, without support.

Parking permits are available to students who hold a blue badge.

The local authority in your home town where you are ‘ordinarily resident’ remains responsible for assessing and paying for any social or personal care support whilst you are living away from home at university. They can assist with completing applications for financial support through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which can help with some of the extra (non-study related) costs caused by a disability. UCA’s Guidance on personal care support document provides further information.

Dyslexia can occur at any level of intellectual ability and its effects can be alleviated by skilled specialist teaching and committed learning.

If you have dyslexia, you may experience difficulties in one or more of the following areas:

• Reading
• Organising and expressing ideas in writing
• Spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Handwriting
• Note-taking
• Time management, and procrastination
• Memory

Specific learning differences/difficulties (SpLDs) is the umbrella term for a number of associated learning differences or neurodiversity.

Being neurodiverse can affect how you learn and process information and can affect your memory, your ability to concentrate, your sensory perception and staying organised. Common issues include:

• Attention
• Organisation
• Working memory
• Time management
• Listening skills
• Sensory perception
• Speed of processing

You can declare you have dyslexia or a neurodiverse condition on your application, once you have accepted a place, once you have enrolled or at any time during your course.

If you have already started your course, you should contact the Disability & SpLD team via the Gateway desk located in the Library.

You should arrange to see the Dyslexia & SpLD Adviser via the Gateway located in the Library on your campus. We will discuss your strengths and weaknesses in confidence and find out what choices are available to you.

A diagnostic specialist is usually the person who tests for dyslexia. Student Finance England will normally only accept reports prepared by diagnostic specialists so it is best to ask about the qualifications of the person who tests you.

A dyslexia assessment will last just over an hour. You will be asked questions about your previous learning and your study skills. There will be a series of written exercises that are designed to identify where support is needed.

The diagnostic specialist will then write a report that will include a statement about whether dyslexia is part of your profile.

We have a team of experienced and trained Dyslexia and SpLD advisers who work with students on a one-to-one basis on areas of need such as essays, dissertations and study skills.

You are encouraged to make your tutors aware of your needs. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, or wish the information to remain confidential, please talk to the Dyslexia & SpLD Adviser.

For those on courses with written examinations, it is important that you contact the Dyslexia & SpLD Adviser to discuss what adjustments may be possible.

Our mission is to encourage an inclusive environment that enables our students to develop their skills, knowledge and strategies to manage their own learning and to achieve their full potential through:

• Providing advice and co-ordinating support in relation to disabilities and specific learning differences, and
• Promoting independent study and contributing to the inclusivity debate within the University.

Who are we?

• Learning Support Managers provide advice and co-ordinate support for disabled students.
• Dyslexia Advisers provide advice and co-ordinate support for students with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.
• Support roles include:
  • Learning Mentors assist with planning, organising and coping with a course of study.
  • Learning Support Assistants provide in-studio assistance such as note taking and physical support with carrying and moving equipment.

What do we do?

• Offer pre-entry advice before you start on your course.
• Provide an initial assessment of your disability/specific learning difficulty support needs.
• Arrange diagnostic tests and formal needs assessments and provide advice on external funding sources for disability support such as Disabled Students Allowance.
• Provide support to students with short-term disabilities.
• Provide information, resources and advice about disabilities and specific learning difficulties to academic staff.
• Co-ordinate one to one support in the studio, for specialist study skills or mentoring including the opportunity to review this support on a regular basis or provide advice on alternative sources of support external to UCA.

What can we do for you on your behalf/our commitment

If you are accessing support, you will be issued with an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which details your entitlements and support. This document is specific to you and is intended to provide the information you will need to manage your own learning.

If you have one to one support this will also be detailed in your ILP including what this support entails and how it works. It also provides the opportunity to discuss and understand the boundaries of support, ie. what the support staff can do, what they cannot do and what you should do if you are not happy with the support or have any concerns.

You will be expected to take responsibility for your own studies and any support. You will need to utilise the resources of your academic course and your agreed learning support effectively.

Reviews of your learning support will be available during the year at any point; however, you should raise any questions or concerns about your support with the Learning Support Manager or Dyslexia Adviser at the earliest possible opportunity.

What we cannot do/your commitment

Learning Support Managers and Dyslexia Advisers are responsible for on-course support only. We can offer some referral information about personal care support but we cannot offer advice or make arrangements for this type of care.

Our support is not a substitute for the teaching of your course’s academic team or selfmanaged study. Our support is to help you to access the learning opportunities at UCA. We assist you in developing skills and strategies specific to your individual needs so that you can work to your full potential.

You will be responsible for engaging with the Learning Support Manager/Dyslexia Adviser to facilitate and maintain all of your support needs.

How confidential is the service?

Please refer to the Student Services Confidentiality Statement.

Complaints process

If you have any concerns about the service, we encourage you to speak to the Learning Support Manager. If you would like to make a formal complaint, please refer to UCA’s complaints procedure.

The University for the Creative Arts aims to provide all students with an accessible learning experience to enable you to study independently.

As an International and EU student studying in the UK, you are not able to access UK government funding if you require additional support in relation to your disability. However, under the terms of the Equality Act, the University has a duty of care to provide anticipatory and reasonable adjustments, aids and services that will support you during your studies.

What does ‘disabled’ mean? 

In the UK, under the Equality Act 2010, a disabled person is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his, her or their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The term covers a broad range of conditions, illnesses and impairments and includes the following: 

• D/deaf or hearing impairment
• Visual impairment
• Physical disability or mobility impairment
• Specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia or dyspraxia)
• Autism (ASD)
• Mental health condition
• Long term health/medical condition

This list is not exhaustive. If you think you may have a disability or specific learning difference, you should contact one of our Learning Support Managers before you start your studies with us.

This will help to ensure that your needs are fully understood and where necessary, any support required can be planned before you arrive. 

There are limitations on the support we can offer to students, and you may be required to obtain funding for some or all of your support from your sponsor/parents, your home country government or charitable organisations.

Further information is available on the definition of disability on the GOV.UK website.

What can you expect? 

The support you may receive is based on your disability and your requirements and may include the following: 

Adaptations to your learning and living environments

• We already provide some adaptations to our on-campus accommodation, including vibrating emergency alert systems and accessible flats adapted for wheelchair users.
• You may be required to provide your own specialist/adaptive equipment where we are unable to make adaptations to university buildings (for example hoists or other independence aids).
• You should consider the support you usually receive from friends and family at home, and who will provide this for you at university. You will need to be able to live independently as we cannot provide support with self-care and daily living tasks such as:
  • Shopping
  • Cooking
  • Cleaning
  • Laundry
  • Personal care

Enhancing your Learning

• We are able to provide access to a wide range of staff who can help you to develop effective study and research strategies.
• We will offer some reasonable adjustments to help you access your studies. These will depend on your needs and the requirements of your course. 
• We can loan certain equipment - for example, laptops equipped with assistive software/computer programmes and packages (subject to availability). 

What specialist support is available? 

You will need medical evidence to qualify for specialist support if your needs relate to a disability or long-term health condition. Your evidence needs to be translated into English by an official source before your arrival in the UK.

If you have dyslexia or any other specific learning difference, we will need diagnostic evidence that was conducted after your 16th birthday.

We can help you to obtain evidence once you are in the UK by:

• Providing you with advice and guidance on the evidence you will require.
• Signposting you to diagnostic professionals and where necessary, coordinate your appointment.

You are required to cover the cost of any diagnostic appointments and engage with the terms and conditions of the diagnostic service.

You are responsible for arranging and paying for a certified translation of any evidence and diagnostic report you already have in place, should this be required as evidence.

Our specialist team will work with you to understand your requirements and what you might need to support your learning based on the evidence you have provided. You will have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which outlines the on-course reasonable adjustments and specialist support provided to you.

This could include:

• Up to 15 hours one to one support (such as dyslexia tuition, mentoring). In exceptional circumstances and when supported by evidence of need this can be reviewed with a further 5 sessions offered in each year of study.
• Up to 5 hours per week of practical in-class room support, where required. This support will be provided on a shared basis (i.e. the support is shared with other students) and is dependent on staff availability. The University does not guarantee this support.
• Drop-in sessions are available to discuss support and help you develop your own learning strategies.

If you require your own practical support, we can assist you to source a support worker, but you would need to be able to cover the cost of this personally. We would encourage you to have this in place before you start your course.

The following services will require you to provide your own source of funding:

• Study support workers - for example, personal note-takers, readers, and mobility assistants
• Sign language interpreters
• Equipment - for example, wheelchairs, computers, and brailling equipment 

Other support services: National Health Service (NHS) 

As an overseas/EU student studying in the UK for six months or more, you will need to pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application; this is called immigration health surcharge and is in addition to the visa application fee. The immigration health surcharge allows you access to UK healthcare at no additional cost. You will still need to pay for certain types of services such as prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and assisted conception.

You should register with a local doctor’s surgery (also known as general practitioner or GP) as soon as you can.

You can find further information on access to healthcare and medication available to international students on the Gov.uk website.

Contacts

For further information on any of the above, please contact disability@uca.ac.uk.