Student support: accessibility and reasonable adjustments
We’re committed to being inclusive and accessible to all students in every aspect of student life.
Your student support team
Your student support team will be there to support you with getting reasonable adjustments in place, if any of the following are affecting your studies:
- disability
- physical or sensory impairments
- learning differences (such as dyslexia)
- neurodivergence (such as ADHD or ASC)
- long-term health conditions
- mental health conditions
- menopause
- pregnancy
Meet the team
Your student support team work closely with other teams and departments across the Trust, with the aim of providing as seamless a support experience as possible. We work particularly closely with academic staff, estates, digital education and library services, and course administration.
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Sara Riley
Student Disability Advisor
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Rebecca Bouckley
Student Support and Engagement Manager
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Elizabeth Tracey
Student Support Coordinator
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Isabelle Bratt
Head of Operations
Managing your reasonable adjustments
You can decide what you need, what information to share and when. You can also meet us for a chat, and choose whether to share your needs with course teams.
Sharing with us
You can share your accessibility requirements:
- before your studies – on your application or enrolment form
- during your studies – by telling us online using MyTap
Please tell us if you need help completing the form.
The earlier you share the better, as it helps us set up support before your course starts. If you share during your application, we can put adjustments in place for your interview, if needed.
Completing the form
- On the form, you will be asked for information about yourself. This will then inform the type of support we offer. We ask that you provide us with as much information as possible. This is stored confidentially, and only viewed by the student support team.
- If you have supporting documentation, you can also upload this securely. (See documentation section below).
- You will be asked if you want to share your information with the course team (on a need-to-know basis). Please note that not sharing your information with the course team will limit the support we can put in place.
- You will also be asked if you want to have a meeting with the student disability adviser.
Once you have submitted the form, you will receive a welcome email from the student support team, with some general information, and if you have requested a meeting with us, you will also be provided with a link to book a meeting in.
Meeting with the student disability adviser
As part of your Reasonable Adjustment request you will be asked if you want to meet with the disability adviser. We particularly recommend that you have a meeting in the following circumstances, but it is always an option:
- where you are asking for adjustments that are not listed on the request form
- where you are not sure what adjustments might help you
- where your circumstances are particularly complex
- where you feel you would benefit from having a supportive discussion with them
You can contact us to request a meeting at any stage of your student journey, if the support you have in place isn’t working, or if circumstances change.
What happens in the meeting
At your meeting, your disability adviser (DA) will have access to the information you have provided via your MyTap Portal, and will discuss your request for reasonable adjustments with you.
If you wish, you can discuss your personal circumstances and how this affects your learning. The DA may also have some suggestions based on their expertise.
The disability adviser will also discuss your Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) application and offer you advice and support to complete it. It may be that temporary adjustments need to be put in place while you await the outcome of the DSA application.
You may also discuss access to work arrangements where relevant, your course assessments and placements.
Types of reasonable adjustments
We try to provide universal support that helps everyone. This includes free printing, providing lecture slides in an editable format before the lecture, personal tutorials, accessibility features in Moodle and quiet spaces around the building.
If you need extra support, we will consider any reasonable request and do our best to help.
There is a list of standard reasonable adjustments that we can provide straight away. If your request is not on this list, a panel will review it and let you know if it is possible. You’ll find the list of standard adjustments on your MyTap portal. Examples include:
A few examples that could appear include:
- a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) to help you safely leave the building in an emergency
- specialist equipment, such as specialist chairs
- lecture notes or permission to record lectures. Recording sessions will be bound by the Trust’s educational recordings policy and the terms and conditions of study
- modifying an assessment (for example, a presentation instead of an essay) so that you can demonstrate the learning outcomes in a different way.
- a sensitive marking cover sheet
- additional tutorials
What happens next
You will receive your student accessibility passport shortly, which will serve as the agreement of reasonable adjustments. You can share this passport with any staff member you wish, so that you do not have to repeat yourself or where clarification is needed.
Changing your reasonable adjustments
You can amend or add to your reasonable adjustments by sharing this via MyTap or by contacting your disability advisor on our form.
Evidence and documentation
This information should be read alongside the student reasonable adjustments policy.
Our approach: “Yes First”
We want to support you. We’ve adopted a “yes first” approach, which means we don’t need to see evidence before setting up your support. We can start your reasonable adjustments immediately and work out the details together.
While we may ask for evidence within about a month of setting up support, our priority is getting you the help you need without delay.
Read more about providing evidence
When evidence helps
Having evidence in advance can help us ensure we’re providing exactly the right support for you. We may also need to verify your circumstances, but this won’t delay your initial support.
What we accept as evidence
We recognise that getting formal documentation can be difficult, expensive, or distressing. That’s why we:
- accept a wide range of evidence types
- don’t always require a formal diagnosis
- take a flexible, understanding approach
- focus on how your circumstances affect your studies
If your condition or disability is obvious to us, we mainly need to understand how best to support you.
Types of evidence we accept
Short-term illness
Examples: broken bones, severe flu, COVID-19, migraines
What we need: A medical certificate or letter from a doctor, nurse, or UK-based online medical service confirming:
- what the illness is
- how it affects your ability to study or take assessments
- when it occurred
Long-term conditions
Examples: disabilities, chronic illnesses, neurodivergence, mental health conditions, menopause symptoms
Helpful evidence includes:
- GP or specialist letters explaining how your condition affects your studies
- Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) assessment reports
- educational psychologist reports
- reports from the British Dyslexia Association
- ADHD or dyslexia screening tests with GP referral letters
What makes evidence most useful:
- description of your condition or symptoms
- how it affects your daily life
- how it impacts your ability to study (concentration, processing information, fatigue, etc.)
- Whether the condition is ongoing, fluctuating, or recurring
- Any medication side effects that affect your studies
Pregnancy
What we need: a letter from your midwife, nurse, or doctor explaining how pregnancy affects your studies (such as pregnancy-related conditions, emotional symptoms, or physical limitations).
Evidence standards
To protect everyone involved, evidence must be:
- from qualified, independent professionals (not family or friends)
- on official headed paper, signed and dated
- in English (with official translations if needed)
- unaltered (we cannot accept modified documents)
- specific to the relevant dates (not retrospective reports
We may accept professional emails from official domains in some circumstances.
If your support needs change
If you experience a flare-up of symptoms or your support isn’t working during assessment periods, you can apply for extenuating circumstances through your MyTAP portal. If you’ve already provided evidence to our Student Support team – you won’t need to provide evidence again.
Important information
- We verify evidence to ensure fairness for all students.
- Original documents may be requested if needed.
- Fraudulent documentation will be referred to our Student Conduct Concerns Procedure and/or Professional Suitability for Training Procedure.
- We’re here to help – contact us if you’re unsure about anything.
Need support getting evidence? We understand this can be challenging. Contact our student support team who can advise on options.
Disability funding
We strongly advise you to begin your Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) application as soon as possible, as waiting times can be more than 14 weeks. You can only apply for a DSA if you are registered on a university-accredited programme.
As part of our financial support, we have a disability fund, if additional costs are incurred by you due to your disability or condition.
If you need urgent help
If you have a flare-up of your condition, your condition deteriorates suddenly, or you are newly diagnosed with a health condition or disability, we would urge you to contact your student support team at the first opportunity to discuss your situation and your options. You can also visit our extenuating circumstances webpage, if you have upcoming assessments.
Please note that we are not a crisis service. If you are in a situation where you need immediate help or medical and mental health support, please either contact your GP or care team, call NHS 111, or in emergencies dial 999. If you are worried about harming yourself or others please dial 999 or call the Samaritans on 116 123.