Do you have a mental health or medical condition, specific learning difficulty, autistic spectrum disorder, hearing, or visual impairment?
We are passionate about making sure education is accessible for everyone. Futureworks is committed to the pursuit of academic excellence, to be a proactive and responsive support service, which encourages student development and empowers students to achieve their highest potential. We aim to foster a culture, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes inclusion, and values diversity.
We use the term ‘disability’ if a person has a physical or mental impairment, which has significant, adverse and long-term effects on a persons’ ability to carry out normal day-day activities (Equality Act 2010).
For example:
- Social Communication Disorder e.g., autistic spectrum disorders
- Specific Learning Difficulties e.g., dyslexia, dyspraxia & ADHD
- Mental Health Conditions e.g., anxiety, depression, bipolar
- Mobility Impairments e.g., wheelchair user or difficulties using your arms or legs
- Visual impairment e.g., blind or visually impaired
- Hearing Impairments e.g., deaf or hearing difficulties
- Medical / health conditions e.g., epilepsy, chronic fatigue, HIV and aids.
If you have a disability listed above, we encourage you to disclose this to us at your earliest opportunity. Once we are aware of your specific needs, we can work together with you to ensure that any reasonable adjustments that are required can be put in place. Arranging appropriate individual disability support depends first on you telling us about your circumstances and needs.
Evidence of your disability is required before reasonable adjustments can be made. The evidence required depends on your disability. The Student Services department can advise you on what you need to provide for disability-related evidence. Typically, this is in the form of a report or letter from a medical professional or an assessment report from a diagnosis.
We understand that disclosing your disability will involve sharing sensitive information and we have procedures in place to make sure all personal information about you and your disability are secure. Sometimes, for your benefit, we may need to share some of the information relating to your disability with others, such as tutors or programme leaders, however this will only happen if you have agreed to let us do so. If you want everything about your disability to be confidential, for example to only share the information with student services and nobody else – this can be arranged; however, this could make it difficult to communicate your support needs with academic staff and make any reasonable adjustments within your lessons.
You should talk to our Welfare Officer to discuss your disability, support needs and how you would like us to handle information about your disability.
After you have told us about your disability, we will make every effort to make sure that you will not be at a disadvantage because of your disability.
Futureworks provide several areas of support for students that have a disability, for example reasonable adjustments, personal evacuation plan and wellbeing and mental health support as well as support in the process of applying for DSA. We can advise and guide you through the process of applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance, which, if you are eligible, may offer further funding for specialist equipment and help whilst you are studying with us.
It is important to note that support at Futureworks and the specialised support, works slightly different to what support is available at school or college. For example, we do not provide one-one study skills support or in class support that some students may be familiar with. The direct specialised support comes from Disabled Student Allowance (DSA). Students can book a support meeting with our Welfare Officer, to discuss their disability, support needs and receive guidance and support in the process of applying for DSA.
If you are a student with a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition, you can apply for Disability Student’s Allowance.
Learn more about the areas of support that we offer
Disabled Student’s Allowance
What is Disability Student’s Allowance?
DSA is the Disabled Students’ Allowance; a grant from Student Finance and is designed to help pay for extra costs that students may face as a direct result of studying with a disability, a long-term illness, a mental health condition or specific learning difficulty.
Students should apply for DSA via Student Finance. You will not need to repay DSA and you can get them on top of any other student finance you receive.
The type of support you may receive depends on your individual needs – not your household income (not means tested like your Student Finance Maintenance Loan). The process can take upto 14 weeks therefore we would recommend anyone that is thinking of studying at university should apply as soon as possible.
How to apply for DSA
Students will need to log into their Student Finance account and start the DSA application. Students will need to upload any evidence of their disability via their portal. Therefore, make sure you have all the evidence ready for uploading before starting the process.
The evidence will need to either be documentation from a GP, consultant, medical or mental health professional, or if you can provide any previous assessment / diagnosis reports. If you do not have any reports, the diagnosis is on the system at the GP. You can ask the GP to complete an evidence form.
What is the process of applying for DSA?
Once you have applied, you will receive a letter, which will inform / confirm whether they are eligible or not. You will most likely be asked to attend a Study Needs Assessment to assess what support you may need for your course specifically. This is your chance to meet with a specialist advisor to talk about your condition and the impact it has on your studies. During the Study Needs Assessment, the advisor will assess what support you will need for your studies.
For example, this could be:
- software or equipment for note-taking
- a specialist mental health mentor
- a specialist autism mentor
- study skills mentor
- travel allowance if you have difficulties using public transport
This information from the assessment then helps produce a Study Needs Assessment report recommending any specialist equipment or additional support that could help with your studies.
How to contact DSA
You can contact DSA via email dsa_team@slc.co.uk or call 0300 100 0607
You can find out more information and guidance about the Disabled Students’ Allowance
Reasonable Adjustments
What is a reasonable adjustment?
A “reasonable adjustment” is the term applied to making changes to the learning environment or a policy, procedure or practice delivered to assist a student with a disability. Reasonable adjustments enable students with disabilities to learn without being at a disadvantage compared to others.
Some examples of reasonable adjustments may include, for example:
- books or learning materials in particular formats e.g., audio, electronic, printed
- specific learning difficulty stickers to be attached to their coursework to ensure the work submitted is marked in accordance with SpLD guidelines to ensure that all appropriate consideration is taken in the marking process and to enable equity of assessment marking
- permission to audio record classes
- extensions to library loans
- assistance from a support worker e.g., notetakers, sign language interpreters, reader, scribe
- additional time to complete an exam
- extension to your coursework deadline and a smaller room for examinations
This is not a full list, and any adjustment would be based on an individual’s particular circumstances.
It is your responsibility to provide evidence of disability to the Welfare Officer if adjustments to university examinations or other assessments are requested / required.
If you would like to discuss your disability and any reasonable adjustments, please contact our Welfare Officer directly: support@futureworks.ac.uk
Personal Evacuation Plan
A Personal Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is a bespoke plan for any student who may have difficulties evacuating Futureworks to a place of safety without support or assistance from others.
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, or PEEP, PEEPs are particularly relevant for some students with mobility and/or sensory impairments (visual/hearing). Additionally, depending on the nature/severity of the impairment, in some circumstances it might be relevant to create a PEEP for students with other disability types. For example, severe PTSD or an autism spectrum condition where an alarm could be triggering or distressing/disorientating.
For example, during the plan, we will:
- identify specific evacuation routes where appropriate
- identify refuge areas and specific evacuation procedures
- identify specialist equipment such an evac-chair
- identify any building adaptations that are required
For instance, you may have a declaration such as:
- mobility impairment
- sight impairment
- hearing impairment
- cognitive impairment
- a medical condition or injury, which may need assistance to evacuate safely
You can arrange a Personal Evacuation Plan (PEEP) by contacting the Welfare Officer directly: support@futureworks.ac.uk
ADHD Assessment Referral
What is ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder that is defined through analysis of behaviour. People with ADHD show a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with day-to-day functioning and/or development.
The main signs of hyperactivity and impulsiveness are:
- being unable to sit still
- constantly fidgeting
- being unable to concentrate on tasks
- excessive talking / physical movements
- being unable to wait their turn
- acting without thinking
- interrupting conversations
- little or no sense of danger
The main signs of inattentiveness are:
- having a short attention span or being easily distracted
- making careless mistakes
- appearing forgetful or losing things
- being unable to stick to tasks that are tedious
- unable to listen or carry out instructions
- difficulty organising tasks
- constantly changing activity or task
I have no formal diagnosis and would like to be referred for an assessment, what do I do?
Futureworks can refer students for an ADHD assessment, if they believe they have ADHD and struggle with some of the characteristics listed above. Students must meet with the Welfare Officer first before any referrals can be made. Any referrals are at the discretion of the Welfare Officer.
Student must pay £199 contribution towards the assessment and Futureworks will cover the remaining fee. If students cannot afford to pay the contribution fee, then they can apply for apply for the Disability Referral & Assessment Fund.
A formal assessment could help you answer what may be a long-held question about whether you have ADHD. A full diagnostic report may provide evidence for reasonable adjustments (e.g., extensions on work) and evidence to apply for Disabled Students Allowance.
It can also help to:
- identify what support you need to help you study
- indicate what type of learning suits you
- explain to others about your specific learning difficult
- highlight your strengths
- get the support you may need
Specific Learning Difficulty Assessment Referral
What is a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD)
SpLD is an umbrella term used to cover a range of frequently co-occurring difficulties, most known as:
- Dyslexia
- Dyspraxia
- Dyscalculia
They can affect the way information processed and have significant impact on education, learning and on the acquisition of literacy skills. As with any disability, no two individuals experience the same combination of difficulties, and some people may exhibit signs of more than one SpLD.
Some common characteristics of SpLDs:
- memory difficulties
- organisational difficulties
- writing difficulties
- Visual processing difficulties
- reading difficulties
- auditory processing difficulties
- time management difficulties
- sensory distraction: an inability to screen out extraneous visual or auditory stimuli
- sensory overload: a heightened sensitivity to visual stimuli and sound; an inability to cope with busy environments
I have no formal diagnosis and would like to be referred for an assessment, what do I do?
Futureworks can refer students for an SpLD assessment, if they believe they have dyslexia for example, and struggle with some of the characteristics listed above. Students must meet with the welfare officer first before any referrals can be made. Any referrals are at the discretion of the Welfare Officer.
Futureworks can refer students for an SpLD assessment, after meeting with our Welfare Officer, however a student must pay £100 contribution towards the assessment and Futureworks will cover the remaining fee. If students cannot afford to pay the contribution fee, then they can apply for apply for the Disability Referral & Assessment Fund here. (Link to disability and referral assessment fund)
A formal assessment could help you answer what may be a long-held question about whether you have ADHD. A full diagnostic report may provide evidence for reasonable adjustments (e.g., extensions on work) and evidence to apply for Disabled Students Allowance.
It can also help to:
- identify what support you need to help you study
- indicate what type of learning suits you
- explain to others about your specific learning difficult
- highlight your strengths
- get the support you may need
Our Welfare Officer provides 1-1 pastoral advice and guidance to students who may be experiencing anything affecting their time at university, for example: mental health, financial support, disability support, feeling homesick or just an ear to listen to if you need a confidential space to talk about your worries or concerns.
Students can book 1-1 confidential support meetings to talk through any issues you may be having here.
Most people go through difficult and challenging times at some point and life is not always easy or straightforward. Counselling can be a very effective in helping sort through life is challenging moments.
If you are struggling with your mental health and would like to discuss counselling or if you have any questions about the service, please contact our Welfare Officer directly via email support@futureworks.ac.uk or book a 1-1 support meeting.