information for students seeking support
an introduction to student support
If you have a disability, you may qualify for assistance or equipment that will assist you in pursuing your studies. This page aims to inform you about what support may be available and the procedure you'll need to follow to get your entitlement and funding. It outlines how Randstad can assist you in receiving this support. If there’s anything you need to know which isn’t covered below, call Randstad Student Support on 0845 130 4655 and one of the team will be happy to help.
I think I might qualify for Student Support: do I?
People with a range of disabilities may qualify for funding for student support. Examples would include visual, auditory or vocal impairments, physical disabilities, specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, asperger’s, autism and mental health impairments. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for funding, discuss it with whoever is responsible for this area of student welfare at your university (usually a member of the disability team).
How do I apply for Student Support?
The process might sound a bit daunting, but it’s not really. It goes like this:
Apply for Disabled Student Allowance
First, you need to make an application for a Disabled Student Allowance to your “funding body”. In England, the funding body is Student Finance England (SFE); in Scotland, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS); in Wales, the Welsh Local Authorities; in Ireland, the relevant Library Board and for NHS courses, you apply directly to the NHS. As part of the application process, you will need to provide relevant medical evidence relating to your disability.
Needs Assessment Appointment
Your funding body will review your application and any relevant medical evidence that you have been asked to provide. If you meet the qualifying criteria you will invited to attend a needs assessment appointment. At this appointment, a qualified assessor will assess your disability and they will determine what impact your disability may have on your studies, and will recommend what support you may require.
Needs Assessment Report
The assessor writes a needs assessment report, which is submitted to the funding body. This outlines the type of support needed, and the number of hours for which it will be required during your course. The report can also contain quotes from suppliers which will indicate the kinds of costs that would be involved. The funding body then reviews the recommendations in line with the Disabled Students Allowance guidelines, and makes a final decision on what forms and hours of support can be provided. The funding body will also stipulate the hourly rate that can be charged for providing the support.
Is it a one-off application, or do I need to re-apply?
In general, funding is agreed for one academic year at a time. So you will need to make sure that you re-apply for funding before the next academic year begins.
Are there limits to the amount of funding I may receive?
Yes, there are limits. This is reviewed on an annual basis by the government and is outlined in the Disabled Student Allowance guidelines. The individual limit will be agreed following your Needs Assessment and subsequent award process.
Is Disabled Student Allowance means tested in any way?
No, it isn’t means tested.
What kind of help might I expect to get?
As outlined under “I think I might qualify for Student Support – do I?”, the disabilities which qualify for Student Support are wide ranging. The support which you receive will be tailored to your individual needs as outlined in your Needs Assessment Report, and will be individually adapted to take account of your institution’s and course’s particular requirements. The kinds of roles which Randstad Student Support currently fulfils include:
- Notetakers
- Electronic Notetakers
- Library Assistants
- Readers
- Mobility Support
- Study Buddy
- Transcription Services
- Proof Readers
- Mental Health Mentors
- Specialist Tutors (covering dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia etc)
- IT Trainers
- Study Skills Tutors
- Language Support Tutors
Student Support can also fulfil other roles as required on a case-by-case basis. The only roles which aren’t covered relate to personal care but support of this kind can be organised through Randstad Care, which has teams which specialise in providing assistance of this sort. Please download one or more of the sample job descriptions below to find out more.
specific learning disability tutor eg dyslexia
notetaker
mental health mentor
chaperone
aspergers syndrome specialist tutor
I’m late in applying/I qualify, but I didn’t know about Student Support and so I didn’t apply. What can I do?
Don’t worry. Contact a representative of your university’s/college’s disability team and explain your situation. The university/college will be able to support you in the application process and may put interim support in place whilst your Disabled Student Allowance application is being considered.
When and how do I discover whether my application has been successful and what happens next?
As soon as the funding body has reached a decision, and your funding is approved, an award letter will be issued to you (and in some cases to the university/college you’ll be going to). You can then ask the university’s disability team to arrange for an appropriate support worker to deliver the support.
It is at this point that the university/college may approach Randstad to deliver the support you require. Different institutions go about this in different ways. Obviously, people who are being recruited for roles like this need to be rigorously screened, referenced and assessed to ascertain whether they’ve got the professional and – equally important – the personal skills to deliver the best possible support and to forge a strong working relationship with you.
Some institutions just ask Randstad to run this side of things, and to manage all the background administration associated with recruiting and employing staff. The university is then responsible for the day-to-day management of the support workers. In other instances, Randstad handles the whole matching and management process, from start to finish.
What is the benefit of having Randstad involved in my student support arrangements?
Randstad has extensive experience in providing this kind of support. Its consultants know exactly how the disability system works. The company has tried and tested IT and back-office systems, and highly competent teams. This allows academic institutions and support workers to focus on what really matters – delivering a high quality, reliable, personal service which ensures you get the very best out of your time in higher education.
How often will you change my support worker?
Randstad’s experience is that students are best served if they receive consistent support, from a familiar support worker. It means you’re not having to re-invent the wheel all the time, because your support worker will get to know about you, your needs, your situation, and your schedule. Student support requires rapport and trust, so continuity is crucial. Of course, circumstances will arise in which your support worker is unavailable, but the objective is to ensure as much continuity as possible. Then again, if you find you’re just not getting on, then it’s in everyone’s interests to ensure that a replacement is found as soon as possible.
Student support is all about people and relationships, and Randstad has a highly developed understanding of who the right people are, and how the relationships work. Take a look at some of the testimonials and you’ll see that there are significant numbers of students, support workers, and higher education institutions who agree.