Support for Disabled students

Your support

If you identify as disabled, you are advised to contact the HE Disability Team to discuss your support needs and reasonable adjustments.

You will be contacted by a member of the HE Disability team to discuss how your condition impacts you day-to-day and how it may impact on your learning. We will discuss the types of adjustments and support we can put in place to enable you to participate fully in your studies. We then write this up with you as an Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP).

Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP)

An Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP) will be created with each disabled student. This document will outline the appropriate support and reasonable adjustments. Each student has the opportunity to agree their ILP and give consent for communication with relevant staff.

Supporting evidence of your disability is required for the agreement of an ILP.

The following are examples of the adjustments that may be included in an Inclusive Learning Plan:

• Exam or assessment adjustments (e.g., extra time, use of a PC, alternative room, etc.)
• Students can audio record lectures and seminars for their own use and learning.
• If required, lecturers will wear a radio microphone to enable d/Deaf students to use a hearing loop.
• Disabled students with print disabilities (e.g., Blind, and partially sighted, Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism) will be provided with access to the RNIB Bookshare scheme. More information about this scheme can be found on www.rnibbookshare.org/cms/
• Disabled students may arrange to meet with their course tutor (according to tutor’s availability) to discuss structure, routine and agree on a concrete starting point to assist with prioritisation of work.
• Disabled students can request reasonable adjustments to be made in halls of residence and/or for specific aspects of the campus estate. Each request will be considered according to the University Policy.

Exams

Appropriate reasonable adjustments to exams are implemented in accordance with the Code of Practice on Assessment. Examples of standard exam arrangements may include extra time, supervised rest breaks, small room, use of a PC. Please click here for further information about exam arrangements.

DSA funded support

Where you have been approved DSA or NHS funding for specialist non-medical helper support, we can help you to arrange this with your approved provider. Writtle University College is an approved provider. Some of the DSA funded support includes human support.

Specialist mentors provide highly specialist, specifically tailored, one-to-one support which helps students address the barriers to learning created by a particular impairment. This support is primarily provided for students with mental-health conditions or autism spectrum disorders.

Specialist One to One Study Skills Support sessions are individual, personalised support sessions for students with dyslexia, dyspraxia or other SpLDs. The sessions are with specialist tutors who are qualified in supporting students with specific learning differences. managing your study and meeting deadlines.

Our experienced in-house communicator team at Writtle are here to provide 'total communication' support to our d/Deaf and hearing impaired students.

They can work with you to identify your support needs. This can include:

• Involvement in transition from school/college
• Advice and guidance on your course
• Liaison with your course tutor(s)/lecture(s) regarding your impairment and adjustments that they can make to help you access your course
• Involvement in admissions procedures, interviews and induction
• Support in making an application for the Disabled Student Allowance
• Liaison with Accommodation Services, if appropriate, to provide you with adapted accommodation (such as alarm alerts);
• Links with external agencies.

Support in the library

The library team is committed to providing an inclusive environment for all learners and to removing barriers that may prevent users with a disability, learning difficulty and long-term health condition from making the most of our services and resources. Support offered in the library can include: individual familiarisation tours, support with accessing books, coloured paper and overlays, extended loans and proxy borrowing. Please contact the library for further information.

Assistance Dogs

Writtle University College recognises that Assistance Dogs play an important role in the safety and wellbeing of disabled people and has therefore developed policy in this area to include specific guidelines concerning the safe and acceptable use of them on campuses and in residences for the benefit of all (Assistance Dogs, the owners of Assistance Dogs, staff, students, University College partners and members of the public). The University College allows access to assistance, working and therapy dogs and is prepared to make reasonable adjustments for their safe access and conduct of duties.

If you want to request authorisation to bring an assistance dog to WUC campus, please complete the form on page 13 of the Assistance Dogs Policy and return it to us.

Information Sharing

The information you give us will only be shared on a “need to know” basis, where it is directly relevant and necessary. If you provide us with a copy of medical evidence, we will not share this documentation with any other department except in specific circumstances. An example of this would be if the information/documentation you give to us also supports your accommodation request, we will provide the Accommodation Team with a copy in order to save you doing this in duplicate or if your condition requires us to consider health and safety risk assessments etc.

Campus 360 Virtual Tour

Explore our Campus 360 Virtual Tour which will give you the ultimate virtual experience of Writtle University College. We have made this tour accessible by assigning the following keyboard shortcuts to help navigate the tour. The following instructions are available by entering the virtual tour and typing H for help.

• Navigate the 360 scene with the arrow keys.
• Full screen is activated and exited with the F key
• Zoom in and out using the I and O keys
• Move the the next scene with the N key and move back a scene with the B key
• For each of the tours there is an accompanying information popup. This can be opened with the X key and closed with the Z key.