Disabled Students' Allowance

Disabled Students' Allowance is funding awarded by SAAS that helps to pay for extra equipment or support that you may require as a result of a disability or specific learning difficulty.

The allowance can help fund the cost of specialist equipment, extra travel costs and/or the use of a scribe or a reader in class.

How To Apply for Disabled Students' Allowance

When you apply for Disabled Students' Allowance for the first time, a needs assessment report will take place. This can be done at the College, which is a validated Needs Assessment Centre. Our coordinators will support all students eligible students through every stage of their application. You are advised to apply for DSA as soon as possible, as it can be a long process.

The Assessment Process - What to Expect

The Needs Assessment will take roughly two hours to complete. Your assessment will be broken down into different stages and covers:

• an informal interview with an assessor to confirm your personal details
  discussing your disability and how it affects your day to day needs in a learning environment
• you may be invited to view specialist equipment relevant to your needs and in some instances, try it
• your assessor will help to answer any questions you may have, as well as provide a draft of the report to check if necessary

The Needs Assessment report is completely confidential, under the Data Protection Act.

For more information about Disabled Students' Allowance and how to apply, you can speak to a member of staff in the Equality and Support team or visit saas.gov.uk