Support for Students with Accessibility Needs

Assistance dogs and their owners are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and assistance animals are welcome on campus. This policy provides information and guidance surrounding assistance animals within the University, including requirements, relevant procedures and the responsibilities of staff, the owner and the University community.

To find out more, you can download the full Assistance Animals on Campus Policy from the University’s ’Equality, diversity and inclusion’ webpage.

The University has accessible accommodation available within its City accommodation and the Student Village in Oadby. The University has many specialised adapted rooms they can offer and are also happy to make reasonable adjustments if you require adaptations to be made or require accommodation in a particular location.

Examples of adjustments and equipment that can be provided include, but are not limited to:

• ground floor accommodation
• hoist (either fixed or mobile)
• a kitchen with height adjustable facilities
• Deaf Guard pillow (for students with hearing impairments)
• a bedroom fridge
• possible subsidised rent

It is best to contact the AccessAbility Centre to talk through potential options with you and then communicate with the accommodation team on your behalf. This is to ensure you receive accommodation completely accessible for you and your needs. You can visit the University's 'Accessible accommodation' webpage for more information on this process.

If you are a student that has applied, or already receives, subsided rent there are some issues you may encounter. As your application has to be approved by multiple teams across the university, there is constantly a long waiting time to hear the decision made. It is always best to hand in your application as soon as possible and if you are concerned because you haven't heard about, you can email the accessibility team (accessable@le.ac.uk) to double check your application is still on the list. 

There can also be issues in Term 1 when you receive your first payment statement where your rent subsidy hasn't been applied and you are instructed to pay the full rent of your room. If you received confirmation that your rent will be subsidy, you are advised to pay the subsided rent amount you are expecting and immediately contact both the accessibility and fees and income teams. If you are unsure of your weekly rent amount, you can find that information at this website near the bottom of the page. The contact details for the fees and income team are  feesandincome@le.ac.uk and +44 (0)116 252 3733. The contact details for the accessibility team can be found here.

The AccessAbility Centre offers support and advice for students with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties. As well as this, they work with students who have sensory disabilities, mobility difficulties, mental health conditions, long-term conditions and autism.

Support they can offer includes:

• study skills support
• co-ordinating alternative exam arrangements
• a quiet place to work or rest – this space is located in the David Wilson Library

You can register with the AccessAbility Centre at any time. This can be done by contacting a member of staff within your department or by contacting the AccessAbility Centre directly. If you are a prospective student, you can disclose a disability on your application form and staff from the AccessAbility Centre will contact you and invite you to send in your evidence prior to your arrival at university.

Visit the AccessAbility Centre webpage on the University website for more information.

Contact details for the AccessAbility Centre:

• Phone: 0116 252 2002
• Email: accessable@le.ac.uk

The Accessibility Network is a network of disabled students and students with access requirements at the University of Leicester. The network aims to empower and support students by:

• connecting them with other disabled students and students with access requirements
• holding meetings in which students can raise concerns and have their voices heard
• enabling them to organise collectively against ableism and for disabled liberation on campus through campaigns and events, proposed policy changes and more

You can find out more about the Accessibility Network, including how to sign up, on the Accessibility Network webpage.

Mitigating circumstances are an option when a recognisably serious or significant event outside of your control has affected your ability to submit or attend an assessment on time. As detailed in the Mitigating Circumstances Policy, examples of mitigating circumstances are:

• a sudden deterioration or flare up of a long-term health condition or disability
• a new presentation or disclosure of a mental health issue or condition
• harassment based on your disability, faith, gender identity, race and/or sexual orientation

Recommendations that may be made following a successful mitigating circumstances claim include the removal of lateness penalties and the opportunity to submit or sit the assessment at a later date.

If your claim is related to a long-term condition or disability and you have already provided evidence of the condition or disability to the AccessAbility Centre, you do not have to submit evidence again alongside your mitigating circumstances claim — you will be able to indicate that you are registered with the AccessAbility Centre and have already provided evidence within the form.

If you are considering submitting a mitigating circumstances claim, you can discuss this with your department and your Personal Tutor. In addition to this, you can seek support from the Students’ Union Advice Service.

Standing Together is a University-wide initiative that aims to improve wellbeing through tackling unacceptable behaviours and supporting those who are directly and indirectly affected within the University community. The Standing Together team is made up of trained workers who can provide you with support if you have been subjected to any form of unacceptable behaviour.

Unacceptable behaviours include but are not limited to:

• stalking behaviour
• hate crime and incidents
• sexual violence and harrassment
• bullying, harassment and abuse
• domestic violence, coercion and honour-based abuse
• microaggressions and discrimination

For more information about Standing Together, the support you can access, how to make a disclosure and what happens when you make one, you can visit the Report and Support webpage.

The Students’ Union Advice Service are independent of the University and provide free and impartial advice as well as support to students on a range of issues. Examples of what the Advice Service can help you with includes but is not limited to:

• academic appeals
• non-academic and academic misconduct
• mitigating circumstances
• complaints
• housing contracts and knowing your rights
• house hunting, moving in, moving out and deposit reclaim

Where applicable, the Advice Service will also signpost to relevant organisations and services on campus and within the community. To receive support from the Advice Service, you can call us, email us or visit our Reception Desk, which is located within the Student Support Space on the second floor of the Percy Gee Building. You can also contact us by filling out our online form.

Contact details for the Students’ Union Advice Service:

• Telephone number: 0116 223 1132
• Email: advice@le.ac.uk
• Reception Desk opening times: 11am–3pm, Monday to Friday

Visit the Advice Service webpage for more information.

The Students’ Union has a team of both full-time and part-time officers that are elected yearly to represent different areas of university and student life. Full-time officers are employees of the Students' Union while part-time officers are current students working alongside their studies. When it comes to seeking help as a student with an accessibility need, the most relevant officers to contact are the full-time Liberation Officer and the part-time Accessibility Officer, found on the ’Your Officers’ webpage on the Students’ Union website. You can also still contact other officers which can be found on the ’Your Officers’ webpage on the Students’ Union website.

The Student Welfare Service provides specialist practical advice designed to meet the needs of all students, including mature, postgraduate and international students. Issues they can provide advice on include but are not limited to:

• accommodation
• childcare and benefits, including finding childcare
• financial advice and support
• personal problems
• signposting to relevant services

Contact details for the Student Welfare Service:

• Telephone number: 0116 223 1185
• Email: welfare@le.ac.uk

For more information about the Student Welfare Service, you can visit the University’s ’Health and welfare’ webpage.

The Student Wellbeing Service provides free wellbeing support to University of Leicester students. Support they provide includes but is not limited to:

• one-to-one short-term talking therapies
• signposting and referrals to other services and organisations, including the NHS and the voluntary sector
• international wellbeing checks
• online resources

Students with a mental health condition can also access continuous holistic support from a Mental Health Adviser (MHA), who can: assist them in applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) and arranging reasonable adjustments; provide them with psychoeducational support; and more. Students can request support from an MHA prior to arrival or at any point during their time at the University by emailing the Student Wellbeing Service at wellbeing@le.ac.uk.

Current students can find out more about the Student Wellbeing Service and the support they offer by visiting the Student Wellbeing Service webpage on Sharepoint. If you are a prospective student, you can find out more about wellbeing support available to University of Leicester students by visiting the ’Student support and wellbeing’ webpage and the ’Student wellbeing’ webpage.

Contact details for the Student Wellbeing Service:

• Phone number: 0116 223 1780
• Email: wellbeing@le.ac.uk

The Disabled Person’s Travel Pass enables those who are living in Leicester and have a qualifying disability to obtain either:

(a) a concessionary travel pass that provides them with:

• free travel on local buses in all parts of England between 9:30am and 11pm Monday to Friday,
• free all-day travel at the weekend and on Bank Holidays,
• and free bus travel before 9:30am Monday to Friday as long as the journey begins in Leicester; or

(b) an annual bank payment of £22

The concessionary travel pass also permits free train travel at all times on train journeys between Leicester and stations in Leicester as well as journeys between Leicester and a number of stations within the Midlands. To find out more about the Disabled Person’s Travel Pass, including who is eligible and how to apply, visit the ’Apply for a disabled person’s bus pass’ webpage on the Leicester City Council website.

If you are not based in Leicester but live in England, you can contact your local council to find out who issues disabled persons’ travel passes in your area. You can also enter your postcode into the Government website’s postcode checker to be linked to relevant information available on your local council’s website.

Disability Rights UK is a leading UK organisation led by, run by and working for disabled people. Their website contains a lot of useful information and resources related to a wide range of areas and issues, including an extensive list of factsheets and guides pertaining to:

• benefits and welfare reform
• heating and home
• work and skills
• and much more

Visit the Disability Rights UK website for more information.

We recommend that you register with a doctor (called a GP, for ‘general practitioner’) at a health centre as soon as you arrive at university, so that you can be seen quickly if you have a health issue and be invited to have a COVID vaccination. You can register with the Victoria Park Health Centre which is next to the University campus, or you can find a health centre near you by searching on the NHS website

It is essential, if on regular medication, to change the pharmacy your medication is dispensed to, to a local pharmacy. This is so you will not have any issues missing medications. Your nearest pharmacy can be found by searching on the NHS website and you will need to contact your doctor before your move to Leicester so they can change pharmacies. Switching pharmacies is an easy process and can be done multiple times in a year to follow you if you return home at any point. The closest pharmacy to the City Accommodation is Vision Pharmacy and in the Village Accommodation the closest pharmacy is Asda Pharmacy

If you are an overseas student staying in the UK for more than six months, you will have to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge as part of your visa application. This entitles you to use the NHS for free, although you will still need to pay some charges - such as prescriptions, eye tests and dental care - in the same way as a UK resident.

LAMP Advocacy provide a free, independent mental health advocacy service to those within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, including support to families and carers. Support they can provide includes:

• exploring your concerns and exploring what options are available to you
• challenging local mental health teams
• supporting you to attend a GP or psychiatrist appointment
• phoning professionals involved with your care on your behalf

You can visit the LAMP Advocacy website for more information.

Created by the Leicester Partnership NHS Trust, this is an online space containing advice, information and support for those with autism, those caring for people with autism and those wanting to learn more. Topics and areas covered include:

• education and employment;
• health and lifestyle;
• benefits and finance;
• support groups;
• and more

To access this information and find out more, you can visit the Autism Space webpage.Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA)

Vista works with and supports people with sight loss and their families within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. They provide specialist services and support for children and adults, including but not limited to:

• providing advice, information and support within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland hospitals
• making travel more accessible within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
• facilitating meet-ups and events for people affected by sight loss

For more information, you can visit the Vista website. You can also call them on 0116 249 8839 or email them at info@vistablind.org.uk. Further, more specific contact information can be found on their Contact us webpage.

AccessAble is a website that enables you to see how accessible somewhere is before visiting. The website uses symbols to help you view important accessibility information with more ease – you can find out more about the symbols they use by visiting their accessibility symbols guide. Through these accessibility symbols, you can find out:

• whether the building has level or ramped/sloped access
• whether doors are automatic or manual
• whether there are accessible toilets and/or accessible changing rooms
• whether braille is available
• whether there is a safe or quiet space
• and much more

You can find out more by visiting the AccessAble website. You can also find out the accessibility information of different buildings on campus through the AccessAble guide for the University of Leicester.

Disability Confident is a Government-run scheme that aims to aid employers in being more inclusive of disabled people within the workplace. There are three levels of the Disability Confident scheme and employers can demonstrate that they are Disability Confident—including what level they are—through displaying a Disability Confident symbol on their website and job adverts.

All Disability Confident employers have committed to offering an interview to a fair number of disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for a job, so this can be a useful symbol to look out for when exploring employment opportunities.

You can visit the Scope webpage on disability-friendly employers for more information on the Disability Confident scheme, including what the symbols look like and other useful information.

The Disabled Persons Railcard is for people with a disability that makes train travel difficult. It enables you to get a third off train travel for yourself and an adult who is accompanying you.

You can visit the Disabled Persons Railcard website for more information, including eligibility and pricing information.

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a government funded benefit that can help cover any extra costs you have whilst studying that are a direct result of your disability. You do not need to pay this back and can be claimed no matter what your financial situation is. Some potential services/items that which DSA can help you for include:

• British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or specialist note taker
• Travel expenses for your course or placement because of your disability
• A new laptop if you are assessed as needing one (ie. you do not already have one or your current one does not meet your study needs) – you would need to contribute the first £200 to this but if you are able to contribute more, you are able to apply for a better laptop
• A free personal printer and printing supplies if found necessary
• Specialist equipment such as ergonomic chairs, computer accessories and more

It is advised that you apply at your earliest convenience as the process can take multiple months and it always best to have your support in place before your start your degree. However, you can apply for DSA at any point of your university journey such as second-year. The application to apply for DSA becomes available once you have submitted your main student finance application which includes tuition and maintenance loans.

You can find out more about DSA by talking to the University's AccessAbility Centre or reading the information found in the following websites and resources.

Government website - Further information and advice, including application guidance and eligibility criteria.

University of Leicester AccessAbility website - Provides specific information.

Disability Rights UK website - Further information and advice.

UCAS website - Further information and advice, including information about what questions may be asked of you during your needs assessment.

Remtek Systems website - A company that provides DSA approved equipment which you can look through to see what equipment is on offer and might help yourself. This is only one company that provides equipment, there are others.

Ran by Disability Rights UK, the Disabled Students Helpline can offer you information and advice by phone and email on a range of topics, including:

• applying to university
• telling people about your disability
• financial assistance
• your rights in post-16 education and training under the Equality Act 2010
• and more

You can find out more by visiting the Disabled Students Helpline webpage on the Disability Rights UK website. Disability Rights UK also has a comprehensive collection of free factsheets and guides that you may find helpful, including student-specific resources.

Contact details for the Disabled Students Helpline:

• Telephone: 0330 995 0414 (calls from a landline are free, but mobile providers may charge)
• Telephone opening hours: 11am–1pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Email: students@disabilityrightsuk.org

At Live Well Leicester, free support and services can be accessed on the following topics: stop smoking, managing alcohol intake, managing weight, healthy eating and increasing levels of physical activity. In order to access this service, your GP needs to refer you and you are given a 12 week free programme to help you in all relevant areas. Information on this service can be found on this website with a further breakdown for each category. For individuals with accessibility needs, there is a dedicated team specifically trained to work with individuals with disabilities. When trying to increase your physical activity levels, for example, you are matched with a coach who will show you which exercises you can physically do safely.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit that is not calculated using the amount of money you have, from either income or savings. It can even be claimed if you’re a student, working or both. This is based off of your ability, or inability, to do certain everyday tasks because of a long-term physical or mental health condition, or disability.

A PIP staff member working for the government would assess your daily living needs and mobility. How much money you receive will depend on the extent to which you need help and whether you need help in relation to one or both parts.

It is strongly advised that you call free PIP claim line at 0800 917 2222 at your earliest convenience. The process is well known to be long and stressful but if you are approved for a PIP allowance, this allowance will be backdated to when you first started your claim. So if you call the claim line in March but only begin filling out the paperwork in May, you will be given a lump sum of your weekly allowance since the day you started your claim.

There are several organisations that provide specialist help both online and in-person with the application process and understanding how to best utilise the benefits on offer from the government.

Government website- Provides specific information.

Citizen’s Advice website - Further information and advice, including application guidance.

Citizen’s Advice in-person - Use this postcode searcher online to find your closest advice site. 

Disability Rights UK Website PDF Version + Word Document Version - Application guidance and eligibility criteria.

Saffron Lane Resource Centre - Provide in-person support on government benefit schemes including PIP.

Advicelocal website - Lists all advice services in your local area that relates to different aspects of disabled and social care life. 

Most adults in England have to pay for their prescriptions, including university students. This is not always the case, however, such as:

• when obtaining items that are always free (eg. contraceptives and medicines prescribed for hospital inpatients)
• when the person is eligible for free prescriptions

A list of instances in which a person is eligible for free prescriptions can be found on the ’Who can get free prescriptions’ webpage (NHS). Two instances in which a person is eligible for free prescriptions are where they:

• have a specified medical condition (a list of eligible medical conditions can be found on the NHS Business Service Authority’s ’Medical exemption certificates’ webpage)
• have a continuing physical disability that prevents them from going out without help from another person

In both instances, you will need to apply for a medical exemption certificate to access free prescriptions; this can be done by requesting an FP924A (‘MedEx’) application form from your GP. Other ways in which you may be able to get your prescriptions for free or at a reduced cost include:

• NHS Low Income Scheme. If you have a low income, you may be able to receive full help or partial help with your prescription costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. For more information, including how to apply, you can visit the NHS Low Income Scheme webpage.
• Prescription prepayment certificate (PPC). When you pay for your prescriptions, you are charged per item. With a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC), you pay a set amount and are covered for all NHS prescriptions, no matter how many items you need; this can be helpful in instances where you know you will have to pay for a lot of NHS prescriptions. For more information on PPCs, including how to buy one, you can visit the ’Save money with a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC)’ webpage (NHS).

Scope is a disability equality charity in England and Wales. They provide practical information and emotional support as well as campaigning with the aim of creating a fairer society.

Their website contains a lot of useful information and resources, as well as information on how to get involved with their work, their current campaigns and more.

Visit the Scope website for more information.

The CEA Card is a national card scheme that enables a disabled cinema guest to receive a free extra ticket when they purchase a cinema ticket for themselves. The aim of the scheme is to make cinemas more accessible and the free ticket is provided so someone can accompany you to provide any assistance you may need.

Most cinemas participate, including Leicester’s Phoenix Cinema, Showcase Leicester De Lux and Odeon Leicester. You can use the CEA Card website’s postcode searcher to find participating cinemas near you.

You can visit the CEA Card website for more information, including eligibility and pricing information.