What support is available and how can it be accessed?
Last updated: November 2024
Who are Disability Services?
Each university has a dedicated Disability Services team. These are the experts in student wellbeing and disability support. They are responsible for coordinating support and access arrangements for disabled students and students with specific learning difficulties. They work with academic colleagues, University services and external agencies.
NTU: Disability and Inclusion Team
UoN: Disability Support Services
What support is available?
If you have been diagnosed with or disability, it is strongly recommended that you engage with your local Disability Services who can provide expert support and guidance for a wide range of support needs, for example:
- Long-term health conditions – anything from Ankylosing spondylitis to Vertigo
- Visual and hearing Impairments
- Physical mobility and access needs
- Specific learning differences such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and Tourettes
- Mental health conditions – a broad spectrum of diagnoses from Anxiety to personality disorders
- Autism, Autism Spectrum conditions, and ADHD
Depending on your individual needs and circumstances, Disability Service can help to:
- Apply for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA): This is a government scheme that covers study costs related to a disability and/or long-term health condition.
- Identify Reasonable adjustments: The team can help you put together a comprehensive plan of support measures and advice on how to best navigate your PhD study. This most frequently leads to an Access Statement, sometimes called a Support Plan, being produced. This is a document that details what reasonable adjustments the University will implement to ensure you can carry out your PhD studies comfortably.
- Gain Access to Assistive Technologies: Both universities have a range of existing accessibility tools that you can be given access to as a way to address you needs.
- Implement Specific Study Support: When meeting with Disability Services, they can help you identify relevant study support group workshops or 1-1 advice sessions which can help you explore relevant tools and approaches to managing different areas of your research work.
The support that both university Disability Services teams can provide is wide ranging and is highly adaptable depending on your needs. Please visit their pages via the links above to find out more about the services they offer.
How can you access support?
When accessing support from Disability Services, you should always approach the relevant team at your primary institution first. When meeting with a member of the team, if a relevant need is identified, they may suggest that you also contact Disability Services at your secondary institution, but this is not always necessary.
At the start of your PhD
When you complete your university registration at the beginning of your PhD, you will be asked whether you wish to disclose your disability status. If you choose to disclose a disability, this will automatically trigger the local Disability Services team to reach out to you and initiate any assessment for support.
At any other time during your PhD
If you choose not to engage with the Disability Services when you register at the start of your PhD, or you require support at any other stage of your PhD, use the links above to navigate to the relevant Disability Services webpage where you will find details of how to contact each team and refer yourself to their services. Your lead supervisor can also make a referral on your behalf, if for any reason you are unable to do so at the time.
Further advice and chaperones
Your Students’ Union
As an active student, you are automatically included as a member of your primary institution’s Students’ Union (SU). The SU is in fact separate from the University and provides a range of advice, support, and advocacy, independent from the University – similar to that of a workers’ union.
You can contact your primary institution’s SU at any point for advice on a wide range of topics, include wellbeing and disability support.
Chaperones for meetings and discussions
If you find conversations about your disability or support needs to challenging, you can request a trained representative from your Student’s Union to help you prepare for and/or accompany you to a specific meeting with your supervisors, the Co(l)lab team, or any other such meeting.
These representatives will be trained and knowledgeable about your rights as a students, University practices and services, and will be able to support you and to be an advocate on your behalf.
Important actions to take and points to note
There are useful things every PhD candidate should be aware of when engaging with Disability Services. The points below are intended to help you and the Co(l)lab team work most effectively together to ensure you have the support you require, when you need it.
- Speak to your Lead Supervisor: We strongly encourage you to speak to your Lead Supervisor about your support needs at any time. It is your Lead Supervisor’s role to ensure you have appropriate support in place, and in most cases, they will be able to put most reasonable adjustments in place for you, make necessary referrals, and give you further guidance.
- Speak to the Co(l)lab team: We strongly encourage you to request an appointment to speak to a member of the Co(l)lab team, at any time, to discuss your needs or a change in your needs. All conversations are treated as strictly confidential. This can be a useful opportunity to help us better understand what we can do to support you and sign post you to any other relevant services.
- Confidentiality and Information Sharing: When engaging with Disability Support services (or the Co(l)lab team regarding related matters), it’s important to know that the details of your personal circumstances will NOT be shared with anyone else without your explicit consent. While it is necessary for different teams within and between universities to discuss your needs to ensure support measures are in place, this is always done on a “need to know” basis and without disclosure of specific personal details. For example, while the Co(l)lab team will need to liaise with Disability Services, both sides will be aware that you are engaging their services, but no unnecessary detail will be shared – only what is essential to delivering necessary support.
- Share your Access Statement / Support Plan with us: After assessment with Disability Services, you may agree to create an Access Statement or Support Plan. When this is created for you, as a PhD student, a copy is always sent to your lead supervisor to ensure they can support your appropriately. While Disability Services at both institutions will send a copy of this to the Co(l)lab team, to avoid any delays, we ask that you share a copy with the Co(l)lab team directly. This will be held confidentially and ensure we are able to make any necessary reasonable adjustments for you in future Co(l)lab training and events.