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The Disabled Students' Allowance, or DSA,
is a grant available to UK residents
in Higher Education who have a disability or a specific learning
difficulty.
The purpose of the grant is to pay for the
extra costs you have as a student as a result of your disability
or specific learning difficulty. It can be used to fund
non-medical helper support, specialist equipment
and assistive IT technology. Depending on your disability
you may be able to receive funding towards travel.
As part of the DSA application process
you will have a needs assessment to determine the support that you need.
CLASS are Central London Assessment Services
London's largest and most experienced Assessment Centre.
We form part at the University of Westminster
and are located here, on the first floor
at 101
New Cavendish Street. Our nearest tube stations
are Great Portland Street, Oxford Circus
and Goodge Street. We have a team of
experienced assessors, who have expertise covering a wide range of
disabilities. Our five assessment rooms
are fully equipped with the latest assistive technology and
ergonomic aids available.
In order to access the DSA, you will need to fill in an application form.
The funding body that you apply to depends on where you live
and the type of course that you are studying. If you are in doubt
who you should apply to, you can contact the Disability Team
at your university who will be able to help you.
After your funding body have processed
and approved your application they will write to you
asking you to have a needs assessment. CLASS have a dedicated
admin team who are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday to Friday. When you receive your letter
give us a call and a member of our team will book you in.
We will send you a booking confirmation email
confirming the date and time of your appointment.
We will also attach a map to help you find us.
You will need to bring the following documents with you to your assessment
a copy of your medical evidence or diagnostic report
and the letter from your funding body asking you to have an assessment.
After signing in you need to take the lift
to the first floor.
The receptionist will let your assessor know that you have arrived.
We have a comfortable seating area available
where you can wait until your assessor comes to collect you.
A needs assessment is an informal discussion
between you and a needs assessor, concerning the difficulties you face
in accessing your course. It takes between an hour and a half
and two hours. Our experienced assessors
will have an understanding of your disability and the challenges that you
face.
The assessor will explain how the Disabled Students' Allowance works
and outline the kind of support that is available to you.
They have expert knowledge of assistive technology,
ergonomic equipment, non-medical helper support
and a variety of other support strategies that are available to you
through the DSA. During your assessment
you will have the opportunity to trial any support strategy
that your needs assessor discusses with you. That way
you can decide if you think it is something that will work for you.
After your assessment your assessor will write a report
documenting all of the support strategies that you agreed
during your assessment. The report is then quality assured
by one of our experienced QA administrators
and sent to your funding body for processing. It can take up to 10 working
days
from the date of your appointment for the final version of your report to be
sent.
Our experienced admin team are available from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer any questions that you may have.
Once your funding body have processed your needs assessment report
they will write to you outlining the support
that has been agreed. To place your equipment order
you will need to contact the approved supplier.
You can find their details in Section E of your report.
If you are having difficulty organising your support
you can book an appointment to see a member of the Disability Team
at your university, who will be able to help you.
Your needs assessment report is designed to support you for the duration of your
course.
If at any time you would like to discuss your support
you can contact CLASS by telephone, email
or through Twitter.