Congratulations, you have been accepted at your chosen university to study the course you have been working towards for the past few years! This is an exciting time, but it may feel as though you have lots to think about to access your course on top of other worries such as leaving home and moving to a new place.
Up until now, you may have had CSWs in class at school or college and you haven’t had to organise this. At university, you are expected to organise your communication support and apply for funding to pay for it.
Communication support is paid for using the DSA (Disabled Students Allowance) funding from the government. You can find out more about it and apply by following the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa
During the interview process for university, they may have provided a BSL interpreter/Lip speaker/Notetaker for you and you may have been introduced to the Disability and Inclusion Officer. The Disability and Inclusion officer is a useful person to know, they can provide you with lots of advice and support to help you settle in and access your course. They can even support you with your DSA application. If you don’t have the email of your Disability and Inclusion Officer, then get in contact with the university and ask for their details.
During the DSA process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your deafness such as your Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and they may want to talk to your Teacher of the Deaf (ToD). You will also be asked to attend an assessment; you can email or call to book your assessment and they can provide communication support for you.
At the assessment, they will ask you questions about the support you received in school or college and what your course involves, such as work placements. This is to help ensure that they give you the right support so you can be fully involved in your education. They may also look at different equipment that may be useful to you.
Once you are approved you can then start looking at DSA Approved providers on the Non-Medical Helpers List
https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/exchange-blog/2019/november/guidance-for-assessment-centres/
Prestige Network is on this list which means that we can work with you to provide communication support for your course. We provide British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters, Sign Supported English (SSE) Interpreters, Lip Speakers and Notetakers.
We have lots of experience providing this support and you will have one person who deals with your support who you can speak to directly and will understand your needs. We work closely with universities to ensure that everyone is working together so that you can have the best university experience possible.
If you would like Prestige Network to provide your DSA-funded communication support please email sales@prestigenetwork.com
