Each academic year, we welcome a diverse community of students, many of whom have difficulties that require support. The Disability Support Team works with you to arrange reasonable adjustments and remove any barriers to learning that may arise due to your conditions. When students enrol on Higher Education-level courses, they are legally considered as adults, so it is vital that you disclose your disabilities, neurodiversities, mental health conditions, and long-term health conditions (lasting, or likely to last 12 months+) in order to request reasonable adjustments. By disclosing your difficulties to us, any individual reasonable adjustments to teaching/assessment that you may require to access your course fully can then be agreed and organised at the earliest point possible.
Our easy-to-use Student Support Referral Form allows you to disclose your conditions and tailor the specific support information for relevant course staff to know and adjust for, helping to ensure that your difficulties are understood and supported.
Please upload supporting information/evidence to help us enact your individual support and put any required Alternative Assessment Arrangements in place for you in the shortest possible timescale. Documents provided are often diagnostic reports, medical letter or support you had in school/college.
However, students who are eligible for UK Student Funding can access our Disability Support: Supporting Information for ‘Home-Funded’ Students guide here, showing details on what you can provide on the referral form to support your reasonable adjustments request. We also included some details in this document advising on what evidence Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) may ask you to provide when applying for the grant.
International students can access our similar Disability Support: Supporting Information for International Students guide here.
Alternative Assessment Arrangements are adjustments put in place for students who have disclosed and evidenced their difficulties to us, helping to ensure that a level-playing-field is maintained for all students at Leeds Conservatoire. Alternative Assessment Arrangements are tailored to your individual requirements, but for context, some examples of this type of adjustments could be (but are not limited to) extensions to assignment deadlines and additional time to complete timed assessments.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a government grant providing funding towards support depending on your individual requirements, such as (but not limited to); assistive technology, 1-2-1 Specialist Mentoring, 1-2-1 Study Skills support, printing costs, travel costs. DSA is not a loan, is not means-tested, and you do not have to pay it back.
If you are not a ‘Home-funded’ student, please contact the student finance bodies from your home country to enquire about the support options and funding available to you
We recommend that eligible students apply for DSA as soon as they have accepted their offer of study, which helps to ensure support is in place as early as possible.
Applying for DSA is simple and can be completed through the online portal for Student Finance England (SFE), Student Finance Wales (SFW) and Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI), with paper forms available on the same links. The video we have provided for you below shows the online application process for SFE (which also helps with SFW and SFNI, who use similar systems).
For Scottish applicants using SAAS, you can refer to the application guide on their website.
Although we are not a part of the DSA application/approval process, we have provided some details on what evidence they are likely to require from you during your application in our Disability Support: Supporting Information for ‘Home-Funded’ Students guide here.
DSA will ask you to meet with an independent Study Needs Assessor after accepting your application, in order to tailor a support package for you. Although Study Needs Assessors aim to offer you the support needed as an individual, please read our Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) Study Needs Assessments document here, for some general advice on what you may be offered, and what you may want to ask for during your Needs Assessment.
We offer diagnostic screenings for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (DCD) and ADHD traits if formal diagnosis has not been undertaken before. Screenings can be accessed by both enrolled students and applicants who have accepted an offer of study with us . Further diagnostic testing may be available depending on your screening results, but please note that applicants will not be offered further testing until after enrolling with us.
Unfortunately, Leeds Conservatoire cannot screen for Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs), as this has to be completed by a medical professional. However, you can access our Autism Questionnaire, which is available for both applicants and students to help you understand any ASC-related traits you may personally identify with. Please note that our questionnaire is not part of any screening process, is informally provided and is not a diagnostic route.
To find more information on how to seek a medical diagnosis for ASCs, please navigate to the ASCs section on our Student Information site page here.
Accessibility is integral to learning and teaching at Leeds Conservatoire, which helps to ensure that every student has the opportunity to engage with their studies fully. Therefore, lectures are recorded, learning materials are shared in advance of teaching and audio recordings are permitted to name some examples of this. Also, our dedicated Skills for Learning service is available to all students, offering support, drop-in sessions and resources to help with your academic and digital skills development.
Our Health & Wellbeing Team and Occupational Therapy Team are also available for you to access during teaching if you have wellbeing or engagement difficulties whilst you study.
All students can take advantage of the assistive technology automatically available to them after enrolment passes, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. Through your Leeds Conservatoire Microsoft 365 account you receive upon enrolling with us, you can access the Microsoft accessibility features to support your learning. Please navigate to the Assistive Technology section on our Disability Support Student Information page for further details on the built-in accessibility functions available.
Please email disability@leedsconservatoire.ac.uk if you have any questions, or to:
- discuss your disability/condition
- discuss your support/reasonable adjustments request
- discuss a DSA application
- provide additional supporting information/evidence
- request our referral form or information in an alternative forma
Leeds Conservatoire has a modern, fully accessible campus with lift access to all floors. There is a sensory room for students with mental health conditions and neurodivergence, and a rest room for students who need a private space to take medication. Further details about the campus and support arrangements is available on our Information for DSA Study Needs Assessors document here.
Please find the screen-reader-friendly list of links that follow if you have had any difficulties accessing the in-text links on this page.
Student Support Referral Form: https://students.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/student-support/#referral-form
Disability Support Student Information site: https://students.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/disability/
Alternative Assessment Arrangements Student Information site: https://students.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/assessment/alternative-arrangements/
Diagnostic screenings for enrolled: students:https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/d2390dc9991b49d1abbb3f45237cbd94
Diagnostic screenings for applicants: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/0a60e9776c0c4ae5a8aadd994fff5d18
Autism questionnaire (not part of the Screening Process): https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/2aaf4ea579c345f39faa727a00e0b56d
Disability Support Team email: disability@leedsconservatoire.ac.uk
Student Finance England (SFE): https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas
Student Finance Wales (SFW): https://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/undergraduate-finance/full-time/welsh-student/what-s-available/disabled-students-allowance/
Student Finance Scotland (SFNI): https://www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/types-of-finance/postgraduate/tuition-fee-and-extra-help-student/extra-help/disabled-students-allowance/what-is-it/
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS): https://www.saas.gov.uk/guides/disabled-students-allowance
