Frequently asked questions 

Will I need to do an extra risk assessment for disabled students in labs, on study visits?

The LSP will include an adjustment recommending a Health and Safety risk assessment for labs or study visits for a student.  If a student does not have this in their LSP but the faculty wish to query this they would need to contact the students Disability Adviser in the first instance.

Please read the placement procedure for information about health and safety on placement, particularly where a student does not wish to share disability information but where academics feel a health and safety assessment will be required. 

If the LSP says additional time in exams does this apply to exams I set in term time?

Yes. However, the practicalities for some assessments such OSCE will need further thought around making these accessible for some students. It would be helpful to speak with the Disability Adviser and the student in these instances.

Who is responsible for arranging a student’s support in exams?

For the standard exam periods in January May and August, the exams office will identify and arrange all the exam adjustments that appear in the LSP for the student.

For term time and in-class timebound summative assessments it is the responsibility of the module tutor to let the school support office or faculty LSP Contact know when these are likely to take place and in good time. This is especially important if the student has non-medical help arrangements such as separate rooms, scribes or readers as these support workers will need to be sourced well before the exam. The exam office will source these people for these types of exams. However the Department may be instrumental in arranging the separate room. The key here is planning ahead.

How does my student get support on his/her placement practice? 

The Disability Adviser will discuss with the student at LSP stage the potential impact in placement. The DA will make recommendations in the LSP as far as possible. The personal tutor will complete along with the student placement support agreement, taking into account their knowledge of the likely tasks that will be expected of the student in that subject area and on that placement.

If the student needs non-medical help support on their placement the disability service will arrange this with the student and the provider.

What do I do if I feel there is a Fitness to Study issue?

There is a Health, Wellbeing and Fitness for Study policy in the University which outlines clear and complete directions for following this process.

Where can I find a student’s LSP? 

Student LSP will appear on E-vision once it has been confirmed by the student. As a module tutor you will have access to a vision and a link to students LSP.  This system offers the opportunity for you to be able to read through the LSP, see the background behind the recommended adjustments and be able to plan how those adjustments might be implemented.

What if a disabled student wishes to study abroad in one of our exchange project?

Student will contact the study abroad team and will have a discussion about options just as any other student. Once they have made the decision student needs to be referred back to their Disability Adviser so that the disability adviser can contact the Disability Service in the exchange project. Tailored support will be discussed at that point.

A disabled student on my module has requested an alternative assessment – what are my next steps?

In the first instance the module tutor will need to look at the learning outcomes to ensure that any variation in the assessment will still enable the student to meet those learning outcomes whilst ensuring equivalency for all students on that module. Once this has been established the tutor can introduce a new method of assessment taking into account the students disability related learning needs.

Any faculty process around changing assessment methods will need to be followed. The student’s Disability Adviser can also take part in these discussions where necessary. Best practice would suggest that alternative assessments are built in at module design stage.