Disability Support
Our team of practitioners provide advice, guidance, and practical support; helping students with disabilities to understand and fully access any support on offer to them throughout their studies.
About the Disability Support Team
The Disability Support Team is available all year round to advise you with:
- How to access the support you may be entitled to whilst studying at Leeds Conservatoire, which could include individual adjustments to learning and teaching practices or assessments.
- Support to disclose and evidence, or investigate, any disability, neurodiversity, mental health condition and/or long-term health condition.
- Free diagnostic screening services if you identify with traits of Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and/or traits of ADHD
- Accessing the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).
- Accessing other support services at the conservatoire, or from local authorities.
Accessing Support for Your Disability
To access the support we offer, you must disclose your disability on the My Disability Support section on My Portal.
How to Disclose Your Disability
You can disclose any disabilities, neurodiversity, mental health conditions, or long-term health conditions which last–or are likely to last–12 months or more, and request any individual adjustments via our Disability Referral form.
Information and Evidence to Include in your Declaration
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.
If you are eligible for UK Student Funding can read our guide: Supporting Information for ‘Home-Funded’ Students, which details on what you can provide in the My Disability Support section on My Portal 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.
If you are an International student you can access our equivalent guide: Supporting Information for International Students.
Questions and Support
If you are having any difficulties accessing the My Disability Support section on My Portal, wish to send additional evidence to us, or have queries about disability support at Leeds Conservatoire; contact the Disability Support Team (disability@leedsconservatoire.ac.uk) and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
Adjustments & Support
How we can put appropriate adjustments and support in place to accommodate your requirements.
After disclosing details of your disability, neurodiversity, mental health condition or long-term health condition, a tailored adjustment plan will be created for you.
Your adjustment plan will contain any Alternative Assessment Arrangements. In addition, general accessible learning and teaching practices are embedded within our programmes.
Accessible Learning & Teaching
These general accessible learning and teaching practices are embedded in all programmes:
- Lecture capture via Panopto is available for each relevant module on Space – our VLE. You can use this to re-watch lectures and larger teaching sessions.
- Teaching materials and resources are made available on module pages at least 24 hours in advance of your lessons.
- You are allowed to make audio recording of your classes, it is advised that you make the tutor aware if you will be recording a session
- The Skills for Learning service offers you support to enhance your academic and digital skills. You can book in-person and online sessions 1-to-1 sessions, or access self-paced learning resources on Space. They can also help you utilise tools and tips to help you with different aspects of your learning, such as time management, organisation, research, planning, and writing.
Alternative Assessment Arrangements
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.
To learn more, please refer to the dedicated page.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
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-to-1 Specialist Mentoring, 1-to-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 ask about the support options and funding available to you.
How to Apply for DSA
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)
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.
For Scottish applicants using SAAS, refer to the application guide on their website.
What happens when your DSA application is accepted
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.
Study Needs Assessors aim to offer you the support needed as an individual. Our Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) Study Needs Assessments document informs what you may want to ask for during your Needs Assessment, and what support you may be provided.
Assistive Technology
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.
Microsoft Assistive Features
Immersive Reader is a text-to-speech tool in many Microsoft products.
Dictate lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Microsoft 365 apps using your voice.
Screenings & Diagnostic Routes
We offer diagnostic screenings for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (DCD) and ADHD traits if formal diagnosis has not been undertaken before.
Dyslexia, Dyspraxia & ADHD Screening
If you would like to have a diagnostic screening for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you can start the process by filling out our screening form.
Once you submit Part 1, you will receive instructions to your conservatoire email from QuickScreen to complete Part 2.
Results will only be provided once you complete both parts 1 & 2
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.
Screening Form
Complete the first part of our screening process.
Although our process can identify indicators of ADHD to support DSA applications, this would not constitute a medical diagnosis or allow any medical or therapeutic intervention.
We therefore strongly suggest that you seek a full diagnosis of ADHD from the NHS or privately, alongside completing our process. ADHD UK have a guide which provides further information about diagnostic pathways.
If you have any questions or difficulties filling out the questionnaire, please contact disability@leedsconservatoire.ac.uk.
Autism Spectrum Conditions
Unfortunately, Leeds Conservatoire cannot screen for Autism Spectrum Conditions (ACS), as this has to be completed by a medical professional.
If you wish to seek a medical diagnosis for ASC, you can explore the following routes:
- Through your GP
- Through a local self-referral service, such as LADS in Leeds
- Through a private medical practitioner
You may find that a pre-diagnostic questionnaire is useful for exploring autism. These are screening tools and do not constitute medical diagnosis. A widely used pre-diagnosis questionnaire is the Autism Quotient-50.
Waiting Lists and Right to Choose
Autism diagnostic testing waiting lists are generally extraordinarily long currently, with some NHS locations showing over 2 years from initial referral to diagnosis.
You may also wish to explore NHS Right to Choose with your GP if waiting lists are long in your area. Psychiatry UK offer a helpful guide to navigating Right to Choose.