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Disability Support
Student Services provides confidential advice and support to both prospective and enrolled students with disabilities – including physical disabilities, sensory impairments, specific learning disabilities, long-term medical conditions and mental health requirements. If we are aware of your disability, there are many things we can do to assist you.
Disability Support
To ensure that your needs are catered for we can offer:
- individual consultation and supportive sessions with the Senior Disability and Welfare Advisor and/or the Senior Health and Welfare Advisor,
- screening for specific learning difficulties (including Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and ADHD and Autism),
- a programme of specialist study skills tuition within the School,
- assessments, recommendations and adjustments of residential and learning environments,
- liaison with academic departments to make special arrangements for auditions, interviews, examinations and to ensure students’ needs are being met in learning and performance contexts.
In addition we have counsellors and mentors who are available to support students who need this.
We can make referrals for diagnostic assessments, guide students through the process of applying for Disabled Students' Allowance, provide information on alternative financial support where required, support students as they begin to use specialist equipment/software and implement new strategies for studying.
The Senior Disability and Welfare Advisor
If you are thinking about coming to the Guildhall School to study, the Senior Disability and Welfare Advisor can meet with you online or via phone call, to discuss your needs, the demands of the course and the provision for people with disabilities – in order to assist you in making a decision about applying or accepting a place. This can take place at any time during the academic year that is convenient for you.
Learning Resources
The IT department has provided additional workstations which offer specialist facilities for dyslexic or visually impaired students including large letter keyboards, Inspirations; Read and Write software, Lunar magnification package and Dragon Speech software.
The Library is also extremely supportive of students with disabilities – help is available for navigating around library resources, using electronic databases and extended loans can be arranged for those who need them.
Please note that support for English as a foreign language is provided by the Academic Departments.
Getting Support
The following FAQ should help to guide you through any questions you might have about accessing support for a disability and/or a long-term medical condition, and direct you to the people who can offer more information.
Please ensure any information about any disability and/or a long-term medical condition that may affect your studies is disclosed to the Student Services team, or is declared on your eGo record.
The Student Services team will aim to contact all new students who disclose disability/health information by mid-July, with the aim of organising and confirming support before September.
UK students may be eligible for a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). You should apply as soon as possible as the process takes on average 16 weeks.
You will need medical evidence to apply for DSA.
You can obtain further information from your local DSA funding body:
Students from the Republic of Ireland may be entitled to funding via the Fund for Students with Disabilities (which is funded by the Irish Government). For further information about the fund, guidance on making an application and other financial support, please visit their website.
Unfortunately, international students are not eligible for the UK government disability allowances. However, the School can offer support such as study skills and mentoring. It is the responsibility of the EU and overseas students to enquire from their own country whether or not they are eligible for any financial help.
You may also wish to look up the following helpful guides for prospective students:
To access general support from Student Services, you do not need to provide medical evidence.
If you would like to access disability support, including reasonable adjustments, funding, etc., we may ask for supporting documentation (e.g. a letter from your GP, a diagnostic report) about your disability or long-term condition to help us best support you. If you do not have any documentation, please get in contact with Student Services as we can discuss support on a case-by-case basis.
For DSA applications, you will medical evidence that details the impact of your disability on your day-to-day life. It should also be signed, with details of the medical professional and the service. You can also ask your healthcare provider to complete the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) Disability Evidence Form.
If you have an SpLD, or an educational diagnosis of ADHD or Autism, the diagnostic report will be accepted.
Full information on DSA evidence can be found on the DSA website here: Help if you're a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability: Eligibility - GOV.UK
If you are unsure but think you might have a disability, we would encourage you to contact Student Services as early as possible, prior to starting your course or at your earliest opportunity once your studies commence (although this can be at any point during your course) so we can offer you an informal discussion regarding your needs and studies at the Guildhall School.
Student Services can offer screenings for dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and Autism. If appropriate, we can refer you for a funded educational assessment to enable you to access further support, for example DSA.
Non-Medical Helper Information for Practitioners/Needs Assessors
The information below is intended for disability practitioners, particularly Needs Assessors who are writing an Assessment of Needs report. It includes the current rates charged for supporting students with a disability and is a requirement of DSA- QAG, (Disabled Students Allowances Quality Assurance Group), that we publish this information on our website.
Non-Medical Helper Support
Guildhall School of Music & Drama aims to provide non-medical helper support to all of our disabled students as required. Where we do not necessarily have the support in-house, we work and liaise with external specialist agencies to provide this.
If you require any further information regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact:
Disability Statement
At Guildhall School of Music & Drama, we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all students, regardless of disability or specific learning difference (SpLD), can achieve their full potential and thrive creatively, academically, and personally. We support students with a wide range of disabilities and SpLDs through tailored services provided by our Student Services team, and we can also help you access relevant external support where needed.
What do we mean by ‘disability’?
Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (Equality Act 2010).
Including but not limited to the following:
• physical disability
• sensory loss
• mental health conditions
• health conditions (e.g. asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis)
• medical conditions which may cause pain or other symptoms which affect your studies
• specific learning differences (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia)
• ADHD and autism
• any other condition which has a significant effect on your ability to study.