Disability Support

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:

• England
• Northern Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales

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:

• Into Higher Education 2018: The guide for disabled people’ (by Disability Rights UK)
• Funding higher education for disabled students 2018/19  (by Disability Rights UK)
• Extra Help -  Disabled Students’ Allowances - Student Finance England

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. 

The following information is for higher education offer-holders and students.
 

What is Consent to Share?

‘Consent to Share’ is how Student Services obtain consent from students to share information about a disability or health condition.

It is your decision as to whether you consent, however all students who have declared a disability must either consent, or not consent.
 

How do I give Consent to Share?

There is a ‘Consent to Share’ section on eGo, on the ‘My Support’ page.

For offer-holders: If you declared a disability on your application, you will be asked to complete this before your enrolment. If this is not completed beforehand, you will be asked to do so as part of the online enrolment process in September.

For current students: You can declare a disability and give consent to share at any point during your studies. You will usually be asked to complete this following a meeting with a member of Student Services.

Who does Student Services share my information with?

Student Services will primarily share information relating to your disability or condition with staff within the School who are directly involved with teaching or supporting you, and/or external providers such as needs assessment centres or non-medical helpers.

All information is shared on a need-to-know basis.

For further information on what is shared and who with, please see the table below: 

If there is a need to share information with individuals not directly involved in providing support this must be expressly agreed and evidenced in writing.

What if I do not want to give consent?

You may choose not to give consent to share, and find you can cope with the demands of the course without adjustments, using general support available within the School and external services such as DSA. However, without consent the accommodations that can be made within your
course will be limited.

What if I don’t want teaching staff to know certain details?

We understand that disclosing sensitive information is not always easy, and there may be details that you do not want your department to know about. Should this be the case, please let Student Services know so that we can adjust your Consent to Share information.

However, please be aware that this in some cases this could impact on the level of support that can be offered to you by your department.

What if I want to withdraw my consent to share?

You can withdraw your consent to share at any point. You can do so by logging into eGo and updating your consent to share preference. You should also arrange a meeting with a member of the Student Services team to discuss this.

Where can I find full information on how my information is used?

The following documents can be accessed for full information on the School’s and City of London’s privacy notices: 

Guildhall School privacy notice: https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/privacy

City of London privacy notice: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/privacy/

Please see the table below for an overview of how we may share information. Please note, this relates to higher education students and offer holders only. These lists are not exhaustive.

How do I disclose a disability on my application?  

When completing your online application, there will be a section in which you can declare a disability/condition and enter in any relevant information.  

How do I request reasonable adjustments for my audition/interview?

If you are invited to interview/audition, the information you entered about your disability/condition on your application will be passed onto the Learning Support Senior Advisor (member of the Student Affairs team). You will then be contacted to discuss your needs, for example any reasonable adjustments and/or access requirements.

Who does information relating to my disability/condition go to?

The information disclosed on your application is only accessible to the administrative team and the Learning Support Senior Advisor.

If we deem that information about your disability needs to be shared with the audition panel to make sure that you receive a fair assessment, we will share the following information (all information will be shared and considered confidentially):

• That you have declared a disability
• Reasonable adjustments required (as established between yourself and the Learning Support Senior Advisor).

If however after carefully considering your disability we do not feel your audition/interview panel needs to know this information, we will not share it with them.

Academic staff will not be made aware of disability information unless you progress to offer-holder stage and you complete the ‘Consent to Share’ process.