Doncaster Council

About the Disabled Student Allowances

DSAs help to fund extra costs you have to pay to attend your course as a direct result of a disability or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia. DSAs are not means tested.

You may be eligible for DSAs if you are attending;

• A full time undergraduate course and are personally eligible for support for that course or;
• A part-time undergraduate course of between 1 and 6 years’ duration and are personally eligible for part-time support for that course or;
• A post-graduate course of at least one years’ duration and leading to a masters degree, doctorate, postgraduate diploma or certificate.

Application process for Disabled Students' Allowances

In order that we may determine your eligibility for DSAs you will need to complete form ‘PN1’ for higher education support for full time courses which can be obtained from :

 Student Support Section,
 Council House,
 College Road,
 Doncaster,
 DN1 3AD.
 Telephone 01302 737174/176
 Email: student.support@doncaster.gov.uk

Alternatively you may apply on-line at www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk, from the homepage select "I am planning to go into higher education" and then select "Forms & Guides", the form is available in pdf format.

Please contact the Student Support Section (above) for part-time and postgraduate application forms.

Establishing your Disability

Once you have completed form PN1 you should forward it to this department together with medical evidence of your disability. This should either be a doctor’s letter or educational psychologists report if you have a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia or ADHD, explaining how your disability would affect your ability to study.

Unfortunately the cost of establishing your disability cannot be met from the DSA.

Assessment of Needs

Once we have received satisfactory evidence of your disability/learning difficulty, a letter will be forwarded to you confirming you may arrange an Assessment of Needs at a registered Access Centre. 

You will attend an appointment at the Access Centre which will determine your needs for the course. The Access Centre will then forward a report to you and to this department confirming the recommendations. 

A further letter will be sent to you confirming which recommendations this department has agreed. Payments for any equipment and services will normally be paid direct to the supplier. 

The Allowances for full time undergraduate courses 2008/09

The Specialist Equipment Allowance

• Up to a maximum of £5,030 for the whole course
• Intended for major items of equipment such as a computer or special furniture            

The Non-Medical Helpers Allowance

• Up to a maximum of £20,000 per year (pro-rata for part time students)
• To help pay for helpers e.g. notetakers or specialist tutors            

The General DSA

• Up to a maximum of £1,680 per year (pro-rata for part-time students)
• To cover any general costs as a result of your disability whilst studying, e.g. books, tapes or photocopying paper. It can also be used to top up the other two allowances if needed.            

Travel

• If you have to pay extra travel costs to attend your university or college because of your disability, you may be eligible for help with these costs from the DSAs. DSAs cannot be used to fund everyday travel costs which any student would expect to have.

The Allowances for Postgraduate courses in 2008/09

There is one allowance to meet all costs up to £10,000 a year for both full-time and part-time postgraduate students. This can be used for specialist equipment, non-medical personal helpers, extra travel costs or other course-related costs.

Further Information

A copy of the Department for Education and Skills booklet ‘Bridging the Gap’, giving further information about DSAs, can be downloaded from their website www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport

Other useful websites

Skill: the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities – www.skill.org
The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) – www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk