Wanted - Disabled Students Allowance in Further Education!

This blog will give you an outline of the second priority campaign for this year. We’re really proud to have a campaign specifically targeted at the rights of disabled students in Further Education. We know that, all too often in the student movement, the needs of FE students are ignored. As a campaign, we’re proud that a third of our conference delegates are from FE and a number of our most committed activists are FE students.

Lets put this in context. The reality of discrimination that disabled face in day to day life results in a number of barriers for disabled people who want to access post-compulsory education.

We know consistently that disabled people are far more likely to enter education as mature students, or enter education after having children: perhaps after previously attempting but dropping out.

So we know that, for disabled people, further education is vital. In its own merit, it provides careers for disabled people through vocational courses, it provides a space to think, study and reflect. For some people, it can also be a journey onto more study, perhaps in Higher Education.

But what is the system of support? How do disabled people have their access needs met?

Lets consider the wider picture of support for disabled people in education. Lets take the example of a dyslexic person.

At school, disability support is provided in the form of a ‘statement’ (lets not even go there with the terminology…). After assessment, disabled people are ‘statemented’ by their school or education authority and then provided with support and adjustments, usually coming out of either the school budget or the central authority pot.

Once a student leaves school, that statement disappears and the responsibility to provide accessible education in Further Education lies upon the college to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ under the DDA. These reasonable adjustments might entail altering buildings, moving classes or, in the case of a dyslexic student, might entail, say, providing notes in advance.

However, as we know, the Disability Discrimination Act is currently a nightmare. Its implementation in education has generally been ineffective and its use to disabled students minimal (see blog: Our Opinions Count). So the reality is that if a college does not meet the access needs of a student : the student can’t afford to sue them and a standstill is met.

Assuming the student manages to get through college and goes onto higher education, we get yet another system – both the DDA and disabled students allowance.

Disabled Students Allowance enables students to claim cash for equipment or adjustments. In the case of a dyslexic student, it might be money for photocopying, perhaps a laptop with access software or maybe a tutor to help out a couple of times a week in addition to the standard tuition.

Its full of silly red tape, takes too long to sort out and the caps on it are too low, but at least it exists. At least there is some form of support for the costs associated with making a course accessible.

Assuming a student wishes to progress to postgraduate education, they still can claim Disabled Students Allowance, but the cap on funding halves. We’re not quite sure why this is : perhaps someone in Whitehall decided that people are ‘less disabled’ by the time they enter postgrad education; or perhaps they think postgraduates are all on research courses – who knows.

So to recap the system is:

School – statements and funding for school

FE – Disability Discrimination Act – no funding

Undergrad – Disabled students allowance to student

Postgrad – Disabled students allowance but half the cap

Four different systems, each with their own set of red tape, each with their own silly version of New Labour means testing and each designed in a way that makes it as hard as possible to get support for disability.

My Disabled Students Allowance took 11 months to sort out. From medical reports to arguments over relevant equipment, the whole process was a nightmare. By the time I received the adjustments and support I needed, I was a year into my course.

Whilst I was at college, I simply didn’t have any access adjustments (I ended up on a flexible ‘work from home’ course as a result).

If Disabled Students Allowance was in place from the point of further education, it would seamlessly pass on to higher education without a drama, and then seamlessly pass onto post grad without a drama.

The system can stay the same from when you leave school at 16 right up until you finish education.

Wanted: Disabled Students Allowance in FE !

We believe that the introduction of DSA in FE will create a much simpler system of access support and that it will fill the much needed holes in the education of disabled people at college.

If you’re 16 and working class and you’re at college with a disability, how are you supposed to afford all the extra photocopying charges when you only get a measly Education Maintenance Allowance? How are you support to claim from the measly support fund in place for FE when the pot runs out before the start of term?

How would you afford a British Sign Language interpreter to come every day and interpret your lessons? What about a note taker if your impairment means you can’t write?

All of these things are consistently referred to as ‘not reasonable’ by colleges yet all of these things are needed for disabled people to access Further Education.

We’re starting a campaign to introduce Disabled Students Allowance into Further Education. We recognise that DSA is not perfect, and we’re campaigning for a better DSA across the board.

But there needs to be something for students in FE – we just can’t continue to let things slip.

Our campaign will involve a lobby of parliament, an early day motion and continuous pressure on policy makers. We’ll mobilise disabled students to actively change this horrendous system of funding so that we can access education in the same way as everyone else. Get in touch if you want to help!

Wanted – Disabled Students Allowance in Further Education!