Dear Colleagues,
A request for tutorial support has just been put to me for a student presenting with SpLD (dyslexia) , as an assessor.
The proposed provider is a large company - a big mover now moving into specialist learning support. The costs quoted are £300 set up fee, plus £66 for a risk assessment ostensibly in order to work in a student's home.
The student, when asked, didn't know anything about working at home. What she had agreed with the tutor was to meet at the British Library because there are no rooms at the University.
There are no grounds to agree to this, and such a request trivialises the situations where there is a real need that warrants exceptional and expensive arrangements.
The student says that she has not had any support so far, as there is no one available at her university. She is now just a few months from the end of her course, and she came to see me originally almost 2 years ago.
Clearly, we have to do some joined up thinking as a sector here, and quickly. This is not rocket science. Isn't it time we had a website for the sector for non-medical helpers, where practitioners could list their qualifications, experience and contact details, so that students could go there and find support in their area when the University disability service is not able to place a student directly. There is a need for a fall back position, otherwise, the system becomes prey to either cynicism or gross misjudgement and loss of perspective.
What can universities do to make suitable accommodation available for these encounters?
What can ADSHE do as a key professional organisation in this field of work?
Regards,
Penny Georgiou
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