Non-Specialist Human Support: working with disabled students

Please find here the assessment profile for your course as well as the timetable for feedback

Summary

Aims and objectives

Section 1: Disability awareness

Support for visually impaired and blind students

Support for Deaf and hard of hearing students

Support for students with physical disabilities

Support for neurodiversity and co-occurring differences, such as dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Support for students with mental health conditions and Autism

Section 2: The legislative background

Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2001

Equality Act 2010

Social model of disability

Medical model versus Social model of disability

Increasingly, the government is asking universities and other providers of Higher Education courses to consider how inclusive their teaching and learning is for all students, including those with disabilities.

This is in line with the social model of disability, which seeks to remove barriers for individuals and thereby reduce the need for individual reasonable adjustments for students wherever possible.

A good example of this is utilising technological resources such as Virtual Learning Environments - Queen Mary use a system called QM Plus, which you are reading this through (this is produced by Moodle), as well as lecture capture systems that record lectures so students can watch them again. Queen Mary has an excellent lecture capture system called Q-review, which academic staff are encouraged to use so that students can relisten to any content should they so wish.

As the government expects universities to prove that they provide excellent teaching to students (as well as research), this agenda will continue. One way this may develop is through the Teaching Excellence Framework, or TEF. At the time of writing, the content of the TEF is very vague but the government consultation can be found here.

The Equality Challenge Unit have produced this resource for universities, which offers guidance and case studies on how to make their teaching more inclusive.

From the perspective of a Non-Specialist Human Support Worker, the disabled students supported at Queen Mary may continue to require support if their disability is so complex that they cannot solely rely on technological resources such as lecture recordings.

For more information please contact Simon Jarvis on s.jarvis@qmul.ac.uk. You may also like to visit the Disability and Dyslexia Service's Inclusive Practice webpages, which contain more information about how universities can provide their students with an inclusive learning experience, as well as advice and guidance on how to ensure that teaching and learning is as accessible as possible. See http://www.dds.qmul.ac.uk/inclusive-practice/

Note-taking in lectures and other taught sessions.

Taking notes for other people

Layout of notes

Spelling

Note-taking exercise: Guns, Germs and Steel (with Professor Jared Diamond)

Reader, Workshop Assistant / Laboratory Assistant

Reader

Transcription support

Workshop / Laboratory Assistant

Practical Support Assistant

Physically disabled students

Blind and visually impaired students

Non-specialist human support available through the Disability and Dyslexia Service.

Section 2: Non-Specialist Human Support Workers and the Disability and Dyslexia Service

Getting paid

QTemps have produced a worker guide with some helpful information. 

Log into QTemps by visiting www.Q-Temps.co.uk and click on “ LOGIN” located at the top right of
the page. If you are yet to register please select “ JOIN QTemps ” to create your QTemps profile.To submit timesheets please follow these simple steps below:

1. Login to your QTemps profile - select “Assignments/Timesheets” found on the left hand
panel.
2. This will take you to a list of all the assignments you have attached to your profile.
3. Click on “Timesheet” to submit hours against a certain job/assignment.
4. You will be redirected to the Timesheet List which will show you all the timesheets you have
available to submit.
5. To enter hours please select the week you want to submit for and click on “ Enter Hours ”.
6. This will take you to the timesheet page which will allow you to select the hours you have
completed. Once you have completed the form using the drop downs provided please click
on “ Submit Timesheet for Authorisation” .
Your timesheet will be sent to your Assignment Manager to approve or query. QTemps sends out
reminders to your managers so you don't have to. You must submit your timesheets by Monday 12
noon be paid on a weekly basis, a week in arrears. New timesheets are generated every Thursday
afternoon.

For more information please:

Visit us at: Careers & Enterprise, Room WG3, Queens Building, Queen Mary, University of London,
Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS

Email us at: qtemps@qmul.ac.uk / Call us on: 020 7882 6921