Historically, Non-Specialist Human Support was paid through a component of the Disabled Student's Allowance known as the ‘Non Medical Helpers Allowance’.

The level of support that a student required was usually decided by an independent assessor of need.

However, as of September 2016 the government have announced that they expect Higher Education Providers (i.e. universities like Queen Mary) to pay for and provide for this support as part of the raft of reasonable adjustments that are made available to disabled students as part of their responsibility to disabled students under the Equality Act.

International students

Queen Mary has a legal obligation to support its international students, including those with disabilities.

As such, DDS pays for the cost of supporting international disabled students as part of its commitment to comply with the Equality Act. 

Therefore, you may find yourself supporting an international student – as far as Non-Specialist Human Support workers are concerned there is no difference in the way that you will work or are paid.

Last modified: Monday, 15 August 2016, 2:44 PM