New report: Supporting disabled students – mapping reasonable adjustments and transition support

Today, TASO has published a new report on the implementation of transition support and reasonable adjustments for disabled students in higher education. The report examines the experiences of a broad range of disabled students and higher education staff. To inform the report, TASO commissioned Advance HE to map the types of support available in these two key areas.

Disabled students

Supporting disabled students: Mapping reasonable adjustments and transition support (PDF)

The report finds that current transition support arrangements are, to an extent, achieving their objectives of helping disabled students become familiarised with higher education life, aiding better understanding of the available support they can access. However, providers also perceive transition support to be difficult to resource and appear to be delivering ‘one-off’ transition support. This is at odds with what disabled students ask for: a meaningful programme of transition support that is relevant to all parts of the student journey.

When considering the provision of reasonable adjustments for disabled students, the research finds that providers offer a range of support. However, the challenges in accessing this support are varied and profound. Disabled students experience barriers such as inconsistent application of reasonable adjustments between academic departments, as well as delays to receiving support – sometimes receiving this as late as after the first year of their studies.

There is also confusion about what support can and cannot be funded by the Disabled Students’ Allowance, and what reasonable adjustments providers should deliver as standard to meet legal requirements under The Equality Act. While the publicised reforms to the allowance aim to streamline communication for students, any misinterpretation around limitations of funding could continue to make it harder for students to receive appropriate and timely support.

Evaluation methods

According to the report, evaluation approaches relating to transition support and reasonable adjustments are in their infancy, and evidence is still emerging. It suggests that the sector needs to improve capacity building to help staff to monitor what works for disabled students, and recommends implementing more qualitative evaluation.

The research also recommends that providers should further disaggregate data to aid understanding of the types of disability and how disability intersects with other protected characteristics. The sector should also seek to systematically include less-frequently represented disabled student groups in their evaluation approaches, such as postgraduate students and students with unseen disabilities.

Key themes and recommendations

The report highlights several key themes and recommendations across the provision of transition support in higher education.

Transition support:

Prospective disabled students need clear, accessible information and guidance.
Programmes in quieter spring/summer periods help students familiarise with higher education environments.
Encouraging early disability disclosure is crucial, especially for students with complex needs or from lower socio-economic backgrounds, to facilitate participation in transition programmes.
Transition programmes during busy induction weeks are challenging; varied approaches and multiple scheduling options are recommended.
Effective transition support involves collaboration with student unions, widening participation teams, schools, parents, and carers.

Reasonable adjustments:

There is confusion about funding, which reasonable adjustments should be delivered as a matter of course, and timeliness of receiving reasonable adjustments. Clarity about sources of funding and provision of support for disabled students is required.
There’s variability in how reasonable adjustments are applied across staff and departments, highlighting a need for better collaboration between academic and disability services staff.
A significant majority of students registered with disability services receive reasonable adjustments.
Providers often meet anticipatory duties in assessments, driven by high demand for adjustments in this area.
A designated contact person for disabled students facilitates better support.
Considering internal funding for reasonable adjustments could offer quicker, anticipatory support for ineligible students or those facing delays.
Regularly collecting data on effective adjustments can inform standardisation and anticipatory strategies.

Research methodology

The research adopted a multi-method approach to map the transition support and reasonable adjustments used across the higher education sector in England.

This included: a desk-based review of the current provision of 88 providers; a survey of 37 staff with responsibility for transition support or reasonable adjustments; interviews and focus groups with 16 members of staff; and focus groups with 26 disabled students.