Learners with Additional Needs


Support for your Success: Support for Learners with Disabilities or Learning Difficulties

At South Thames College we are committed to removing as many barriers to access and learning as possible.  Our aim is to provide you with the right support to produce results that are a true reflection of your abilities. 

We provide support to more than 1,000 students, many of whom have a disability or learning difficulty.  In order for us to plan to meet your support requirements, we encourage students to disclose this information to us as early as possible. 

What kind of support can you get?

We will arrange for you to meet with a member of the Learner Support Team who will assess your requirements.  Depending on the results of the assessment, you may be offered support for:

Specific Learning Difficulties

Other Learning Difficulties

Physical Disabilities

Medical Conditions

Mental Health Issues

Deaf or Partially Hearing

Blind or Partially Sighted

Examination Access Arrangements

Also, for Higher Education you can apply for Disabled Students' Allowance

To discuss your support requirements or to get more information on the support we offer, please call the Learner Support Liaison Office on 020 8918 7486 or the Learning Support Co-ordinator, voice and text 020 8919 7394.

Specific Learning Difficulties

If you have a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or Asperger's syndrome, we can provide out of class support to look at how you learn best and develop strategies to help you progress on your course.  We also have a wide range of specialist software and equipment, such as scanners, reading and speech recognition software.  In class support is also available in the form of a note taker or Key Worker. 

Other Learning Difficulties

Some people with learning difficulties choose to study in Supported Learning designed for students with learning difficulties.  They receive support from learning support assistants inside and outside the classroom.  You can also choose a course outside of Supported Learning and may receive one-to-one support in the classroom from a note taker or Key Worker. 

Physical Disabilities

If you have a physical disability, we may be able to offer one-to-one support inside and outside of the classroom from a note taker or learning mentor who can also meet any personal care requirements you may have.  We can also assess you assistive technology requirements and provide equipment such as adapted keyboards and specialist software. 

Medical Conditions

If you have a medical condition that affects your learning, we may, for example, provide a note taker or learning mentor to help you keep up to date with lessons inside and outside the classroom. 

Mental Health Issues

If you have a mental health issue that affects your learning, we may, for example, provide support for learning outside the classroom or provide you with a note taker or a learning mentor in class.  The College also has a Counselling and Advice Service that will assess any support requirements you may have that are not learning related. 

Deaf or Partially Hearing

If you are deaf or partially hearing, we may provide technological aids or in class support from a communicator and or a note taker.  We can also offer out of class support from a specialist tutor for deaf people.

Blind or Partially Sighted

If you are blind or partially sighted, we may provide you with a one-to-one note taker or learning mentor.  We can also assess your assistive technology requirements and provide equipment such as screen readers, adapted keyboards and specialist software such as JAWS and supernova.  We can also provide materials in alternative formats, for example Braille, tape and large print. 

Examination Access Arrangements

If you have one of the above disabilities or learning difficulties, you may be entitled to access arrangements in examinations.  These include extra time to complete the examination, a reader, scribe or prompter.  You will need to meet the criteria required by the examination board.  We encourage you to disclose this information to us as early as possible as late applications may not be accepted. 

Disability Equality Scheme

Progress with our Disability Equality Scheme (DES) Action Plan

In 2005, the college published its disability Equality Scheme Action Plan. This document set out the College objectives to improve the experience of learners and staff with disabilities. The College has been proactive in addressing areas identified as having a potential to improve. We are pleased to highlight some of our key achievements to date:

  • Good progress has been made in assessing policies to ensure they do not have a differential impact on learners with disabilities
  • Feedback from work placements has been improved to ensure we monitor adjustments made for learners with disabilities in the workplace
  • Every classroom now has an adjustable table for wheelchair workers
  • Every IT suite has at least 1 large screen monitor
  • Evacuation chairs are in place in all College sites and many staff are trained in their use
  • There has been growth in IT provision for learners with sight impairments at the Thomas Pocklington Centre, Balham
  • All staff receive training in disability issues as part of a rolling programme of staff development
  • Learners with disabilities take part in the delivery of staff development training programmes

We are pleased with our progress towards disability equality so far. However, there are still a number of objectives we plan to work on to improve the experience of our learners and we continue to work to develop these further