Disability and mental health support

Your evidence must be one or more of the following:

• A full diagnostic report for Dyslexia or a Specific Learning Difference (SpLD) – written according to the SASC Working Party Guidelines.
• A letter from your GP or other qualified healthcare professional confirming your diagnosis, its impact, any treatment you are receiving and that your condition has or is expected to last for 12 months or longer.

If you don’t have a medical letter to confirm your disability, please ask your doctor to complete the Disabled Students' Allowance evidence form and return it to us.

Once you have supplied us with your medical documentation, we will allocate you to a Disability or Mental Health Advisor who will contact you to discuss your support further. This will normally be in the form of a meeting.

As part of this support meeting, you and your advisor will write a Summary of Support Needs Document (SoSN), which is a summary of your diagnosed condition(s) and their impact. It will:

• Be available on OSIS, our student record system once you are enrolled
• Include recommendations for reasonable adjustments tailored to your individual needs and course requirements
• Be shared with relevant members of your faculty, including your course team
• Cover you for the duration of your studies

Find out more about the types of support available.

You are in complete control of what information we share, and who we share it with. We won’t share anything unless and until you have signed our Consent to Share Agreement. This will normally be completed in your initial appointment with a Disability or Mental Health Advisor.

In some circumstances, choosing not to share your disability may limit the adjustments we can make or people we can speak to. Our teams will guide and advise you throughout this process.

When we might need to share your information

In rare circumstances we might need to share information to third parties without your express permission. If this happens, we’ll do everything we can to talk to you before taking action, and make sure we only share the most critical information.

This would only happen if:

• There was a serious or imminent risk to your own or others' safety 
• We were compelled to disclose the information by law
• University staff were needed to help manage the situation

Speaking with your Next of Kin / Trusted Contacts

The Disability and Mental Health Service recognises that in some cases, as a result of your disability, it can be beneficial for the help of a parent, guardian or next of kin to assist in your support. Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), all students over the age of 18 are legally considered as adults and you are therefore required to give written consent in order for personal information to be shared with others.

On our Consent to Share Agreement, there is a section where students can indicate the Next of Kin / Trusted Contact who they give permission for us, the Disability and Mental Health Service, to communicate with regarding your Disability and Mental Health Service coordinated support and associated matters. You, as a student, will always be involved in all decisions and correspondence and we will seek your input with regards to all matters concerning your support. We encourage an independent learner approach where students are autonomous and self-advocating. Therefore, we ask that you maintain contact with us (either in writing, by phone / video call or in person) regarding your support and associated matters as far as possible.

Examples of information that we may share / discuss with named persons may include (but is not limited to):

• Details on internal adjustments / support which can be offered.
• Discussions around barriers to learning, previous support received and support required.
• Assistance with applying for and setting up DSA-funded support.

Please be aware that this consent does not authorise the Disability and Mental Health Service to provide regular updates to named persons on information such as general university communications and / or the progress of your studies e.g. attendance and results. You should regularly check your University Email Account and OSIS for updates of this nature in line with the Student Regulations.

If you give consent for the Disability and Mental Health Service to communicate with a named person of your choice, this will not apply to other university teams and departments. Should you wish for a next of kin or trusted contact to be included in communications with other teams at the university, you will need to provide written consent to that department directly.

If you’re based in the UK and need daily personal care or assistance to live independently, please contact the social services team in your local authority to discuss the options available. Unfortunately, Kingston University are unable to provide personal care support for any students.

It can take up to 12 months to organise a support package, so the earlier you get in touch, the better.

Not based in the UK? Make sure you secure funding for your care before your studies start.

Read more about personal care at Kingston University.

During the Clearing process, we will prioritise students who would be substantially disadvantaged by not living in halls. This could be because of physical access needs, sensory impairments or serious mental health difficulties.

Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee a place, as spaces are limited.

If you have a disability-related reason for needing to stay in halls of residence after the first year of study, you can apply to stay in halls of residence for the next academic year.

You will need to:

• Be registered with the Disability and Mental Health Service
• Complete an expression of interest form for each year you wish to remain in halls of residence
• Submit supporting evidence of your need to remain in halls of residence.

Please note that completing this process or having a disability does not guarantee a place in halls of residence each academic year. Each student's situation will be considered on a case-by-case basis and an outcome will be given shortly after the closing date for each year. Priority will be given for students who are unable to live in independent accommodation because of a disability e.g. where building adaptations are required.

Please contact us at [email protected] for more information about accommodation for disabled students.

Kingston University has four main campuses:

• Penrhyn Road
• Knights Park
• Kingston Hill
• Roehampton Vale

Check out AccessAble to get an overview of University access.

All four campuses have learning resource centres (LRCs), which can:

• Assist with physical access to books
• Locate and retrieving books and other resources
• Arrange for books to be transferred from other sites
• Negotiate limited extended loan periods
• Telephone renewals
• Inform you when interlibrary loans and reservations have arrived
• Arrange for materials to be available in alternative formats such as e-books and audio books

Our free university bus service runs between the campuses, Kingston town centre and most halls of residence from Monday to Friday. You can get a timetable from any of our main receptions.

Kingston town centre is mainly pedestrianised. The two closest stations are Kingston and Surbiton, and there are plenty of local bus routes too.

If you are a Blue Badge holder and a current student, you can apply for a Blue Badge permit on our parking portal. Please note that Blue Badge bays are available at all of our sites but on a first-come-first serviced basis.

If you need accessible parking to attend University but don’t have a Blue Badge, please contact us at [email protected] with the following information to be considered for a parking bay:

• Name
• Student ID number
• Car registration
• Campus location
• Medical documentation confirming your diagnosis
• An indication of why you need to park on campus
• Confirmation on if you have DSA Taxi Support and/or can park at the Kingston Hill Campus and travel to your site of study using the university bus

Please note that parking is extremely limited on university sites so each case will be considered on a case-by-case basis and parking bays are available on a first-come, first-served basis only.

If you find it difficult to evacuate University buildings without assistance during a fire alarm, you may benefit from having a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). Should you think that you would benefit from a PEEP then please let us know at [email protected] as soon as possible.

Do not worry. The university actively wants to support all disabled students. We would suggest that you tell us what support you need so that we can look to make the adjustments that you require as soon as possible. This will not be used to discriminate against you

The Disability and Mental Health Service can assist with funding Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia assessments for eligible current students. Contact us at [email protected] once you enrol to arrange a free screening to start the process.

We can’t support students in getting a diagnosis of AD[H]D. If this is something that you would like to pursue then we recommend that you contact your GP in the first instance.

We don’t provide screenings or diagnostic assessments for autism spectrum conditions. If you’re concerned, we recommend speaking to your GP about an onward medical referral.