Bursary for students with a disability

The Student Health Association have a reasonably large charitable pot of money to support students who have a disability.

The amounts are small and learners have had to have applied for DSA first.

The fund is designed to grant small sums (usually up to £500) to students with a disability to facilitate their studies and hopefully put them on a more level playing field with their peers. Until now provision through the DSA has covered most things but with the impending changes, we may notice an impact on our fund. We are happy to look at any application where the form is filled in and there is supporting evidence. If people make a good case, we can usually make some provision, however the quality of applications is often poor. An example of someone to whom we did grant £200 was a woman with paranoid schizophrenia. She requested a travel allowance as she “gets scared in open spaces” and wanted to take a taxi to college. She had supporting evidence from her CPN.

Learners who are disabled but are not entitled to Disabled Students Allowance (either because they are ineligible or because they have been refused) are more likely to receive an award from the Student Disability Assistance Fund than learners who are entitled to Disabled Students Allowance.

The money goes directly to the student. The poor quality of the application process is an important point to note. If college staff are able to help students with the application form then the student is more likely to be successful and to actually spend the award on the support they need. They also accept applications from International Students.

Student Health Association: Student Disability Assistance Fund