AnnualConference

2020Supporting Disabled Students;

Supporting Ourselves

Break-out Group Selection Pack

Chesford Grange Hotel & Conference Centre, Kenilworth, CV8 2LD: Tuesday 23rd June 2019 – Wednesday 24th June 2019

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ContentsConference Programme...............................................................................4

Tuesday 23rd June.....................................................................................4Wednesday 24th June...............................................................................5

Abstracts: Tuesday Session One: Parallel Workshops and Focus Groups....61. Focus Group: Supporting Autistic Students..........................................6

Early Arrival Programme for Autistic Students......................................6Qualitative support for students with autism in the transition in higher education...............................................................................................6Supporting Transition and Social Integration: the success of University of Huddersfield’ Autism Lunch Club.......................................................6

2. Focus Group: The future for disability services....................................7How a social model approach supports innovation and collaboration...7Modernising Solent University’s disability service for the new decade. 7Exploring and strengthening the role of disability officers in a changing landscape..............................................................................................7

3. Workshop: Be confident about assessing and supporting Deaf students....................................................................................................84. Workshop: “Teamwork makes the dream work” – academics and disability teams working collaboratively..................................................95. Workshop: #HealthyDMU: A whole organisation approach to student wellbeing................................................................................................10

Abstracts: Tuesday Session Two: Parallel Lectures...................................111. Creating a digital pathway to support and success for international students..................................................................................................112. Inclusive Assessment Support through partnership...........................123. Introducing the Disabled Student Engagement Worker: exploring the disabled student experience..................................................................144. Online registration – embedding disability support...........................155. From medicalisation to celebratory: an intersectional approach to SpLD support..........................................................................................16

Abstracts: Wednesday Session Three: Parallel Lectures...........................171. Audio feedback & the inclusive curriculum........................................172. Using Mental Health First Aid to inform your practice........................183. A model of partnerships for providing holistic support for students...194. Does technical accessibility equal perceived accessibility and student satisfaction? Implications for inclusive teaching...................................20

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5. What can you learn from assessing support provision for students with disabilities within medicine?...........................................................21

Abstracts: Wednesday Session Four: Parallel Workshops and Focus Groups..................................................................................................................23

1. Workshop: Supporting Deaf Students: A Change of Direction............232. Workshop: Supporting Deaf Students: A Change of Direction............243. Focus Group: Supporting Disabled Students on Apprenticeships.......26

Speakers: Jo Smith, University of Cumbria & two others tbc...............264. Focus Group: NADP Research Project on Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Disability Support Sector.............................................27

Speakers: Professor Nicola Martin, Glenys Wilson (Senior Clinical Psychologist) plus 1 other tbc.............................................................27

5. Focus Group: Technological Revolutions............................................28The Accessibility Revolution in Assistive Technology, and What it means for us........................................................................................28Enabling Student Choice and Voice.....................................................28Making the Words Count: Improving Accuracy in Teaching Recording Transcription........................................................................................28

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Conference ProgrammeTuesday 23 rd June Delegates arriving on Tuesday 23rd June should first register for the conference. The Registration Desk will be open from 8.30am.09.30 – 10.00 Welcome and Introduction: Brian Lutchmiah, Chair of NADP10.00 – 11.00 Keynote: Joined up thinking and collaborative working: increase

effectiveness and create a mutually supportive environment. Prof Nicola Martin, London South Bank University

11.00 – 11.30 Refreshment break and Exhibitors11.30 -13.00

Session 1: Parallel Workshops and focus Groups (90 minutes)

Focus Group: Supporting Autistic Students

Focus Group: The Future for Disability Services

Workshop: Be confident about assessing and supporting Deaf studentsWorkshop: ‘Teamwork makes the dream work’ – academics and disability teams working collaborativelyWorkshop: #Healthy DMU: a whole organisation approach to student wellbeing

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch and Exhibitors

14.00 – 15.00 Whole Conference Presentation: ‘Breaking the mould’ – towards inclusive assessment and universal design for learningStephen Harper

15:00 - 15:15 Refreshment break and exhibitors

15:15 – 16.00

Session 2: Parallel Lectures (45 minutes)

Creating a digital pathway to support success for international students

Inclusive assessment support through partnership

Introducing the disabled student engagement worker: exploring the disabled student experienceOnline registration – embedding disability supportFrom medicalisation to celebratory: an intersectional approach to SpLD support

16.00 – 17:15 AGM (including Accreditation Scheme update)

Time to relax in the hotel pool or have a walk around the beautiful grounds before the gala dinner. We meet at 19:00 in the bar for a 19:30 start to the meal. Dress code: smart- casualEvening programme to be confirmed but it will include our annual awards and some dancing!

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Wednesday 24th JuneRegistration from 8.30am (for those delegates attending for just Wednesday).

09.00 – 9:15 Welcome back: Brian Lutchmiah, Chair of NADP

9:15 – 10.15Whole Conference Presentation: A system approach to improving students’ mental health – an NHS and universities partnershipDavid Rose and Alice Speller

10.20 – 11:05

Session 3: Parallel Lectures

(45 minutes)

Audio feedback and the inclusive curriculum

Using mental health first aid to inform your practice

A model of partnerships for providing holistic support for students

Does technical accessibility equal perceived accessibility and student satisfaction? Implications for inclusive teaching

What can you learn from assessing support provision for disabled students within medicine?

11:05 – 11.30 Refreshment Break and Exhibitors

11.30 – 12:30 Whole Conference Presentation: Accessing fulfilling careers: maximising the chances of your students transitioning into employmentHelen Cooke & Emma Knox, MyPlus

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch and Exhibitors

13.30 -15.00

Session 4: Parallel Workshops and focus groups

(90 minutes)

Workshop: Supporting Deaf Students: A Change of Direction

Workshop: Inclusive Mobility: making study abroad programmes more inclusive for disabled students

Focus Group: Supporting Disabled Students on Apprenticeships

Focus Group: NADP Research project on staff mental health and wellbeing in the disability support sector

Focus Group: Technological Revolutions

15:00 – 16:00 tbc15.30 -16:30 Refreshments, networking and close

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Abstracts: Tuesday Session One: Parallel Workshops and Focus Groups1. Focus Group: Supporting Autistic Students 3X10 minute presentations with 60 minutes for questions and discussion

Early Arrival Programme for Autistic Students Kathryn Fisher, Head of Disability ServicesRos Holmes, Disability AdviserUniversity of Warwick Warwick University has run an early arrivals programme for autistic students since 2013. This has developed and expanded over time to reflect both student need and university changes such as the introduction of a Welcome Week in 2018. We will describe the challenges in setting up, implementing and resourcing this programme as well as the changes we have made reflecting student feedback.

Qualitative support for students with autism in the transition in higher educationValérie Van Hees & Anke Schoonhoven, Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO)In collaboration with the Academic Collaborative Autism, the Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO, Belgium) conduct research on the support needs of students with ASD and developed Roadmap (myroadmap.eu), an on-demand and interactive personalised online support system in which autistic students can easily access reminders, notes and customisable guidelines with coping strategies on topics related to life and learning as a student in higher education. Roadmap is freely available for all students with ASD studying at Flemish Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences. Roadmap, the research results and tips and tricks on how to support students with ASD in a qualitative way will be shared.

Supporting Transition and Social Integration: the success of University of Huddersfield’ Autism Lunch ClubRachael Whittles, Lauren Gascoigne & Diane McClymontUniversity of HuddersfieldAt the commencement of the 2016-17 Academic Year, the presenters started a lunch club just for students with ASC with the primary aim of providing a safe environment for a set time every week where they could meet other students and also access support from Advisers who would also be in attendance. The aim of this breakout session is to provide an overview of the journey to what is now a popular and successful facility and highlight the wider impact of the facilitation of a simple but effective format for additional support. The results of an evaluation of the effectiveness and the wider benefits of the Lunch Club will be presented to attendees as will plans for the future.

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2. Focus Group: The future for disability services 3X10 minute presentations with 60 minutes for questions and discussion

How a social model approach supports innovation and collaborationJenny Alsop, Head of Disability ServiceCarys Kennedy, Senior Disability AdviserCaroline Huntley, Deputy Manager, Disability ServiceUniversity of the Arts, LondonUniversity of the Arts London reimagined its approach to achieving inclusion for disabled students in 2013. Using a social model, the University set up a new Disability Service and resourced it to deliver an ambitious, ongoing programme of Disability Equality Training for student-facing staff. Disabled students are now more satisfied. They attain better than non-disabled students. The institutional culture has changed – from compliance to best practice. We want to share our experiences of using the social model to meet students’ needs more effectively. We will particularly focus on how we use it to collaborate and innovate with colleagues across the university.

Modernising Solent University’s disability service for the new decadeAlexandra Banks & Rebecca HarrisSolent UniversityIn 2019 Access Solent completed a review of the Solent disability service and developed an ambitious action plan to modernise the service. The aim was to have a very good service by January 2020 and an excellent service with innovation and good practice shared externally by January 2021. This presentation will focus on how we critically reviewed the service and identified priorities, the challenges of implementing changes and lessons learned. We will discuss our successes and outline the next steps to achieving our vision that Access Solent will have an excellent reputation and will be pivotal in enabling the University to become the first choice of university for students with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Exploring and strengthening the role of disability officers in a changing landscapeDara Ryder, AHEAD IrelandThe UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities advocates a human rights model of inclusion and argues that persons with disabilities deserve the same treatment as anyone else. There has also been a shift in National Policy with the Higher Education Authority emphasising the need to implement a more mainstream approach to inclusion to “enhance the quality of the learning experience and progression outcomes of all students”. Providing a fully inclusive learning environment for all students is complex and creating a culture of engagement and inclusion of all students requires a shift in thinking and a change of behaviour at an institutional level. In this presentation we will look at the challenges for disability officers and explore why their expertise remains central in this changing landscape, where inclusion is becoming everybody’s job.

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3. Workshop: Be confident about assessing and supporting Deaf studentsJenny Forrest & Welsey NolanClarionThis will be an interactive session which aims to develop the understanding of individual Deaf and Hard of Hearing students’ needs, including what things should be taken into consideration when assessing them as a need assessor, supporting them as a disability advisor, or making sure teaching materials are accessible. We will be looking to cover real life student stories that highlight the stigma surrounding deafness, also what is changing in the Deaf world and how that affects how we assess student needs and deliver support as professionals working in higher education. Our co-presenter is Deaf himself and will be able to give his first-hand experience of the education system as a Deaf student – the good, the bad and the ugly. We will guide delegates through the different degrees of deafness. It is important that we consider each student’s background and past experiences as these shapes who they are and their expectations for their experience at University. We will answer questions such as: “how does a student that attended a Deaf school differ from one that attended mainstream?” “do cochlear implants influence the support needed?” and “does a student understand the role of their support workers?”Do we as practitioners understand the role of the support workers? There can sometimes be misunderstanding or ambiguity over the different roles funded by DSA. For example – a CSW is the same as an interpreter but at a lower level of signing, right? Wrong! We will myth bust these common confusions and give clarity over the new roles within the mandatory criteria, when they are best used, and when they cross over if at all. We also have some inclusive “top tips” that can be easily by every team within a university. Including innovative ways of communication with Deaf students through Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) and Video Relay Service (VRS), allowing Deaf students to communicate with you without an interpreter in the room (saving minimum charges and travel expenses), or via the telephone. We will provide a demonstration of both of these communication techniques, using volunteers from the audience, so you can experience the benefits first hand. We plan to keep this session as interactive as possible, with exercises including a lipreading game, and team scenario challenges. This session will give you the knowledge base, skills and confidence to be able to confidently assess and support your Deaf students more appropriately.

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4. Workshop: “Teamwork makes the dream work” – academics and disability teams working collaborativelyIdalina Rodrigues, Senior Lecturer, Faculty Health & Life Sciences, De Montfort UniversityRachel Davies, Course Specific Initiatives Officer, De Montfort UniversityA key element of De Montfort University’s UDL approach is the embedding of support from the Student Welfare team within taught programmes. In this workshop we will describe how the Disability Advice & Support team work collaboratively with academic staff from the Speech & Language Therapy course team to support students’ wellbeing, and in particular how we support disabled students to access and succeed on work placements.We will describe our model for collaborative working, including:

Identification of individual and cohort support needs; Development & delivery of embedded support workshops; Work with placement teams & employers to provide accessible

placementsWe will reflect on the challenges and benefits of working collaboratively, including:

How the knowledge of academic colleagues about individual and cohort support needs enables better targeted disability support;

What needs to be in place institutionally & at programme level for colleagues to work collaboratively in this way;

How a closer understanding of course content and placement requirements supports disability teams to advise on reasonable adjustments;

Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to take part in a selection of learning activities from our embedded support workshops so that they can experience how we link learning about wellbeing to academic and professional body learning objectives.

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5. Workshop: #HealthyDMU: A whole organisation approach to student wellbeingTina Sharpe, Claire Jeeves, Jemma Day, Caroline Pandya, Rachel DaviesDe Montfort UniversityIn this interactive workshop we will:

1. Outline the key features of the 2 year #HealthyDMU project which has embedded a whole organisation approach to student wellbeing in De Montfort University. We will also consider how this approach addresses a number of key concerns on the HE agenda including how to address disability and BAME attainment gaps; value for money; and increasing mental health concerns among the student population.

2. Briefly describe our recent research and the development of an ecological model which assists us in understanding students’ wellbeing interactions across a variety of university services and functions.

3. Participants in the workshop will then have an opportunity to engage in a number of activities that are key to the #HealthyDMU approach:

Examining our online staff toolkit; Looking at the structure, content and student engagement with the

#HealthyDMU Hub https://www.dmu.ac.uk/healthy/index.aspx Trying out “Thrive”, an online tool that supports disabled students

in their transition to university study; Taking part in a mini-wellbeing workshop, to understand how we

embed wellbeing within the curriculum and student placements.

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Abstracts: Tuesday Session Two: Parallel Lectures1. Creating a digital pathway to support and success for international studentsAmy Low, Ability NetMike Chung, UCLUCL and AbilityNet will talk about how institutions can reach out to their prospective and incoming international students and provide a digital welcome pathway to ensure they get the support they need to be successful at university. They will talk through a case study discussing how they will be using a combination of welcome emails, needs identification tools and online needs assessments to ensure that international students are:

1) Aware of the challenges they might face as they come to study overseas2) Confident that their needs have been anticipated and they will be

supported 3) Equipped with the tools and training to hit the ground running

On the staff side taking this approach can reduce the peaks of student demand experienced by most institutions in the first semester and also give them an early indication on areas where further resource and investment may be required to ensure all student support needs are accommodated.

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2. Inclusive Assessment Support through partnership Ruth Cottam & Catherine Grailey, Nottingham Trent UniversityThe University sector experiences the challenge of unexplained progression, attainment and outcomes gaps between students, notably those who come from traditionally under-represented groups. In 2017, an analysis of undergraduate students who undertake first sit exams and extended coursework assessments over the summer showed that disabled students were over-represented.  This finding led to the Library and Student Support establishing a working group to examine whether a partnership approach to an NTU Assessment Support Programme (NTUPASS) could improve assessment, reassessment and retention outcomes for all HE students, including disabled students, via collaborative interventions from Academic Schools, Student Support Services (SSS) and Libraries and Learning Resources (LLR).The new Programme (NTUPASS) was delivered as a “Proof of Concept” pilot in the summer of 2018 and a further trial in 2019 evaluated an onsite partnership programme of additional and inclusive support interventions, including study workshops to build academic confidence, alongside wellbeing interventions, such as resilience building and stress reduction interventions and targeted team building social events. Accommodation for the programme was provided at no cost to participating students. The success of the initiative was measured both qualitatively and quantitively, through automatic data collection and feedback provided by online survey sent to all undergraduates with summer assessments plus verbal feedback from students and staff involved in the programme.Results

In total, 418 students have taken part (161 in the 2018 pilot and 257 in 2019, demonstrating a 60% increase in participation from pilot to trial).

The programme developed a dedicated online resource for the NTU VLE programme named NTUPASS Learning Room. In total, 10,231 students accessed the resource in June, July and August (3,904 students in 2018 and 6,327 in 2019, demonstrating a 62% increase in access from pilot to trial)

192 students accessed 1:1 appointments with SSS Specialist Academic Skills Advisors (72 in 2018 and 120 in 2019, demonstrating a 67% increase in access from pilot to trial)

56 students accessed 1:1 appointments with SSS Student Support Advisors (25 in 2018 and 31 in 2019, demonstrating a 24% increase in access from the pilot to trial)

75 students attended LLR study workshops (41 in 2018 and 34 in 2019, demonstrating a 30% decrease in participation between the pilot and trial) 

Conclusion The impact data from the NTU PASS pilot and trial strongly indicates that students who engaged were more likely to stay and successfully progress. A greater proportion of students from target Success For All groups, including

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disabled students respond to inclusive, innovative initiatives devised to improve success rates for assessment and retention than the underlying population.Recommendations and developments The successes have led to the embedding of the NTUPASS programme, with a year-round roll out of assessment and reassessment support, including VLE access, development of online and interactive resources for all students, including those not taking up the free accommodation. In 2020, Online support and academic guidance will be further developed and offered remotely by Skype and via online group support. 

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3. Introducing the Disabled Student Engagement Worker: exploring the disabled student experienceJonathan Staal & Heather ArmstrongEdinburgh NapierThe Disabled Student Engagement Worker is a new role at Edinburgh Napier University introduced in 2019. At heart, the job description is essentially to go and speak with disabled students to explore their experiences of the university. Insights gathered though individual conversations and small-group interactions with disabled students informs the on-going development of the Disability Inclusion team, and other departments, so far including careers, IT, library and estates. The role also informs the I’m In: inclusive practice programme, which is a university-wide project to develop inclusive practice and introduce universal design for learning approaches across the curriculum.The workshop will explore in more detail the rationale and work to date of the Disabled Student Engagement Worker.It will then detail key findings and explore what benefits the role has brought in its first year.There will then be an outline of the next steps before moving to questions and general discussion.

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4. Online registration – embedding disability support David CowenUniversity of Westminster The University of Westminster has developed an online registration process for applicants and current students. Within a year this increased disability disclosure by 50%. We have improved the visibility of the Disability Support service for both applicants and current students, so that all students are able to disclose once, providing consent and all their relevant support needs in relation to their teaching, assessment, library, access requirements and accommodation in one place. The disability team is then able to follow up with the student and process their support. This system isn’t intended to replace one to one support and has provided us with another way for students to register alongside the typical appointment system. Once the reasonable adjustments have been agreed, this information is then available via online reports which have been tailored for the different teams within the university. This includes tailored reports for academics (including course leader/disability tutor and module leader specific reports), registry teams, estates and the library team. For example, registry have a tailored report for planning exams and course leaders have a report which gives them an overview of students registered with a disability.  I aim to demonstrate why this system was developed, its advantages for both students and staff and how this has improved disability engagement and helped embed disability support throughout the university by working collaboratively with relevant teams to ensure a joined-up approach. This system has enabled us to comply with GDPR requirements by minimising how we share sensitive data across the institution. I believe that an institution has a duty to make disclosure and access to support as simple as possible to ensure that the hard part when studying is the study itself, not the process of getting the additional support which often hasn’t been designed with students in mind. 

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5. From medicalisation to celebratory: an intersectional approach to SpLD supportAdam Hyland, Atif Choudhury & Sadhbh O’DwyerDiversity and abilityA student’s wellbeing is key to their academic success. Whilst a diagnostic assessment enables the student to access support, it can often have a negative damaging impact on their wellbeing and self-esteem. The presentation will discuss how reliance on psychometrics alone can have a negative impact on students and how a holistic, joined-up approach to celebrating diversity through goal setting, study skills and assistive technology, can turn the table! In particular, the presentation will focus on what a diagnostic assessment looks at but more importantly, what impacts it does not consider. The presentation will then move to look at how this can impact a student's wellbeing before exploring how a holistic celebratory approach across services can turn the table to see diversity as an asset!  Our celebratory approach will be demonstrated through our goal-setting method which enables the student’s voice to be listened to and acted upon to create a personalised learning dynamic. This type of study environment is important because it provides students with a strong sense of ownership - over not only their support and technology - but of the direction of their learning and ultimately their academic success. The presentation will hear from a diagnostic assessor, a D&A student and study skills tutor about their first-hand experiences of an integrated approach to learning. Our integrated approach demonstrates our inclusive person-centred approach. By combining an understanding of diagnostic assessments, AT and study skills in our pedagogy we embed an intersectionality of knowledge, AT and study support. This dynamic and personalised platform to learning enables learners to build self-confidence over their study which in-turn can improve wellbeing and retention without an overreliance on the medical model alone.

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Abstracts: Wednesday Session Three: Parallel Lectures1. Audio feedback & the inclusive curriculum Vikki Anderson, Susan Onens & Karl P NightingaleLearning Support Team & Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham The ability for assessors to give audio feedback on electronically submitted assignments is now a straightforward process at most institutions and is increasing in use as many students value this to written feedback. This appears to reflect the increased detail and explanation that many assessors give when giving spoken feedback.Here we discuss an ongoing mixed methods study to evaluate audio feedback in three undergraduate programmes (e.g. Biomedical Science, Pharmacy, Law), with a focus on the impact it has on overall student satisfaction, but also in terms of whether it can contribute to inclusion. In this presentation we focus in on (i) students disclosing SpLDs and /or disabilities, (ii) international students and also (iii) examine the influence of students’ ethnicity, to evaluate students’ perceptions on whether audio feedback can support their learning.Our findings support suggestions that audio feedback is welcomed by the majority of students and is associated with marked increases in student satisfaction. However, it is not appropriate for all students, suggesting that the context, or the way it is used is also important to supporting the diverse learners in many UG cohorts. These findings aim to inform academic practice for delegates to refer to and creates an evidence base for policy decision making.Keywords: Audio feedback, inclusive curriculum, policy

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2. Using Mental Health First Aid to inform your practice Natalie Humphrey & Chilima Sianyeuka & Jacqueline MallonUniversity College LondonThe Higher Education has had an ongoing conversation over the last few years about the increasing numbers of students with mental health difficulties and concerns.The sector is responding, however, no clear prescription of a solution or working model to address this issue has yet been found. At UCL one of our responses was to upskill our colleagues within the wider academic team and professional services. One of our courses on offer is Mental Health First Aid, which our Mental Health Coordinators deliver (as qualified MHFA trainers). Mental Health First Aid is a proven and recognised approach to working with mental health as a response, and its certification and recognition has helped us to push this method within UCL. It has given our colleagues across the institution and within our own team the skills and the confidence to respond to students who have long term mental health diagnoses, new diagnoses and those who are experiencing mental health difficulties as a result of an incident or period of time (such as during exams). Through delivery we have found that there are many techniques taught in Mental Health First Aid that can assist those working in offering advice and guidance, including personal tutoring; providing a toolkit of resources. These resources can support those with pre-existing mental health difficulties but can also work as a preventative step and to support those with disabilities other than mental health.We would like to teach you some of these practices and provide you with some new resources for your Advisory toolkit and hopefully help you and your institution work towards a preventative as well as reactive approach to mental health.

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3. A model of partnerships for providing holistic support for studentsAlex Stanton, Adam Hyland and a Goldsmith StudentGoldsmithsThe discourse around Universal Design and Inclusive practice has become more current within Higher Education Institutions. However, it remains true to say that access to disability support and Reasonable Adjustments in Higher Education still runs along the medical model. The presentation of medical evidence as a way of “declaring” or “disclosing” a disability (as if this were an act of contraband or a revelation of a secret) is still the key that unlocks further support and adjustments.

Some universities offer interim support for those students who are in the process of being diagnosed, but those students who do not identify as being disabled, those who are becoming unwell whilst at university, and those who do not engage with the medical route can miss out on timely support. This is particularly true of students whose wellbeing may be compromised, those who are developing a mental health condition and those whose symptoms are already active.

The challenge for Support Services is to devise a system of early intervention and holistic support can often avoid escalations of needs to the point of crisis. This Breakout Presentation will be co-delivered by Goldsmiths Support Services, Diversity and Ability and a Goldsmith student. It will explain how Goldsmiths is tackling this challenge with a two-prong strategy of delivery a holistic Mental Health Support and early face-to-face intervention at the point of need.

Firstly, it will explain how the co-location of the Wellbeing Advisors, Disability Advisors and Mental Health Advisors under one team has provided a one-stop-shop for any students experiencing Mental Health and emotional difficulties, however they understand, experience and express these. It will explain how different advisors work side by side in cross-referring students to one another for specialised and bespoke support depending on the student’s individual circumstances at that precise point of engagement with our services. It will describe the specific role of our Mental Health Advisors in supporting both Wellbeing and Disability colleagues by drawing Individualised support plans and managing ongoing casework for students with more complex diagnoses (EUPD, Bipolar, Psychosis).

Secondly, our Breakout Presentation will also describe the success of providing Wellbeing Mentoring as an early intervention for students we encounter in our daily Wellbeing drop-ins or advisers appointments, or those referred to us by academic departments. This short-term service is available to groups of students mentioned above but also to those who experience a range of situations including gender-based violence, bereavement and those impacted by crime. Our partnering organisation in delivering this holistic service, D&A, will detail how the partnership with the students, the University and themselves has had a positive impact on wellbeing, retention and progression prospects of these students, to increase disclosure rates and to reduce stigma across the campus. A student who has received wellbeing mentoring will relay their experience and the data collected from this service will be explored in terms of the projects impact and ongoing funding and support from senior management.

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4. Does technical accessibility equal perceived accessibility and student satisfaction? Implications for inclusive teaching. Ben Watson & Ivan NewmanThis current research investigates the extent to which a correlation might exist between the technical accessibility of course materials, their perceived accessibility and overall module evaluation satisfaction.The University of Kent uses Blackboard Ally (within its Moodle virtual learning environment) to monitor module learning resources accessibility and create scores to indicate the levels of accessibility of these materials. We also record module evaluation that includes a wider range of questions around satisfaction with coursework feedback, teaching quality, technical provision and overall support. We are interested in understanding if there is any meaningful correlation between the technical accessibility of learning resources and measures of student satisfaction with teaching provision.The idea that accessible design is good design is a generally accepted concept, but can this be evidenced in educational terms based on the, often absent, student voice? Is it the case that a module with a highly satisfied student population will also have a higher Blackboard Ally accessibility score, and what might we be able to discern from this? What might be the other accessibility impacts we can identify as positive contributions? However, it would also be interesting to identify instances where, although the materials may be technically accessible, the broader experience is unsatisfactory, which would position the place of resources as only a part of the overall experience. Other research in 2018 across English Higher Education Providers showed that training in inclusive teaching for academics in terms of concrete ideas they can implement in their practice is very much the exception. Similarly, validation processes which require the delivery of inclusive teaching practices in courses are rare. Hence, the ability to confirm the association between technically accessible content and student satisfaction would be invaluable from a strategic perspective to further promote the adoption of accessible approaches as being of value to everyone.

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5. What can you learn from assessing support provision for disabled students within medicine?S. Martell, T. Barlow & J. KirbyUniversity of LeedsCurrently, a fifth of the population live with a disability and this number is increasing. This will result in an increase in the overall student population with disabilities. In medicine the number of doctors in training with a disability is increasing and research has demonstrated that disability has a positive impact on the doctor-patient relationship. It is therefore important for medical schools to be inclusive and supportive of these students to both attract and retain the future doctors with disabilities.A core part of the medical course includes placements; many undergraduate courses send students outside of their institution for over 50% of the contact time. This requires close partnerships between the medical school and key partners including NHS trusts and GP practices necessary to create successful learning environments. For students with disabilities this partnership will encompass the provision of adequate reasonable adjustments to accommodate their needs, whilst ensuring access to appropriate student support whilst on placement. A unique aspect to professional courses is the involvement of regulatory bodies and in the case of medicine this is the General Medical Council (GMC). Medical schools are required to only accept candidates onto their course who can meet the compulsory GMC criteria to become a qualified doctor. In medicine supporting students with disabilities is the responsibility of higher education institutions, however, the regulatory body also plays a key role. This is demonstrated through the publication of the GMC’s “Welcomed and Valued” guidance in 2019, which combined expert opinion and personal experience to advise higher education institutions to provide support to students with disabilities within undergraduate and postgraduate medical training. At the University of Leeds our team developed a toolkit from this extensive guidance (110 pages) and applied it to their institution. Three key areas were identified of admissions, assessment and placement delivery. It was concluded that both admissions and assessment are university wide processes, and this may account for these being areas of good practice. Application of the toolkit identified areas of excellence and potential development. Significant themes were the importance of disability awareness for students and staff, student engagement in the process of disability assessment and accessing support services. The most common barrier encountered was communication between partners both internal (within the School of Medicine and university) and external (between partner institutions within the NHS), emphasising the importance of clear responsibilities. Where medical degrees tend to be unique environments within Higher Education Institutions is in the size of their cohort (School of Medicine at Leeds has student numbers of over 250 per year) and the place-based learning focus in the majority of the degree. There is a clear association with other vocational degrees where these lessons can be transferred, this is also true of non-vocational courses where support is necessary for learning outside of university walls.

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Consequently, lessons learnt within medicine can be translated to a multitude of areas in higher education which we look forward to sharing

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Abstracts: Wednesday Session Four: Parallel Workshops and Focus Groups1. Workshop: Supporting Deaf Students: A Change of DirectionLynne Barnes, James Fitzgerald, Bryan Coleman, Judith Hutchinson, Paul Kent & Helen YoungSupport for deaf students is ever-changing. In the late 1990s, caps on DSA funding meant that often deaf students had to choose between using an interpreter or a notetaker, and language support services (SSPs) were in short supply. Increases to DSA in later years (Wilson & Martin, 2017) gave access to HE to many more deaf students. The main concern quickly became the availability of high-quality interpreters willing to work in the HE sector for fees well-below what they could earn in the community. Previously, a signing deaf student was typically assessed to need a BSL interpreter, a notetaker and a language support tutor - supported by technical aids, which largely consisted of a radio aid, a computer and appropriate software. Move forward to 2019 and evidence shows that we now have a new generation of deaf students, who require a far more nuanced approach to support. With an increasing majority of deaf students now coming from mainstream schools (West, 2018), their support requirements are based on individual experiences of prior support. Their BSL skills may vary considerably; some may use BSL, others Sign Supported English (SSE); many do not require interpreters but rely on a wide range of technical resources. Students with cochlear implants present a challenge to educators and needs assessors; some require technical support, others an assortment of sign communication (in its various forms), others still, a combination of all manner of resources, largely dependent upon the situation, the size of class and the activity being undertaken.Arguably, we are also now seeing an increase in the number of deaf students with multi-disabilities. This too has provoked a need for change in the way we address the support for deaf students. Intersectionality brings with it new challenges within HE.This workshop will explore the need for change as we seek to provide multi-modal support for a much larger range of deaf students within our institutions. The Equality Act (2010), changes to DSA provision, inclusive teaching and learning practices, advances in technology (e.g. lecture capture, live captioning, voice-recognition software) are all playing their part in this changing landscape. Within the workshop, support roles will be discussed, Case Studies will be explored, and participants will be presented with a checklist of useful questions to consider when assessing and/or considering the support needs of this new generation of deaf students.

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2. Workshop: Inclusive Mobility – Making study abroad programmes more inclusive for students with disabilitiesValérie Van Hees, coordinator Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) & Dominique Montagnese, inclusive mobility expert Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) The EPFIME project (InclusiveMobility.eu) aims at examining in-depth the needs and expectations on inclusive mobility of national authorities, students with disabilities and higher education institutions across Europe, while focusing on how national authorities and higher education institutions can collaborate more strongly to ensure the quality and the transferability of support services for both incoming and outgoing students with disabilities in exchange programmes. The results of the EPFIME research will be known at the beginning of 2020 and will be shared during this conference through a short presentation to the workshop audience. The recommendations Inclusive Mobility – Making study abroad programmes more inclusive for students with disabilitiesValérie Van Hees, coordinator Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) & Dominique Montagnese, inclusive mobility expert Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) The EPFIME project (InclusiveMobility.eu) aims at examining in-depth the needs and expectations on inclusive mobility of national authorities, students with disabilities and higher education institutions across Europe, while focusing on how national authorities and higher education institutions can collaborate more strongly to ensure the quality and the transferability of support services for both incoming and outgoing students with disabilities in exchange programmes. The results of the EPFIME research will be known at the beginning of 2020 and will be shared during this conference through a short presentation to the workshop audience. The recommendations of the Inclusive Mobility Alliance (IMA) on how to make Erasmus+ mobilities more inclusive will also be shared. Subsequently, speakers will facilitate an interactive session where participants will be able to discuss more in depths the research results, the IMA recommendations and express their needs as regards Inclusive Mobility.Through a gallery walk exercise, participants will be able to reflect on 4-5 targeted questions regarding inclusive mobility, share their inputs and discuss them with other participants in small groups:

How to implement the recommendations at your institution? How to make the triangle Student - International Officer - Disability Officer

work? How can students support students? How can students be involved in the co-design of inclusion strategies at

the institutional level? What would you expect from a National inclusion office/inclusive officer?

The inputs will then be shortly presented by the speakers and discussed with the whole audience.The inputs gathered throughout the session will be collected and analysed by the speakers to also feed in the development of the upcoming guidelines on Inclusive Mobility and the platform inclusivemobility.eu, where everything is to be found about Inclusive Mobility for national authorities, practitioners, and

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students with disabilities. of the Inclusive Mobility Alliance (IMA) on how to make Erasmus+ mobilities more inclusive will also be shared. Subsequently, speakers will facilitate an interactive session where participants will be able to discuss more in depths the research results, the IMA recommendations and express their needs as regards Inclusive Mobility.Through a gallery walk exercise, participants will be able to reflect on 4-5 targeted questions regarding inclusive mobility, share their inputs and discuss them with other participants in small groups:

- How to implement the recommendations at your institution?- How to make the triangle Student - International Officer - Disability Officer

work?- How can students support students?- How can students be involved in the co-design of inclusion strategies at

the institutional level?- What would you expect from a National inclusion office/inclusive officer?

The inputs will then be shortly presented by the speakers and discussed with the whole audience.The inputs gathered throughout the session will be collected and analysed by the speakers to also feed in the development of the upcoming guidelines on Inclusive Mobility and the platform inclusivemobility.eu, where everything  is to be found about Inclusive Mobility for national authorities, practitioners, and students with disabilities.

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3. Focus Group: Supporting Disabled Students on Apprenticeships3X10 minute presentations with 60 minutes for questions and discussion

Speakers: Jo Smith, University of Cumbria & two others tbc Many universities have taken the decision to support the higher level apprenticeship agenda in England. A recent  UUK report  states “Since the introduction of degree apprenticeships in England, universities and employers have enthusiastically embraced this new and exciting opportunity to both supercharge skills development and transform partnerships and collaboration.”However, there are also challenges across the whole institution with administration, communication and disability support, which many of our members are discovering. The UUK report found that employers are looking to their providers for support and information and many providers are also unclear on eligibility criteria and how to access funding.This focus group will look at how some colleges and universities have

Created and maintained a three-way relationship between the apprentice, employer and provider

Sourced the knowledge required to assist the employers and their students

Discovered the evidence required by the Education and Skills funding agency (ESFA) to claim Additional Learning Support (ALS)

https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2019/10/17/access-to-apprenticeships-are-apprenticeships-working-for-disabled-students/ [Accessed 18th Feb 2020]

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4. Focus Group: NADP Research Project on Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Disability Support SectorPresentations followed by at least 60 minutes for questions and discussion

Speakers: Professor Nicola Martin, Glenys Wilson (Senior Clinical Psychologist) plus 1 other tbc

Disability advisers in higher education providers are struggling with a rapid increase in numbers disabled students with increasing complexity of impairment with little guidance for management on a sensible disabled student:staff ratio.In addition, the rapid changes in the sector with the rebalancing of DSAs and the restructuring of non-medical help and IT training has taken place with little time to adjust. Consequently, staff across the whole sector are under great levels of stress and this has led to high levels of attrition, especially senior disability advisers and managers who are being replaced with less experienced staff who may struggle with the knowledge and multi-faceted communication required to support disabled students. The Russell Group has reported that 25% of its heads of service have been lost from 2016, none through promotion – all related to the pressure of the job – some retired early/due to ill health, some moved to less stressful jobs, some changed career track, and some left with nowhere else to go.NADP has instigated some research into this area starting with a questionnaire. Professor Martin will present the findings so far and examine some of the good practice examples that have been reported, including that of a form of supervision taken from the psychology sector. Glenys Wilson is a senior clinical psychologist and qualified supervisor in both the medical and university settings. She will assist the discussions on the ways supervision can be utilised in higher education providers.

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5. Focus Group: Technological Revolutions 3X10 minute presentations with 60 minutes for questions and discussion

The Accessibility Revolution in Assistive Technology, and What it means for usRichard Nind, Sheffield Hallam UniversityThe features we associate with assistive technology are becoming part of the standard feature make-up of operating systems and software packages and are being adopted by all users. A more informed and technology-literate student body may already be using some of the tools offered via DSAs, but in a far more simplified and accessible manner. Adoption of a more horizontal, student-led model of assistive technology provision is likely to disrupt our currently well-established support pathways. Meanwhile software vendors working in the DSA market must work hard to maintain their value and will need to continually innovate to provide useful tools that are not available in mainstream computing. This presentation will explore the effects and possible consequences of the changes and examine how practitioners can respond positively, using as an example, changes we have made to our assistive technology delivery at SHU.

Enabling Student Choice and VoicePatrick McGrath, Education Technology Strategist, TexthelpIn this session, we’ll explore the importance and value of providing students with choice and voice in their learning. We’ll help map the journey to provide students with the flexibility and tools to learn what, when and how it matches their needs, interests and skills. We would like you to:

Understand the importance and impact of student choice and voice to learning outcomes.

Gain insight to allow educators to make more informed decisions on which technology to choose and the critical questions needed to do so.

Experience a range of technology tools that can be integrated into learning to offer truly personalised learning.

Understand how choice and voice fits within the UDL framework and offers enhanced accessibility for a diverse range of learners.

Making the Words Count: Improving Accuracy in Teaching Recording TranscriptionDr. Graeme Pedlingham, University of SussexThis paper will introduce a pilot project to support lecture transcription that was undertaken as part of the University of Sussex’s Foundation Year Programme. The introduction of new teaching recording facilities (Panopto) in 2019 have enabled automatic audio transcription, which we are keen to make standard given its positive impacts for students. We are undertaking a project that uses students as paid editors, who review and amend lecture recording transcriptions/subtitles. This presentation will report on the findings of this pilot project and also look to open a discussion of best practices relating to audio transcription and subtitling for supporting inclusive learning practices.

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