You will need to have a registration appointment with an Adviser from our Inclusion, Diversity and Disability team (see below for more information).

Bring your existing Diagnostic Report with you to the registration appointment.

If your report was done before you were 16, you may need a re-assessment. We recommend you have an age-16+ assessment report prior to commencing your studies with us.

A Full Diagnostic Assessment report for dyslexia/SpLD (carried out post-16) is needed before:

• A student can be registered with the disability service for reasonable adjustments for dyslexia/SpLD at Buckinghamshire New University.
• Applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA): https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas/eligibility. DSA may fund specialist support for a student with dyslexia/SpLD studying at university. Apply early, so that everything will be in place before you start your course.

How to obtain a Full Diagnostic Assessment Report

1. Ask your school or FE college to arrange for any additional assessment that may be needed. (A Form 8 is not a Full Diagnostic Assessment.)
2. Contact one of the organisations which has a professional register of Specialist Teacher Assessors who hold the Assessment Practising Certificate: Patoss https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/ Tel: 01386 712 650 British Dyslexia Association  Tel: 0333 405 4555 Alternatively, an assessment can be carried out by a Psychologist who is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

When you have your report please contact us for a registration appointment.

Please refer to information provided by the British Dyslexia association.

The university can offer initial screenings for dyslexia and dyspraxia. If the scores from the screening indicate a probability of dyslexia or dyspraxia you may be invited to attend a full diagnostic assessment. There are exceptions to this referral process, for example, if you are near the end of your course or on a short course.

Our registration appointments last about an hour and we use any assessment recommendations to set up your ‘reasonable adjustments’.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) defines ‘reasonable adjustments’ as:

“Reasonable is what most people would agree is fair and sensible, when they think carefully about it. Adjustment means you are changing something”.

‘Reasonable adjustments’ are about responding sensitively to individual cases by taking account of the circumstances without necessarily setting precedents.

Examples of reasonable adjustments might include:

- Reasonable adjustments for examinations and TCAs (time-controlled assignments) extended library loans - stickers for assignments and examinations so they are marked in accordance with university marking guidelines - disclosure to your Faculty - Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) – we will advise and help you apply for these allowances which may be used to pay for equipment and individual sessions with specialist tutors or mentors.

Additional adjustments may be possible regarding access on campus, interviews, student accommodation, parking and hearing support systems. More about these can be found on our Accessibility & Adjustments webpage.