...supporting students

Student’s User Guide to Access SUMMIT Personal Support Services

Access SUMMIT provides support workers for students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties attending the Universities of Manchester, Salford and MMU including:

Manual Notetakers / Electronic Notetakers – to take notes in lectures
Readers – to read aloud written material or record material on to tape
Transcribers – to type up material from alternative formats
Library Assistants – to assist with accessing library / open learning materials
Study Skills / Dyslexia Tutors – provide assistance with study strategies
Support Mentors – to support students with Mental Health needs
Tutors of the Deaf

We cannot currently source communication support workers or sign language interpreters but Access SUMMIT and your Disability Advisor can provide details of specialist agencies in the local area who may be able to help.

How the Personal Support Worker Service works

Access SUMMIT recruits a range of people to work with students with disabilities in all of the universities in Manchester. Where necessary we demand that support workers have appropriate qualifications and for some roles we offer additional training.

We also emphasise that students are studying at degree level or higher and need people who can support this level of study so we usually ask that support workers have a degree themselves.

We also provide training for some support roles to ensure they are fully aware of and competent to perform their work with a student and ensure that all Support Workers are subject to an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check.

After you have met with disability/learning support staff or a Needs Assessor, Access SUMMIT will receive a referral for support and will ‘match’ you to an appropriate support worker according to support type, subject, location, etc. Support workers are selected for their overall skills and you should have confidence that your support worker will carry out their tasks effectively.

What is expected of students receiving support

In order for you to get the best possible support through Access SUMMIT we ask the following of you:

If you have timetabled support such as a notetaker, pass on your timetable to Access SUMMIT staff as soon as you receive it, the sooner Access SUMMIT has it, the sooner your support can begin;
Agree upon your support worker’s duties at your first meeting. If you would like Access SUMMIT staff to help with this please ask;
Inform your support worker as far in advance as possible if you are unable to attend lectures. If you cannot give more than 24 hours notice your support worker will still be paid. In the case of timetabled support, support workers are also instructed not to remain in sessions without the student being present;
Sign your support worker’s timesheets as these are sent to your funding body as proof of support provided;
Provide materials for your support worker to enable them to carry out their duties (paper and pens etc.);
Inform Access SUMMIT of any changes in your timetable, needs, contact details or circumstances.

Conditions and Boundaries of the Personal Support Worker Service

Your LEA or funding body may refuse to pay for any appointments that you do not keep with your support worker and as such you may become liable for these costs. This makes it very important that you provide as much notice as possible to your support worker if you are not going to be able to make a pre-arranged appointment.
Support workers are covered by professional indemnity insurance which will offer protection to them providing they do not operate outside of their role description and Code of Practice and by public liability insurance which covers them in public places. Please note that this does not extend to your home or their home.
You cannot change support workers’ duties or hours. If there are valid reasons or a need for changes, you need to discuss this with a member of the Personal Support Services team at Access SUMMIT.
Support workers must not advocate for you or liaise with your department/faculty or any central support services at your University, unless by prior agreement with Access SUMMIT;
Support workers should not work, or be paid for, any tasks or hours not assigned to them by Access SUMMIT.
The support offered by a Support Worker must relate to your course related needs arising from your difficulties / disability;
Support workers cannot support you in any capacity other than that agreed and arranged by Access SUMMIT. Students needing support in any other area should contact a Disability Adviser for advice.
If you have a problem always contact the Personal Support Services team at Access SUMMIT and we will do our best to resolve the situation or make alternative support arrangements.

What is expected of support workers

Negotiate with the student acceptable duties and responsibilities and outline them in a Support Agreement. This should be copied for all parties including Access SUMMIT;
Follow the role descriptions for the role undertaken and code of practice associated with the role. Any doubts should be discussed with the member of Access SUMMIT staff who has made the match between the support worker and the student;
Notify students of any planned absences and attempt to obtain cover. Should this not be possible, refer to Access SUMMIT at the earliest opportunity so that, if appropriate, steps can be taken to obtain cover. Personal Support Services staff will keep you informed about the situation;
Notify student and Access SUMMIT of any sickness meaning that you will not be able to cover a session so that, if appropriate, steps can be taken to obtain cover. Personal Support Services staff will keep you informed about the situation;
Provide timesheets for the student to sign at the end of each session;
Maintain a professional relationship with the student and university staff at all times;
Refer any problems to Access SUMMIT.

Special notes on Notetakers:

Notetakers will have attended an in-house training/induction course and will operate to a set of standards laid down by Access SUMMIT. Any variation from these standards should be reported to Access SUMMIT.
If you are in receipt of notetaking support, you must attend the sessions (lectures/seminars/tutorials etc) in which you are receiving support. It is suggested that you should try to take your own notes to supplement those of your notetaker.