Education Support
We provide support in educational establishments across Staffordshire.
What's available?
Advice and assessment of educational needs is available along with various types of support. These include:
- Note-taking
- Adaptation of materials
- Mentoring
- Braille/ICT tuition
- Communication support such as lip-speaking and sign language interpreters
Students may need specialist equipment or software and support from specialist tutors. They can also access mobility training and audiological support.
Non-medical helpers
We are a provider of non-medical helper (NMH) support for students in higher education who have been funded by a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA).
Below is a copy of the current NMH rates for students supported by ASSIST, effective from 1 August 2016:
We continue to provide support, if required, when students move into work-based learning or other work environments.
Our students
This is what some of our current students have to say:
Zila Aziz – Staffordshire University
Zila is a visually impaired student who has received support from ASSIST at college where she studied for her A-Levels and also at Staffordshire University where she has completed her Legal Practice Course and is enrolling on the LLM course in September 2014.
Zila has received electronic note-taking for her lectures and workshops as well as study support outside taught sessions for help with library research and organisation of work on a very practical course. Zila worked closely with the ASSIST staff to find the best solution to her needs while studying a very complex course at a post graduate level.
“Also the support enabled me to do well in my exams which again shows that having consistency with the correct support brings positive results as it did for me.”
This is what Zila has to say about the support she received from us:
“I found with the support that I received from the staff at ASSIST was very focused on my needs. I find the staff to be very helpful and encouraging and this made me feel very relaxed with the support that I was receiving. It is important that the support worker listens to the student and understands their individual needs. I found this to be the case with ASSIST as their support workers are trained to assist the student for their individual needs and this is what enabled me to do so well with my post graduate course and gain outstanding results."
Zila is looking to gain a training contract with a law firm in the future and the whole ASSIST team would like to take the opportunity to wish her the best of luck going forward with both her studies and her employment, we are sure she will do an excellent job.
Michael Johnson – Stafford College
Michael is a student who has an Autism Spectrum Condition; he has received in class and out of class support from ASSIST at Stafford College. Michael studied Level 3 Interactive Media and managed to achieve 3 Merits in his final year which was a great achievement from him and has meant that he has been able to gain a place at Staffordshire University to continue his studies.
Michael received support in class to help him keep on track and complete his work as well as receiving support out of class to help with his research and modifying his English and annotating his work.
“The staff have helped me with annotations, modifying my English and helping me spell words to do my research when using Google.”
Michael had this to say about the support from us:
“Staff have always been very helpful and easy to get on with. Staff were focused and help me to organise my time to keep on track getting my assignments in on time. I feel the support given by ASSIST has helped me to achieve Merit, Merit, Merit in my final year and this has enabled me to go onto university. Without this help I feel my grades would have only been a pass.”
We would like to wish Michael the best of luck in his studies at Staffordshire University and hope that he continues to achieve the high grades he gained at college.
Samara Hussain – Keele University
Samara is a visually impaired student studying at Keele University. She started in September 2013 on a Foundation year after leaving school with no GCSE’s as the school were unable to provide the support she needed, however she has gone onto college to gain her GCSE qualifications along with A Levels and a BTEC National Diploma. She is hoping to move onto a degree in Law with Criminology and ultimately become a barrister.
Samara has received support in class from an electronic note-taker as well as study support out of class to help her with her research and assignments. She has also received transcription support to have documents transcribed into Braille for her to use. Samara said this about the support she received:
“I feel that if I did not receive the support I did, then I do not think I would have managed. It has really helped me because I had too much work and it would not have been completed as there were certain things I needed.”
Samara also had this to say about us:
“The staff who have supported me have been fantastic. They are extremely helpful and all they want is the best for us. When we had our exams, they were waiting anxiously and seemed more nervous than we were. I definitely felt relaxed around them and felt I got a lot of work done with them.
“ASSIST do a brilliant job. They deal with many people on a daily basis but are extremely friendly and patient. Whenever I needed them, they were always there to help. Thank you for all your help and support.”
We would like to wish Samara all the best with the rest of her studies and hope she manages to achieve her goal of one day becoming a barrister.