What is Disability Students’ Allowance (DSA)?
The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) provides support for eligible students who have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or other additional needs that affect their ability to study.
Students apply for DSA through the relevant funding body and, once their eligibility has been confirmed, a needs assessment is arranged to identify the support, equipment and other assistance they may require.
Back Care Solutions can provide the DSE, ergonomic and assistive technology element of the needs assessment on behalf of assessing centres and organisations responsible for arranging DSA support.
Who Funds DSA?
The organisation responsible for DSA funding depends on where the student is based:
- Student Finance England (SFE) – for eligible students living in England
- Student Finance Wales (SFW) – for eligible students living in Wales
- Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI) – for eligible students living in Northern Ireland
- Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) – for eligible students living in Scotland
- NHS Student Bursaries – for eligible students receiving NHS funding, including students on certain medical and dental courses
The process for arranging assessments can differ between the different funding bodies and access centres. Where specialist ergonomic or assistive technology input is required, the relevant organisation can refer the student to Back Care Solutions to undertake this part of the assessment.
What Does A DSA Assessment Cover?
Our assessment considers the student's individual needs and how these may affect their ability to study. Depending on the referral, we can assess areas including:
- DSE and workstation setup
- Desk and chair requirements
- Posture and positioning
- Screen, keyboard and mouse setup
- Physical access and accessibility
- Specialist ergonomic equipment
- Assistive technology and software
- Workstation adaptations
- Other equipment or solutions that may support the student's studies
What Is The Order Process?
If you are an access centre or organisation arranging a student's DSA needs assessment, you can request our services by placing an order for the through this web page.
Please provide as much information as possible during checkout. Some suggestions, where applicable would be:
- Student's full name
- Contact details
- Relevant referral or assessment information
- Details of their disability or additional needs that are relevant to the assessment
- The areas you would like us to assess
- Any existing recommendations or information that may assist with the assessment
- Any other relevant information from the student's needs assessment
Once we receive the order and the student's information, we will contact the student to arrange the assessment. We will then carry out the assessment and produce a report outlining our findings and recommendations.
The report can be provided to the referring organisation for inclusion within the student's wider needs assessment. Where equipment or software is recommended, the relevant products can be identified within our recommendations, with Back Care Solutions listed as the supplier where appropriate.
The student can then order the approved equipment from us in accordance with their DSA funding arrangements.
Further Information
View our full range of Workplace Assessments and Training.
