Supporting Documentation

To help us provide you with the study support you require, we ask that you to provide suitable supporting documentation of your disability, neurodiverse or health condition, or specific learning difference.

If you are unsure if your supporting documentation is suitable, feel free to Contact Us or drop into our offices at the Health & Wellbeing Centre to meet with a Disability & Inclusion Officer. We can also arrange Teams appointments to discuss document requirements and the registration process.

We need a diagnostic assessment report that meets the following criteria:

Completed and signed by: 

  • A Chartered Educational Psychologist, or
  • A Specialist Teacher who has qualifications from PATOSS (the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Differences) or Dyslexia Action.

Including adult-specific tests like the WAIS IV: In some cases, reports that used child tests when the student was between 14-16 may be accepted.  If you are unsure, upload any documents you have through the online registration form, and we will let you know if we need any additional documentation.

Required Tests to Include:

  1. Adult Reading Test (ART)
  2. Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE)
  3. Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT)

Extra Information: Sometimes, other tests might be okay to use.  This will depend on the guidelines from the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC).


We need a letter or a diagnostic report from a medical professional such as a consultant psychiatrist or clinical psychologist to confirm your diagnosis.

If you are still waiting for a diagnosis, we can put adjustments in place based on a referral letter from a medical professional like a GP. Unfortunately, we are unable to arrange any funded support until you have been formally diagnosed and we have received a copy of your letter/diagnostic report.  

The referral letter needs to include a few sentences about your suspected condition and how it affects your everyday activities and studies. NB: we cannot accept waiting list confirmations as supporting documentation. 


We need a letter or document from a medical professional, such as your doctor, consultant, psychiatrist, or another specialist.

The document needs to include:

  1. A description of your disability or medical condition, including any symptoms like fatigue, loss of concentration, or anxiety
  2. Confirmation that your condition is ongoing or long-term and will affect your studies for at least 12 months
  3. Date of diagnosis
  4. An explanation of how your condition impacts your daily life

If it is more convenient, you can offer your medical professional the option to fill out our Medical Evidence Form instead of writing a letter.


Medical Evidence Form (96.53 KB / DOCX)

We need a letter or documentation from a medical professional (e.g., your GP, audiology or cochlear implant centre). 

The document needs to include:

  • Level of deafness/hearing loss
  • If the deafness/hearing loss is ongoing and expected to be long-term
  • Details of how your daily life is affected, and how your studies are/may be affected 

We need a letter or documentation from a medical professional (e.g., your GP or optometrist). 

The document needs to include:

  • Level of vision loss
  • If the vision loss is ongoing and expected to be long-term
  • Details of how your daily life is affected, and how your studies are/may be affected

You can either Contact Us directly, or complete our online registration form. 

Our Disability & Inclusion Officers will review your situation and make a decision about how short-term support can be put in place for you.  All temporary support decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

In some cases, we may still ask you for some supporting documentation, but we will let you know what we require if this is the case. 

Any documentation we ask for will need to be from a GP or medical professional and include:

  • What the injury is
  • How long you are likely to be recovering from your injury
  • How the injury will affect your studies and day-to-day activities

If you are a visiting student studying for a year or less at the University, we ask you to provide a Visiting Students Home Institution Learning Adjustment Form. This needs to be completed by you and your home institution

You do not need to include additional supporting documentation related to your condition when you register with the Service



All documentation must be presented in English.  

If your documentation is not in English you have two options:

  1. Obtain a certified translation of your original documents.  This is a translation which has been certified to be true and accurate by the translator.  It should include the translator's contact details and be securely fastened to the original document with a legal fastening or embossed seal to prevent tampering, add credibility, and can be verified with the translator if necessary. 
  2. Allow us to run your documentation through the University’s AI platform ELM.  If you would like to use this method you need to:
    1. Ensure your documents are in either Word or PDF format.  The AI platform cannot translate photographs.
    2. Upload your original documentation to our online registration form, selecting the ELM option, when asked. 

If you have any questions about ELM, visit the ELM Frequently Asked Questions. 

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