Disability Services

Student Support Workers

Guide

Disability Services
The University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 8UW , UK
Tel: 024 761 50641
Fax: 024 761 51047
Email:

Contents

Important information

Your role

Boundaries & confidentiality

Working with your student

Note taking in a Lecture

Useful Information3

Important information

Who to contact

Disability Services

All queries should go through the front desk

Tel: 024 761 50641

Fax: 024 761 51047

Email:

Address:Disability Services

Ground floor, University House

The University of Warwick

Coventry CV4 8UW

Disability Services Team

Team Administrator - Marie Proctor

Disability Coordinator- Despina Weber- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Disability Coordinator – Kathryn Fisher-Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Dyslexia Support Tutor - Sue Walter

Disability Adviser – Jim Connolly

Disability Adviser – George Morrell

Support from Disability Services

Inform Disability Services of any problems you are having that are work related or effect your work, so we can help you come to a satisfactory conclusion or adapt your work to support your situation.

Absence and illness

If you are ill or cannot work for any reason you must notify Disability Services the central line is 024 761 50641. Leave a message if it is out of hours or email:

You need to notify your student and tell them that you have also informed Disability Services and that we will contact them in due course. If you think you may not make it into work the following day you must notify Disability Services by midday so cover can be arranged. If you cannot work it is not appropriate to inform the student and not Disability Services. You will not be paid for any sessions you have not worked.

We ask that you commit to the 10 week terms and arrange any holidays outside of term time.

Cover – distribution list

Your name will be on the Student Support Worker distribution list; therefore you must check your emails for information and additional shifts. Throughout the academic year there will be occasions where one of you will require cover or a one off lesson will require a note-taker. If you are free and have responded to say you can cover the session, Disability Services will then email you individually with the student’s details.

Payment of wages

Hours should be entered by you each week on to the Unitemps website and the student must go on to the Unitemps website each week to authorise your hours electronically. Although payments are paid monthly it is important that you enter your hours online weekly so that they can be authorised by the student. This is especially important for people whose working hours are restricted by visa regulations as non-regular submission of timesheets may lead Unitemps to believe that you have worked in excess of the weekly hours permitted. If you submit your hours on an irregular basis this is likely to mean that you pay more tax.

  • You will be paid by Unitemps and will need to be registered with them
  • Your hours must be correctly entered online and electronically authorised by the student or payment may be delayed.

Wages for support work are £9.50 and £1.15 holiday pay for the first 12 weeks and then post-AWR (Agency Workers Regulations) you receive £9.50 and £1.63 holiday pay per hour. To be entitled to full AWR benefits you must first complete a 12 week qualifying period. These 12 weeks are calculated as any weeks that you have worked either in the job in question or in a similar role provided that there are no breaks of 6 weeks or more. After a 6 week gap you lose the full AWR rights and must complete a new 12 week qualifying period. To make sure that your AWR status is correct it is important to enter your hours online each week. If you are ill for a prolonged period it is important to inform Unitemps so that your AWR status does not expire.

Availability

Disability Services will ask for your availability before the beginning of each term, if you are a student yourself this may be difficult until you have your own timetable. As soon as you know your availability you must let Disability Services know so we can allocate you work. If your availability changes Disability Services will need to be informed.

Allocations

Disability Services look at allocating student support workers to students as soon as possible; however we are also waiting for student timetables, therefore allocations are usually made in the first and second week of Term 1. That will vary depending on the student’s course and timetable changes in Term 2 and 3.

Disability Services would want to allocate you to the same student for all lessons where possible to allow the student to have consistency; however this is not always possible due to timetable clashes.

Feedback

Your feedback is essential to maintain the quality of support that we offer to students and we will be asking you for feedback throughout the year. If there is anything that comes up throughout the year you must get in contact with Disability Services, this can be by phone/email or a meeting can be arranged. Disability Services will also be asking students for feedback throughout the year.

Training

You will be given training at the beginning of the academic year. If you start part way through the academic year you will be given all the information required that was included in the training. Disability Services will also organise meetings throughout the year for Student Support Workers to meet up, to discuss any issues and provide any training required.

Your role

 Take academic notes in lectures, seminars and tutorials for students in higher education with a range of disabilities.

 In some instances you may be asked to also provide assistance to your student in and around campus, in the form of sighted, orientation or mobility assistance and library support.

 Always have a supply of pens, pencils and paper.

 Always be punctual.

 Produce notes that are clear, complete and legibly written.

 Enter hours on to the Unitemps website each week for authorisation.

 Maintain a high standard of presentation whilst representing the University and Disability Services.

 If you cannot make a lecture let Disability Services know as soon a possible so that the student can be informed and cover can be arranged. Disability Services require at least 48 hours notice of cancellation.

 Make sure that students are happy with the support being provided; any problems must be referred to Disability Services immediately.

 Make sure you attend any relevant training or meetings.

 Inform Disability Services of any problems you are having that are work related or effect your work, so we can help you come to a satisfactory conclusion or adapt your work to support your situation.

 Always adhere to the University’s Data Protection policy and Disability Services confidentiality guidelines. Information about a student should not be discussed or shared with third parties.

Academic year 2015/2016

We expect you to commit to at least a term which consists of ten weeks. There will be no note taking work in the holiday period, however there may be opportunities to do some scanning or transcription work. There is a significant reduction in note-taking hours in term 3 due to exams.

Autumn Term

Monday 5 October 2015 – Saturday 12 December 2015

Spring Term

Monday 11 January 2016 – Saturday 19 March 2016

Summer Term

Monday 25 April 2016 – Saturday 2 July 2016

Different forms of support you may be asked to provide

  • Note-taking
  • Transcription
  • Reading
  • Sighted assistance/orientation
  • Mobility support
  • Library assistance
  • Scribe work

The particular support that each student requires is recommended in their assessment of need. Disability Services will discuss with you any work that we would like you to take on before allocating hours.

If a student asks for additional hours you must refer them to Disability Services.

Boundaries & confidentiality

Your role is to provide enabling support and not personal assistance. Your role does not include support with toileting, washing, food preparation and laundry. If a personal care situation arises then you must contact Disability Services immediately. All students that require personal care support should have a carer whether they are present or on call.

You role is not to provide subject related support or give guidance on academic issues. If a student asks for guidance refer them to their department.

Please introduce yourself to the lecturers prior to any sessions, so they are aware you are not there as a student from the outset.

You must not take part in discussions, get involved in group work or give your opinion on the topic. If asked say that you are there to take notes and cannot get involved in the discussion.

If a tutor asks you to get involved politely remind them that you are there to take notes and that you are not there as a student. If there is a problem always refer staff to Disability Services. You should not discuss the student or their support requirements with staff as the student may want this to remain confidential.

Student Support Workers should work within the boundaries of confidentiality and discretion. Their students’ circumstances can not be discussed with any third parties and they should respect their students’ privacy.

Student Support Workers are advised to make their students aware that they would need to seek guidance themselves from Disability Services on any issues that are not within the boundaries of their role.

Working with your student

Disability Services will arrange an introduction between you and your student prior to your start date. For the majority of students you work with we will make arrangements for you to meet the student outside the first lecture or seminar at which you work with them. On occasions where a student has more complex needs due to the nature of their disability Disability Services will arrange an introduction between you and your student prior to your start date, usually at Disability Services offices.

If you are providing mobility or orientation support you may be asked to meet the student outside their halls of residence. You must not go into the student’s room. You either meet the student in the entrance area or outside the residence.

If you meet the student outside the lecture theatre make sure that if at all possible you are there 5 minutes before the start of the session. If you are coming directly from another lecture this may not always be possible. Once the student arrives it may be that you go straight into the lecture theatre and give the student the notes after the session or notes are typed and emailed to the student. You must not go into the lecture theatre until the student has arrived unless advised otherwise by Disability Services.

If the student does not arrive for the start of the session please try and contact Disability Services for advice as to whether you can leave straight away or if notes should still be taken. If you can’t contact Disability Services for advice please wait for 5-10 minutes after the scheduled start time before leaving. If the student arrives you can go in when they do.

If the student does not arrive, please enter your hours online as usual for the non-attended session via the Unitemps website, as you are paid for the booked time. (If this was a lecture you were already scheduled to attend as part of your course, you cannot claim for the time it takes to type up the notes if the student does not attend, unless otherwise instructed by Disability Services). You must email or telephone Disability Services as soon possible to inform Disability Services if your student does not attend.

Cancellation Period

If the student/University provides 24 hours notice that the lecture/tutorial/meeting will be cancelled you will not be paid for that session. If the student contacts you directly you must let us know as soon as possible and advise the student that they must also get in contact with us directly.

Failure to attend

Disability Services are required to monitor the support that is provided to students, if the student is not utilising the support, as a service we need to find out why.

If your student does not attend it is crucial you inform us, we also need to know if they are cancelling the support with required the 24 hours notice.

Authorisation of hours

It is the responsibility of the students you work with to authorise your timesheets online. Therefore it is important to enter your hours online each week. No payments would normally be authorised without the student’s authorisation so Unitemps will carefully monitor online which students are not authorising their hours and can then prompt the student to do so. Where there is a danger of your entered hours not being authorised by the student in time for the monthly payroll deadline Disability Services will still be able to authorise hours through the online system if required.

Typed notes

You should only type notes if instructed to do so by Disability Services. If typed notes are required you will be paid for the typing up of notes. If you have taken notes for a 1 hour session we would pay you an extra 30 minutes to type up the notes. If notes are taking longer than half an hour to type up please inform us and we will make a decision as to whether further payment can be authorised for the additional writing up time. When emailing electronic notes always save a backup copy of the notes to a separate drive or computer. Files can become corrupted, computers can become damaged, and emails can go missing. If the student does not receive the notes or receives them in an unusable format we cannot pay you for the work undertaken. Remember we need the student’s authorisation to process any payment. It is advisable for you to copy in to any emails to which notes are attached. This way if there is a dispute as to whether notes have been received it can be easily remedied.

Returning notes to Disability Services

When returning notes to Disability Services for collection by the Student please pass these to Sharon on the Student Support front desk in University House or to Marie if Sharon is away from the desk.

Professional Standards/Conduct

We expect our support workers to be polite, friendly and approachable, and we expect that you are shown the same level of courtesy from the students who use the service. Any reports of misconduct or abuse on either side will be looked seriously at and if necessary appropriate measures will be taken by Disability Services staff.

Note taking in a Lecture

Presentation

Make your notes clear; remember students may not look at them until they are doing an assignment or revising for an exam. They must be well labelled.

You must include:

  • The name of the session
  • The name of the tutor
  • Page number and date or week number on each page
  • When making notes write clearly
  • Leave a wide margin for later comments/work on notes/questions
  • Use only one side of each page
  • If you receive a copy of a handout label it with the date and week number if this is not already included and cross reference the handout to your notes.
  • Only abbreviate at the request of the student and always use their preferred/requested format.
  • Leave plenty of space for later additions.
  • Skip lines, leave space between main ideas.
  • If you are using a quote remember to “indent” it
  • EMPHASISE KEY POINTS

Ask the student how you should do this

  • Highlight
  • Underline
  • Use symbols *

Hints for good note-taking

Listening

 Listen carefully to what is being said

 Pay attention to qualifying words such as sometimes, usually, rarely etc.

 Listen to clues e.g. “there are six areas that will be covered today”

 Notice for signals indicating a change of direction such as but, however, on the other hand.

 Any information that is repeated or emphasized. This could be through tone or gesture of use of cue words such as finally, remember, importantly, obviously, specifically.

 You may find that your student wants to talk to you during the lesson, make it clear that you need to concentrate on listening to the information given by the lecturer.

What to write

Definitely copy the information below unless this is provided on the handout

  • Anything written on the board or presented on an overhead
  • All numbers or listed items
  • All terms and definitions
  • Examples
  • New words and ideas.

When quoting a reference you must get the title, page number and author. If the quotation is long the student can look it up later or leave a space to go back to it.

Introductions and Conclusions are vital. The lecturer outlines the important points, connects them with the previous and next lectures as well as the framework of the subject.

Checking your notes

 If there are any words you are unsure of spelling underline or write SP next to the word

 If there are pauses in a session use this time to check your notes for accuracy

 At the end of the session take a couple of minutes to check through what you have written

Useful Information

IT and Library access

If you are not a current student, you will need an ID card so you can get around campus, access the library and the computers. Disability Services will arrange this for you.