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DANU 24

The Aston Student Personal Assistance Scheme (Aston Student PAS)

Aston University is committed to assisting students with disabilities and additional support needs to live, study and enjoy student life as independently as possible.

The Aston Student Personal Assistance Scheme (Aston Student PAS) aims to enable students with disabilities and additional needs to compete equally with their peers, and to participate fully in the student experience.

To be eligible for support from the Aston Student PAS, a student must qualify for and be in receipt of DSA funding or have access to other funding.

Aston Student PAS recruits and trains Support Workers from the student community as they have personal experience of what it is like to be a student in higher education. Aston Student PAS will intorduce you to stuiable Support Workers and liaise on your befalf between funding bodies and Support Workers.

Support Worker roles include personal assistance for:

  • Note-taking
  • Photocopying
  • Word-Processing
  • Reading
  • Study Buddy
  • Assistance with access and orientation
  • Assistance with lab work
  • Any other non-medical support
We also recruit professionals with various skills to provide the following:

  • Dyslexia Support Tutoring
  • Study Skills
  • Sign Language Interpreter
  • Mentoring
  • Teacher of the Deaf services
Assistance with day-to-day activities such as washing, cooking, shopping, laundry, dressing etc. can be arranged through your local Social Services Department.  This should be organised as early as possible.  This type of personal support is not provided under the Aston Student PAS and is not covered by the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA).

Prospective Support Workers
Support Workers do not need prior experience of working for people with disabilities, as full training in disability awareness and support is provided, and is mandatory.

The training programme is designed for people who have no experience of working with people with disabilities.  It provides training in basic skills for assisting students who have:

  • A Specific Learning Difficulty (such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia or ADHD)
  • Physical Impairment or Mobility Issues
  • Long-standing Illness or Health Condition 
  • Hearing Impairments
  • Mental Health Issues
  • Visual Impairments
  • A Social or Communication Impairment (such as Autisitc Spectrum Disorder or Asperger syndrome)
The Training programme will also help people  to improve their employability by providing training and experience in:
  • Note-Taking
  • Safe Working / Emergency Procedures
  • Problem Solving  / Handling Difficult Situations
  • The Disability Discrimination Act (and amendments)
A Support Worker may work anything from 1 to 37 hours in a week.  

Please Note: If you are a full-time undergraduate student, you may only work a maximum of 15 hours per week.  

The Scheme aims to be as flexible as possible. Flexibility though does not mean that we do not set firm guidelines.  We are a professional service and we expect all Support Workers to be considerate, receptive and have a professional approach towards the students they work for.

If you are interested in finding out more about working as a Support Worker, please contact a member of the DANU team by email danu@aston.ac.uk or by telephoning the Aston Student Advice Point (ASAP) on +44 (0)121 204 4711.