Understanding disability support and professional course requirements

If you receive an offer for a course which is subject to the requirements of a Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council) you will be asked to tell the University about any disability, neurodivergence or health condition which may affect your ability to complete the course (including any placements) and to be fit to practise on completion of your studies. Offers for these courses are conditional upon a satisfactory Occupational Health assessment and on the University being satisfied that, with reasonable adjustments, you will be able to meet all relevant academic, practical and professional competence standards.

Competence standards are used by education providers to determine whether a person has achieved a particular level of competence or ability. Many of these standards are assessed during compulsory practice placements. Competence standards cannot be adjusted due to a disability or health condition, but the University will always strive to identify reasonable adjustments which may support you to demonstrate those competencies. This includes working with you and your placement providers to identify reasonable adjustments which may be made on placement.

However, there may be occasions when it is not possible to make an adjustment in the placement setting. It is also important to be aware that decisions about adjustment for placement are made by the placement provider, so it is not all within university control.

We strongly encourage you to find out as much as you can about the course you are interested in, what activities are involved and what competence standards apply, and share information with us about any disability, neurodivergence or health condition that you have, so that we can consider as early as possible what adjustments may be possible both for your academic studies and practice placements.

If you would like to have an initial chat about this, please contact the Student Inclusion Team at disability@bcu.ac.uk. Please be aware that, after an initial conversation, it may be necessary for us to seek involvement from the relevant course team.