The Disability Discrimination Act (1995 and 2005) places a duty on education providers not to discriminate against disabled applicants or students and to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people can fully participate in all the activities that the RCA provides.

If you have a disability, learning difference or health condition you may wish to inform the College so that we can arrange for any support you might need. You do have a right to choose not to tell us if you would prefer to not to.

What counts as a disability?

A disabled person is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act as someone with “a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term impact on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities”.

This definition covers a wide range of impairments and conditions, both seen and unseen, such as dyslexia and/or dyspraxia, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy or other health conditions, mobility or sensory impairments and mental health conditions.

Why disclose?

The main reason for letting the College know about your disability is to allow for adjustments to be made and support to be put in place to ensure that you can fully participate in your course and life at the RCA.

If we have accurate data on how many students have a disability we can use this to make sure that adequate resources are designated to disability support.

How to inform the College of a disability

If you have declared a disability in your application, then the Student Support Office will contact you before you start your course to ask for more information.  We will also ask you whether you would like us to inform your department of your disability and any adjustments you might require.

If you have a disability which you didn't declare in your application, have recently become disabled or have just been diagnosed, you can inform the College by filling in this online form.  Alternatively, you can contact the Student Support Office.

What happens once I have informed the College?

Any information that you disclose to the College about a disability will be treated as confidential.  The information will be recorded on your student record, and will be passed to your department if you request this.