Learning and disability support
We’re committed to supporting students with a range of additional needs. At Trinity, a specialist practitioner, Mel Lucas, can advise and support students throughout their time here. For more information about Mel’s role, see below.
Specific learning difficulties (SpLDs)
Through our Study Support Tutor, we can provide in-house screening for learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyspraxia, prior to formal assessment. We also offer one-to-one support for learning strategies. Funds are available through the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) for equipment and learning support.
Sensory disabilities
We’re able to offer tailored support for deaf students with help from Bristol Diocese’s Chaplain to the Deaf Community. Our Disability Advisor will help students with visual difficulties or other additional needs to gain the appropriate assessment of their needs.
Unseen disabilities and medical conditions
Many people live with a non-visible condition or experience a combination of both visible and non-visible conditions. These disabilities can be temporary, situational or permanent. They can be neurological, cognitive and neurodevelopmental as well as physical, visual, auditory and include sensory and processing difficulties. They can also be respiratory as well as chronic health conditions such as arthritis and diabetes, chronic pain and sleep disorders.
Trinity College is a member of the group, Hidden Disabilities. Hidden Disabilities offers a scheme that is being widely adopted by workplaces and organisations to help those living with a disability that is not visible, to discreetly notify others that at times they may need assistance. It also helps others to be aware of a hidden disability, when otherwise they wouldn’t know, enabling people to offer help and support when it is needed. We provide pins and lanyards bearing the sunflower logo which signals that the wearer has a hidden disability.
Our Disability Advisor can help students access help they may be entitled to through the DSA and, where necessary, plan for alternative exam arrangements.
Mobility needs
We’re committed to making what reasonable adjustments we can to our infrastructure and processes to help students with mobility difficulties to engage as fully as possible with life and learning at Trinity.
Disability Advisor and Specialist Study Support Tutor
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- Mel Lucas, MA, B.Ed. (hons), CEHIC, DipSpLD (Dyslexia), AMBDA
Mel is a qualified specialist teacher offering a variety of support for students with specific learning difficulties. She provides screening for dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Mel is an Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA), and supports students with learning difficulties through individually tailored study skills tutorials. She has had a long career in language teaching; she has been an examiner for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and a teacher of deaf children. As Disability Advisor, Mel assists all students at Trinity with additional needs to access suitable support and, if appropriate, to apply for funding through Disabled Student Allowance (DSA). To contact Mel, email mel.lucas@trinitycollegebristol.ac.uk or call 0117 968 0206.