Guidance

Adjustments Planner: Supporting students and graduates to plan for the future

Published 15 November 2023

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Introduction

If you have a disability, a health condition or have additional requirements which mean you need adjustments, to help ensure your adjustments are documented you should consider completing an Adjustments Planner.

An Adjustments Planner could provide a useful tool to support you to progress in higher education, take up work during term time or move into employment by enabling you to plan your future.

The Adjustments Planner can support you by:

• enabling you to identify any extra support or arrangements you might need whilst you are a student or in the workplace
• raising awareness of support in education, including Disabled Students Allowance
• supporting an Access to Work application for extra support

Access to Work is a government grant that is available to help meet the costs of support in the workplace. Support from Access to Work could include:

• funding for specialist equipment to support you to do your job
• support getting to and from work and/or support when you are in work
• a support worker or job coaching support

The Adjustments Planner is a confidential, personal document that belongs to you, and it cannot be shared with others without your permission. The planner can:

• prepare you for an interview by providing a structure to support you to have more confident conversations with potential employers about your working requirements, adjustments and in-work support
• support you to apply for Access to Work by reducing the need for an Access to Work assessment

The Adjustments Planner can be used to support you whilst you are a student, working during term time, self-employment, an apprenticeship, or work experience.

How to complete your Adjustments Planner

You can complete the Adjustments Planner yourself, or ask for help to complete the planner from:

• a member of your family
• someone who knows you well
• a disabled students office

Once completed, you can update the Adjustments Planner at any time to reflect changes in your requirements or support needs.

The Adjustments Planner

About you

Name:

Think about what support you could help you to progress whilst you are a student or support you to move into employment. Questions you might want to consider:

• does your disability or additional requirements vary depending on the day, time of day or the environment you are in?
• if yes, how often does this happen and what extra help would you need when things are at their most difficult?
• have you previously had any extra support, such as extra time in exams or in a previous job, such as a job coach which you could benefit from whilst you are a student?
• do you have a disability or health condition that could benefit from adjustments?

For example: you might require a sit/stand desk if you are required to sit for long periods and have a back problem.

If you require extra support, or have had support in the past which you still need, what additional support or adjustments do you require?

The types of support you might need

Travel to work

Would you or do you need support to get to work?

This could include:

• a taxi
• changes to a vehicle
• a travel buddy
• other, please add

If yes, what support would you need?

This will vary depending on the type of job you are applying for and the location. It may help you think through the types of roles and locations that would best suit you.

Accessing education or work premises

Do you have specific requirements for the physical premises or environment at your place of study/workplace?

These might be individual adjustments for you, or they might be something that your place of study or employer already provides for everyone.

This could include:

• accessible parking
• accessible toilets
• a ramp or lift
• widened or automatic doors
• a quiet area to be base in
• a permanently allocated desk in a hot desk environment
• adjustments to lighting, for example, to avoid glare, lower lighting, or clear lighting to enable you to lipread

If yes, please provide details.

Communication support in education or work

Do you need support or adjustments to talk to or meet with people or for reading, writing, understanding, and absorbing information or following instructions?

Communication-related adjustments could include:

• additional processing time, for example, in an interview or timed test
• prompting to provide more or less information
• British Sign Language Interpreter
• British Sign Language video relay service support or lip speakers
• a notetaker
• information in a different format for example, audio, Braille, easy read, large print or on a different coloured paper

Specialist IT programmes

Have you used any specialist IT programmes before? If yes, which ones have you used?

This could include software such as speech to text or text to speech, magnifying software or spelling or grammar checkers, for example but not limited to:

• Jaws
• Dragon
• ZoomText
• Text Help, Read & Write

Do you need training to use the specialist equipment/software?

If you have not used any specialist, IT programmes before, would you like more information about what is available and how this could support you?

If yes, please visit Access to Work or call Access to Work on 0800 121 7479 for advice.

Specialist equipment and coping at work

Have you used any specialist equipment before that you have found useful? If yes, what was this? 

This could include equipment such as:

• specialist computer hardware such as mice, keyboards, number pads or large monitors
• specialist furniture such as heigh adjustable desks, ergonomic chairs, footrests, and armrests
• magnifiers, braille readers or hearing aids and wheelchairs
• a braille reader
• noise cancelling headphones

If you have not used any specialist equipment previously, would you like more information about what is available and how this could support you?

If yes, please visit Access to Work or call Access to Work on 0800 121 7479 for advice.

Adaptations to equipment you already use

Do you have specialist equipment or adjustments now and find this helps or need adapting?

If yes, please provide details.

This could include:

• managing sensory sensitivities
• adjustable lightings
• quiet spaces

Support while you are at work

Do you need someone to support you whilst studying or at work?

If yes, what kind of support do they provide?

This could include:

• help you learn and complete parts of the job
• develop coping strategies
• instructions and processes
• additional time
• help with reading or working with colleagues

Supporting organisations

You may have already been supported by a charity or organisation, and they may have already provided advice or identified the type of equipment or support that could support you in the workplace.

Please provide details below:

Recommendations of support within the workplace

Specialist Aids and Equipment

Support	Supplier	Cost (incl. VAT)
		£
		£
		£
		£
		£

Applying for help

If you need support whilst studying, please speak to the student support team who can advise you about the support they can provide or advise how you can apply for Disabled Students Allowance.

Disabled Students Allowance

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is support to cover the study-related costs you have because of a mental health problem, long-term illness or any other disability.

Disabled Students’ Allowance in England

Disabled Students’ Allowance in Scotland

Disabled Students’ Allowance in Wales

Access to Work

Communication support at a job interview

Have you been successful in getting a job interview and need help to communicate?

If yes, you can apply for communication support from Access to Work.

If you need support to take up a part-time job or move into employment you can contact Access to Work for advice or apply for support. (Remember a job or work can include self-employment, an apprenticeship, work experience or a Supported internship.)

You can apply for Access to Work in any of the following ways:

Apply online
Telephone: 0800 121 7479
Textphone: 0800 121 7579
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 121 7479
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

Someone can support you with your application.

Record of your Access to Work applications

Date application submitted:

Date application completed:

Was your application successful?

The Adjustments Planner does not guarantee an Access to Work award.

Additional Information about Access to Work can be found in the Access to Work factsheet.

This document contains personal information, which should be stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Useful Information

What is a workplace adjustment?

Workplace adjustments are often simple changes that remove barriers for disabled people and enable them to thrive at work. Adjustments can include “kit” or tech adjustments, such as assistive software or ergonomic equipment, “soft” adjustments like different working patterns or a quiet place to sit in an office and “human” adjustments like a support worker or a British Sign Language Interpreter. Workplace Adjustments are called “Reasonable Adjustments” under the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act says that employer have a duty to make reasonable adjustments if they know that a disabled employee needs them or could have been “reasonably expected to know”.

The word “reasonable” is important and there are tests in law to decide whether an adjustment is reasonable or not. Not all adjustments are reasonable for all jobs or in all workplaces or professions, but many of them are.

When applying for work, you should be asked if you need any adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process. Employers are not allowed to ask you about disability or health conditions during a recruitment or interview process so please only talk about adjustments you need, not your disability.

ONS standard occupations list

Types of employment (list of occupations) are listed under 9 group headings:

1. managers, directors and senior officials
2. professional occupations
3. associate professional occupations
4. administrative and secretarial occupations
5. skilled trades occupations
6. caring, leisure and other service occupations
7. sales and customer service occupations
8. process, plant and machine operatives
9. elementary occupations

ONS impairment type categories

Disability and employment - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Reasonable Adjustments useful links

In employment: Workplace adjustments - Equality and Human Rights Commission (equalityhumanrights.com)

What reasonable adjustments are: Reasonable adjustments - Acas