Disclosure and Confidentiality

Sometimes students worry about how / when to disclose a disability. We are here to help and encourage you to tell us as soon as possible when you know you are considering Keele.

The information will be treated in confidence and only with your permission will the people who need to know be told so that they can best support you.

You can disclose a disability at any point in your course, so never feel that it is too late to come and talk to an adviser. However, if you to talk to us as soon as you know you might want to study at Keele we have a greater opportunity to ensure personalised support is in place right from the beginning of your course.

Keele University welcomes disclosure of a disability or medical condition because we can then put in an individual support package to meet your needs. All disclosures are managed discreetly and with your consent shared only with staff who are providing you with teaching and learning and access to all facilities the University offers.

The University has a duty under the Single Equality Act 2010 to:

  • Make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled students 
  • Avoid treating disabled students less favourably than non-disabled students
  • To prevent disability-related discrimination
  • To promote disability equality across the university
  • To have in place a Disability Equality Duty Action Plan with review mechanisms
  • See the Equality and Diversity pages

In order to ensure that we meet these obligations and give you the best possible support, we may need to share information about your disability, medical condition, mental health issue or other sensitive information, with others. This will never be done without your knowledge.

The Single Equality Act also gives students the right to request that the nature or existence of their disability be treated as confidential: students can change the level of confidentiality at any time.

Under the Data Protection Act (1998), information relating to a disability, medical condition or mental health issue is sensitive personal data and explicit permission must be sought before this type of information can be passed on to a third party. Therefore the University must obtain written consent from you before any information regarding your disability or specific learning difficulty can be shared. 

Who needs to know about your support needs and why?

  • Disability Services: to plan and arrange individual support requirements
  • Schools and personal tutors: to ensure that adjustments and specific arrangements are put in to action.
  • Placement providers and Field Trip Leaders
  • Examinations Officer: to ensure that your exam arrangements are in place
  • The Student Accommodation Service: to make specific room allocations and adaptations where necessary
  • The University Library to ensure extended loans are in place
  • External support agencies such as Randstad Student and Worker Support and Staffordshire ASSIST and the Student Finance England.

How do I give my consent to sharing information?

You will be asked to sign a consent form to allow us to share information with appropriate staff and agencies, either before you begin your course or during your first weeks at Keele. Existing students can request a form from the Disability Service Administrator. If you wish to restrict the information shared, then please discuss this with the Adviser.

What happens if I do not give my consent?

You can ask that no information is passed on to others, or you can request that information is restricted to specific people.  However, you should be aware that if you do this it could limit the level of support the University can provide for you.

You should also be aware that even if you have asked for information about your disability or support need not to be passed on to any other members of staff, there could be certain instances where this may still have to be done for reasons of health and safety, emergency or public policy.

If at any time you have concerns about this code of practice, please speak to an Adviser.

Confidentiality and Disclosure Form