Students - Why Choose This Assessment Centre?

Reasons to choose this assessment centre

• Appointments 7 days per week (+ evenings and weekends)
• No waiting times
• Same day appointments*
• Book by phone, email, text, or drop in to see us
• Appointments available in Canterbury, Medway, Greenwich, Broadstairs, Maidstone, London and remote by telephone and video call
• Established 2004 – Over a decade of experience in supporting students
• We’re on WhatsApp or text us
• One-to-one support with applying
• Reimbursement for your travel costs
• Contacts and experience throughout the field of disability. Specialists in mental health, mobility, visual and hearing impairment, ASD, SpLDs diagnosticians. View our assessors' page for more details
• Free parking & refreshments available

*Same day appointments are possible if you have all your documents (DSA eligibility letter and diagnostic/medical evidence).

Joint Professional Experience and Expertise:

The Iona Centre selects and trains all their Assessors who are drawn from a broad range of pertinent disciplines. The principal assessment team brings together a collective experience across the full spectrum of UK educational provision and regulation for all disabilities. Members of the Iona team currently support institutions such as Canterbury Christ Church University, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, University for the Creative Arts, Open University and the University of Kent.

Professionally respected by authorities and institutions within the UK, Iona Needs Assessors are well qualified to address all disabilities:

• a mental-health condition, such as anxiety or depression;
• a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, AD(H)D;
• autism;
• a progressive medical condition, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer or HIV;
• a sensory impairment which could affect the ability to see or hear;
• other conditions e.g. diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, musculoskeletal disorders, pain disorders etc.

What to Expect

To make sure the whole process works as seamlessly as possible, we ask students to:

• Provide all documentation before your assessment, as follows:
  1. Funding letter (DSA1)
  2. Information on your disability/disabilities
  3. Pre-assessment Questionnaire
• Contact us 24 hours in advance if you need to cancel.
• Arrive at the location of the assessment on time and phone us if you are going to be late.
• Contact us if you have any queries about your report; for example if you feel there is information that may need to be added.
• Understand that the report is a recommendation and the funding body choose what to put into action.

Sensus Access

Electronic documents can be converted to a more accessible format (e.g. create editable text versions of images or convert documents so that you can listen to them) by using the Sensus Access file conversion tool on the university web pages.

• Guidance video on using Sensus Access.