Disclosure Policy

Why is disclosure important?

Part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) places duties on institutions of higher education not to discriminate against disabled people. In order to avoid discrimination, CU will need to know about a person's disability. To facilitate this, students are encouraged pre-admission to disclose any disability; opportunities for disclosure also need to be given post-admission, such as when registering for examinations, arranging clinical placements and field trips, joining the library and using careers services.

Students are often reluctant to disclose their disability because they are worried they will be discriminated against. As students cannot be compelled to disclose their disability, consideration should be given on how to foster an environment and culture which facilitates disclosure.

As a result of a disclosure, which can be either verbal or written and to any member of University staff, the institution could be deemed to know that the student is disabled and might have particular needs. In these circumstances, the institution would be liable for meeting that student's needs and therefore a written record of any disclosure is essential.

Confidentiality

Under the Data Protection Act (1998), information relating to physical or mental health is sensitive personal data and explicit permission must be sought before this type of information can be passed on to a third party. Therefore written consent must be obtained from the student before any information regarding their disability can be shared.

The DDA gives students the right to request that the nature or existence of their disability be treated as confidential; students can also change the level of confidentiality at any time. To address this, students are offered two options regarding the level of confidentiality with which their disclosure can be treated:

1. The information can be passed to anyone who reasonably needs to know;
2. Access to the information is restricted to the person to whom they have disclosed their disability.

Determining who reasonably needs to know

Where adjustments need to be made following a disclosure, staff responsible for making those adjustments would be deemed as needing to know. It is possible that only information on the required adjustments for the disabled student need to be passed on without any details on the nature of the disability. It may also be possible to make some adjustments without staff being made aware that there is a disabled student using their service.

What should I do if a student discloses a disability to me?

Cardiff University has designed forms to assist staff, which are available from the disability contact in your academic department. Though you may find it useful to keep a brief note of any discussion, do not fill out the disclosure form if:

• the student has disclosed his/her disability to anyone else, including the Disability and Dyslexia Service, a tutor or during the admissions process;
• the student has already completed a form in another department/service;
• the student is disclosing the same disability to a new member of staff;
• the student is not disabled; for example, a student with a broken leg or suffering from flu. However, your department/service may choose to develop a policy about managing requests from such students.

Go through the disclosure form carefully with the student, discussing:

• the benefits of disclosure;
• who would need to have access to that information;
• the likely consequence of giving or withholding consent.

Useful guidelines:

• some students may not understand the disclosure process; check that they are clear on the implications of what they have signed;
• when recording information on the form, the terminology used must be agreed with the student. It is important to avoid the use of diagnostic language and to highlight support requirements rather than clinical diagnosis. Staff must avoid referring to an individual by the condition they have, e.g. 'an epileptic'.

Implications of a confidentiality request

Where a student has requested complete confidentiality it may be necessary to make additional adjustments to ensure that the disclosure remains private. In determining whether an adjustment is reasonable, consideration must be given to the extent to which making the adjustment is consistent with the confidentiality request. In some cases this might mean that an adjustment must be made in an alternative way to ensure confidentiality or that no adjustment can be provided.

Though ultimately the student makes the final decision, the disadvantages of not disclosing must be discussed. Alternative ways of making adjustments without compromising a student's confidentiality should always be explored: it should be noted that, in accordance with the anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments, support measures are in place throughout CU that provide support for disabled students.

Exceptional circumstances

You should only break the confidentiality agreement if

• students are in danger of harming themselves or others;
• there is a legal requirement to disclose the information;
• professional fitness to practise may be compromised.

Acting on the information disclosed

1. Once the student has completed the form, provided they have not requested confidentiality pass it to the disability contact in your School/Department/Service.

2. The disability contact will pass a copy of the form to:

• the staff with a responsibility for making those adjustments discussed and noted;
• other disability contacts if necessary;
• the Disability and Dyslexia Service.

3. If there are adjustments which seem reasonable to you and are within your power to effect, please do so and record it on the disclosure form. If you are unsure whether an adaptation is reasonable or if it can be implemented, contact the Disability and Dyslexia Service.

4. On receipt of a completed disclosure form, the Disability and Dyslexia Service will contact the student to organise a full assessment of need, liaising with the appropriate disability contact to implement any adjustments indicated in the assessment.

5. If the student has requested confidentiality, keep the disclosure form securely for future record. If there are adjustments which seem reasonable to you and are within your power to effect whilst maintaining confidentiality, please do so and record it on the disclosure form.

Not all disabilities will require reasonable adjustments to be made. Some students may simply want to make someone aware of their impairment/health condition.