Information for personal helpers
What is a personal helper?
A personal helper is someone who is employed, when necessary, to help students who have a disability, chronic health condition or a learning difficulty gain access to their coursework and/or exams.
Being a personal helper can take many forms. It may be that a student only requires help during exams, or it may be that they require help throughout the academic year.
As a personal helper you may be asked to take notes during a lecture, proof read course work or assist a student in the library. Alternatively, during the exam diet you may be asked to act as a reader or a scribe.
Most Personal Helpers are either proof readers, or note-takers in lectures or scribes in exams. If you are doing any other task as a Personal Helper, you will be given a job description for that role.
Proof reader
Responsible to
You will be working for the student but you are employed by the external company Randstad.
Main duties
To support the student as he or she gains access to their course through the provision of proof reading
Duties and responsibilities
- To discuss with the student and, together, come to an agreement on the days and times you will be required to work
- To meet regularly with the student to ensure work of progressing to the satisfaction of both parties
- To thoroughly read written work produced by the student within limited time scales, and to check the written work for spelling, punctuation (punctuation marks should be in the right place) and word usage, to check that the language and structure of the work makes sense, flows well and has a central theme. There should be no repeated paragraphs and sentences. It could be that some of the writing is confusing, or that some of the statements could be better worded. If so, highlight these to the student to enable them to re-phrase the wording. Not to add to or change any of the written work's content.
Note-taker or Scribe
Responsible to
You will be working for the student but you are employed are employed by the external company Randstad.
Main duties
To support the student as he or she gains access to their course / exams through the provision of note taking / scribing
Duties and responsibilities
- To discuss with the student and, together, come to an agreement on the days and times you will be required to work
- To meet regularly with the student to ensure work of progressing to the satisfaction of both parties To support the student through the provision of note- taking / scribing as required, e.g. in lectures, tutorials, exams
So now you have a job description, below is information about how to go about it.
Procedures
Initial meeting
Personal Helpers will meet with the Disability Adviser to discuss the duties and responsibilities of being a Personal Helper. At this stage, the Personal Helper will be asked to indicate what role(s) he or she would like: either a note-taker for lectures, a scribe for examinations, or a proof reader. Those wishing to be a note-taker or scribe will be asked to bring a sample of their own lecture notes to ensure that handwriting is clear and legible.
If the Personal Helper is happy to proceed, then the process can be moved forward. For students who are happy to have their contact details given out, the Personal Helper will be asked to contact the student direct and make arrangements for the first lecture.
Negotiation
The Personal Helper works for the student and therefore it is important that they provide a service that meets the needs of the student. This should be discussed and agreed during the first meeting with the student. It is not the responsibility of the Disability Adviser to make these arrangements. For example, it is important that note-takers agree on the method of note-taking with the student, how the notes are to be received, and in what format, and where they should sit in lectures and tutorials.
Please note that if the student is unable to read the note-taker’s handwriting, it is the note-taker’s responsibility to rectify this, e.g. by typing the notes. The note-taker cannot claim for this on his or her timesheet.
If a problem arises, try to resolve it together. If this proves unsuccessful or if clarification of duties is necessary, then the Personal Helper should contact the Disability Adviser. It is important that duties are clear. If someone is being paid to take notes, that is all they should do. They cannot claim payment for additional duties the student asks them to do. Conversely, students should not ask or expect their note-taker to do anything other than take notes for them in the lecture or tutorial. If a student feels they need additional assistance, he or she should contact the Disability Adviser.
Confidentiality
Personal Helpers should respect the student’s confidentiality and not disclose information to a third party.
Cancellation by the Personal Helper
Sessions with a student should not be cancelled. However, emergencies and illness can occur. If you are unable to attend a class or fulfil your role as a Personal Helper, you must notify a member of the Disability Team by telephone by 9.30am on the day of work. Please ensure that you speak to a member of the Team and not simply leave a message on voice-mail.
If a scribe is unable to attend an exam, he or she should notify a member of the Disability Team immediately in order that cover can be organised. Late notification could jeopardise the student’s exam.
If you find you no longer wish to be a Personal Helper, then you are required to notify the Disability Adviser of your decision in writing as soon as possible. You will be required to give 2 weeks’ notice.
Cancellation by the student
If a student fails to attend a lecture or tutorial, the note-taker should take the notes as normal and place that hour on their timesheet.
If a student misses 3 consecutive lectures or tutorials, this must be reported to the Disability Adviser.
Meeting
During Semester 1, there will be an open session for Personal Helpers. This will give all Personal Helpers an opportunity to ask any questions, discuss their experiences and any problems that they may have encountered.
Room booking
The need for a room usually only applies to proof readers. We would prefer students and Personal Helpers to meet in the University or a public place. We strongly discourage Personal Helpers and students meeting in their own homes.
A room is available in Student Services and can be booked by the Personal Helper by contacting a member of the disability team.
Communication with the Disability Team
Throughout the academic year, the disability team will e-mail Personal Helpers with information on various issues relating to exam arrangements, timesheets, salaries etc. To ensure that personal helpers are up-to-date with any developments, personal helpers must ensure that they check their University e-mail accounts every 48 hours. Certain e-mails will ask for a response and personal helpers should aim to respond to these e-mails within 48 hours.
Employment Issues
Contract
Every year, each note taker must sign a contract of employment which details the hourly rate of pay for the academic year. If you do not complete and return the contract to a member of the Disability Team, you cannot be paid! Contracts are available from Student Services. When you return the completed contract, you must also bring your passport. If you do not have a passport, please speak to Student Services, who can advise you. Once this Contract has been processed, you will receive a formal offer of employment from Human Resources. You are contracted from the beginning of the session or when you start work until the end of May. If you do any work over the summer, then you will be required to complete a new Contract of Employment. If you work again during the next academic session, again you will have to complete another Contract.
Employment conditions and obligations
Every Personal Helper is employed by Randstad. Please remember that you are a member of Randstad, and as such, you are subject to their rights and obligations which apply to any part-time employee. Information about terms and conditions of employment can be found at the Randstad website.
Contacts
- General contact: personalhelpers@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Dyslexia Adviser: Margaret Lill (mal9@st-andrews.ac.uk)
- Disability Adviser: John Petrie (jjp71@st-andrews.ac.uk)
- Disability Adviser: Malcolm McLeod (mm110@st-andrews.ac.uk)