Hayley has been working in the DSA Sector since 2010 and prior to that had a real passion for supporting learners with disabilities in other jobs.  Hayley founded Access2Learn in 2016 following her success at building DSA Assessment Business, but her main motivation for creating A2L was following her 3-year-old son being diagnosed with autism.  From her son and family’s experience of his educational journey, she learned the importance of building happy and confident learners is key through early support and intervention.  The more she learned the more she became aware of the lack of awareness regarding students’ rights in their education and the support they could access in overcoming barriers in their learning with effective and personalised strategies – this is what she wanted as a key goal of Access2Learn.  Hayley has been fortunate enough to have recruited staff that excel in their areas of expertise, provided the company with strong leadership and helped support the growth and future of A2L.

Jo has been working in the DSA Sector since 2013 as a Needs Assessor but also as a Service Manager.  She has over 10 years of Management experience in different sectors, as well as a Health Care Professions degree in Physiotherapy.  In her role as CEO for Access2Learn, Jo hopes to ensure the smooth running of all aspects of Access2Learn’s service – from the student’s first contact, right through until their support is in place.   She will coordinate our central administration team, as well Quality Assurance Staff and Assessors, driving quality and staff development.  Jo will strive to ensure that all students can get access to the support they require and have the best experience of DSA Support available.

Stef has been at A2L since January 2020 and is focused on ensuring that all students have a positive and comfortable journey through the DSA process. With personal experience of close family members that have learning difficulties and mental health conditions, Stef is able to relate to many students’ personal circumstances and suggest ways to overcome any barriers they may encounter.

Sean has been at Access2Learn since November 2021 and since beginning university in 2017 he has been passionate about the student experience, recognising it as a crucial time that helps shape many people’s lives. Therefore,  he wants to ensure that everybody has the best experience possible and ensuring those with disabilities or learning difficulties have a level playing field is something he loves being a part of. Since graduating in 2020, Sean has been working with students and so he understands the experience of being a student very well and, since working in the DSA since November, he is able to combine these bits of knowledge together to help and advise in any way he can.

Jay recently joined Access2Learn in the beginning of 2024. After moving straight into the management sector in continuation from his education, he has become accustomed with a variety of great people, and becoming a staple in his local community. In having a sibling with a terminal disability, he has matured with a passion to create a supportive and inclusive community.

Megan joined Access2Learn in the summer of 2024. Megan has always worked in customer service, but after leaving university, started working for her local council to serve her community. Having a diagnosis of Autism and ADHD, Megan understands how important it is to provide students with much needed support in their education.

Tracy has been with Access2Learn since September 2022. She has worked in the Charity sector for the last 20 years and has vast experience of supporting disabled people and their families and providing a 1st class customer service; she has a true passion for the industry.

Willow joined Access2Learn at the beginning of 2024. After working in customer service for two years, she has become accustomed to and passionate about helping others, especially those who may need it a little more. Having personal experience with anxiety, Willow knows how important it is that we bring equity and equality for those in a student setting and strives to make education a fair, enjoyable, and supportive field for any individual to experience.

Dawn has a strong background in the DSA sector, starting her career in 2015 at Student Finance England as a DSA Eligibility Assessor. Over the years, she advanced to the role of DSA Officer, gaining extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of DSA. Her expertise allows her to understand various disabilities and their impact on students. In 2023, Dawn joined Access2Learn and currently leads our QA team. She not only manages the QA Process effectively but also focuses on enhancing the team’s skills, standards, development, quality, and performance. Additionally, she collaborates with the Assessing team to support ongoing assessor development. Dawn is dedicated to ensuring a smooth experience for every student and ensuring that they receive the appropriate support to help them flourish in their academic journey.

Adam has been actively involved in the field of Disability Support Assistance (DSA) since 2015. Over the years, Adam has gained experience across all departments within DSA from assessing medical evidence and applications, to all aspects of reviewing needs assessment reports and liaising with students, assessors and universities. Adam also spent time working on GDPR across student finance and regularly was a member of panels to review medical evidence. This has allowed Adam to develop a comprehensive understanding of the various areas of DSA, enabling him to contribute effectively in reviewing the support requirements of individuals .This gained knowledge and experience should lead to ensuring a smooth experience for every student.

Jade has been working in the DSA sector since 2019 by helping students get booked in for their assessments, answering their queries, being a team leader and most recently a QA Officer. With a background in adult special needs teaching and a qualification in autism awareness, Jade understands why support is so important to students and just how this can help them thrive during their studies. In her role as a QA officer, she ensures that your reports reflect the quality of your assessment so that you can access your support and take your studies further.

Joanne has been working in the DSA sector since 2015 where she has gained invaluable knowledge and experience of the complete DSA journey within Student Finance England and various Needs Assessment Centres. Joanne’s experience in DSA Quality Assurance also started in 2015 and she has subsequently worked as both a freelance and full time DSA QA Officer for different Assessment Centres and is thrilled to be a part of Access2Learn. Joanne recently received promotion to Senior QA Officer and thrives on the extra responsibilities and workload. Joanne is very student orientated and every aspect of her role as a Senior QA Officer is done with the student in mind. As someone with Dyslexia herself, Joanne understands and appreciates the barriers students can face and recognises the importance of suitable support when it comes to studying.

Runa has been working in the DSA sector since 2011, mainly as an assessor, but she has also taken various other roles and responsibilities within the organisation. She feels that her background in Counselling has benefited her in her Needs Assessor role, as it enabled her to have insight into the psychological impact of a disability, helping students feel comfortable and safe when talking about their condition. In her role as a QA reviewer with Access2learn, she will be focusing on ensuring that the quality of our reports aim to identify your needs, so that you can access the best support available to you whilst studying at University.

Sue has worked in the DSA sector since 2009, with over 13 years spent at Student Finance England as a DSA Officer, so has a great knowledge of the DSA processes and the student journey. Sue’s time spent working within the DSA sector has helped her to understand the wide range of disabilities and additional learning needs students may have in relation to their studies and she is committed to ensuring students receive the support they need to enable them to succeed at University.

James has been working in the DSA Sector since 2012. He has worked as a Needs Assessor since 2016, assessing the needs of students with a range of disabilities, and recommending adjustments to ensure students get the support they need. James has previously led on Quality Assurance and Query Management to ensure high quality customer service and reports and James previously worked at Student Finance England in their DSA teams across all of the workflows so understands the student’s DSA journey from start to finish.

Liz has worked in the DSA Sector since 2010 as a Needs Assessor, Senior Assessor, QA Officer, and Freelance Assessor Manager, with some time spent performing ergonomic/DSE assessments, autism mentoring and assistive technology training. With roots in nursing and community care, Liz has a breadth and depth of knowledge about a range of disabilities and health conditions, and the impact they can have on day-to-day life, work, and studies.

In her role at Access2Learn, Liz will manage our assessor team, through high-quality training and ongoing assessor development. She will ensure that students have tailored needs assessments, conducted by highly skilled, student-focused assessors who advocate students’ needs thoroughly and identify appropriate support strategies throughout their DSA journey.

Rebecca has been working as a Needs Assessor since 2015, and has experience of carrying out both DSA and Access to Work assessments. Originally having graduated as a primary school teacher, Rebecca taught for thirteen years and undertook a qualification in teaching students with additional learning needs. Rebecca also has experience of supporting disabled adults to access learning and recreational activities. She is passionate about lifelong learning and enabling access to learning in all its forms.

Bryony has recently joined the Access2Learn team as a DSA Assessor. Bryony is a registered counsellor and has several years in the education sector in both teaching and coaching roles. Bryony has worked in a range of education settings including alternative provisions, as well as Further and Higher Education. Bryony’s passion is empowering students to succeed and she is an advocate of inclusive learning practice. She has seen the DSA recommendations in action and has been part of implementing these in University to ensure each students individual learning plan meets their needs. Now as an assessor Bryony is keen to ensure that everyone has access to the appropriate support to help them flourish in their academic journey.

Clarissa has recently joined the Access2Learn team as a DSA Assessor. She has spent the last three years working in the Higher Education sector, supporting students through the DSA process and the recommendations, developing Individual Learning Plans implementing recommendations to the University ensuring the students needs are met. Clarissas’ passion is in helping and supporting students to reach their full potential, believing that through education change can happen. This passion encouraged her to return to education in 2017 to complete her Undergraduate in Education Studies & English and then a Masters in Education. Previous to this Clarissa spent 10 years working in the retail sector as a Customer Service consultant mentoring staff and customers in technology. Clarissa is keen to ensure that each student to get the support they are entitled to and allow students to flourish.

James has recently joined the Access2Learn team as a DSA Assessor, having previously worked in the DSA sector as an Assistive Technology Trainer for multiple NMH providers, supporting students in the use of various assistive programs provided in their support. He is personally motivated to support students with technology, having understood the positive impact this kind of support would have had during his own higher education.

Nicola has recently joined the Access2Learn team as a DSA Assessor. Nicola graduated from university with a degree in Immunology and spent 10 years plus in the world of medical diagnostics. She has spent the last 20 years as a civil servant in a customer service role with HMRC Personal Taxes. Helping people has been at the heart of every job role she has undertaken. She believes in the power of education and learning and the requirement for it to be accessible to all. In this new role, she is looking forward to helping each student make the most of their higher education journey and be able to confidently show their talents in full.