Information for External Assessors
This page provides an overview for assessors when making recommendations.
Non-Medical Helper (NMH)
To ensure that students receive the highest quality support while studying at Cardiff Met, a team of in-house specialists, including Specialist Study Skills Tutors and Specialist Mentors are available to offer one-to-one support.
All Band 4 Specialists are able to meet the needs of our students as they have a full working knowledge of Cardiff Met’s processes and systems and have access to dedicated rooms across our sites.
As part of Cardiff Met’s commitment to supporting students this also includes a range of Support Assistants (Band 1 and 2) funded by the University where support is no longer funded through DSA.
NMH Rates
The rates table below shows our NMH rates for the current period – 01/09/2024 through to 31/08/2025.
Note: NMH Support Rates shown per hour in the table below. Standard Rate (in person).
| Net | VAT | Total | |
| Band 4 Specialist Access and Learning Facilitators | |||
| Specialist Mentor – Mental Health | £53.00 | £0.00 | £53.00 |
| Specialist Mentor – ASC | £53.00 | £0.00 | £53.00 |
| Specialist 1:1 Study Skills Support – SpLDs | £53.00 | £0.00 | £53.00 |
| Specialist 1:1 Study Skills Support – ASC | £53.00 | £0.00 | £53.00 |
NMH Support
If you are intending to recommend other forms of specialist mentoring for a Cardiff Met student please contact us to discuss how we can best support their needs.
Specialist support services such as BSL interpreters are arranged via the Wellbeing Service to support students. Please contact us if you require further information.
All Cardiff Metropolitan support staff are recruited, trained and supervised in accordance with University procedures ensuring all work carried out is quality assured and in line with the Non-Medical Helper Quality Assurance framework.
IT
- Mind mapping (MindView) and text to speech software (ClaroRead Plus) is available on all networked computers on campus; however, this is not available for students to download for use on their personal machines.
- School Liaison IT Officers are in close contact with school and course representatives and are there to listen, offer advice and improve the IT experience for staff and students at the University.
- Students can download a range of free software including anti-malware, MS Office 365 and some course specific software. They can also access up to 1TB of free cloud based storage.
- Loan laptops are available on short term basis but demand for this is high and there may be a waiting list.
Details of how to reserve a laptop and a full list of available software is available via the Information Technology site.
DSA Computer Contribution
Students funded by Student Finance England who are recommended a computer in their Needs Assessment will be asked to contribute £200 towards this cost. The Learning Support Team will cover this cost for Cardiff Met students and more information will be provided after your assessment.
Students not studying at Cardiff Met may be able to claim help with the cost of the £200 computer contribution from their university and should contact them to discuss further.
Library Services / Learning Support
The Library Service is able to offer the following support:
- Pre-bookable rooms with networked assistive software.
- Electronic versions of core textbooks, the Library Service is able to procure electronic versions of other books and resources where available upon request.
- Subject specific librarians who can offer additional guidance on accessing resources and library facilities.
- Reservations service which allows students to collect items directly from the main desk.
- Arrange access to materials not on site.
- Access for support workers to visit the library and collect materials on the behalf of students.
- Flexible library loans.
Accommodation
There are a number of student residences available which differ in facilities and cost including catered/self-catering, en-suite and adapted rooms. If you require further information for the purposes of a DSA recommendation please contact the Wellbeing Service.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching methods vary between courses as do the number of contact hours and type of session. Lecture capture via Panopto is used but is not available in all teaching venues or across all courses. Cardiff Metropolitan is therefore unable to guarantee lecture capture facilities for all sessions and advises that alternative recording methods are recommended for students via the DSA.
Travel
Cardiff Metropolitan University does not recommend individual firms. However, we are happy to discuss the provision of taxis on a case by case basis.