Claiming SEND costs on your year abroad

Do you currently access Disabled Students’ Allowance? If yes, then some elements of your support can still be accessed whilst you are abroad, therefore do not include the following in your estimated SEND costs breakdown: 

• Portable computer equipment such as laptops, tablets, microphones, headphones 
• Specialist software installed on your devices such as read aloud software, mindmapping software, notetaking software 
• Smaller ergonomic items that can be packed in your luggage such as lightweight bookrests / desk trays. 
• Some specialist human support. This includes specialist study skills tuition and some specialist mentoring provision. You’ll need to check that your supplier is authorised to provide mentoring outside of the UK and of course be prepared to access sessions online. You’ll also need to book sessions that align with the UK time zone as well, so if you’re going further afield with a significant time difference, please check with your supplier.  

You will need to estimate costs for any larger items that can’t be easily packed. These include: 

• Printers and scanners (see “Specialist equipment” section below) 
• Ergonomic equipment such as height adjustable desks, ergonomic chairs (see “Specialist equipment” section below) 
• Taxi allowance (See local transportation information under ”Travel costs” section) 

If you use large specialist equipment* – for example a printer/scanner, an ergonomic chair – you can either estimate the cost of buying items in your host country or calculate shipping costs to transport more bespoke items such as specialist physiotherapy equipment. Depending on where you go, your host university may also be able to supply you with this during your time with them free of charge. However, as your host university may not be able to confirm this to you by the time you need to estimate eligible SEND costs, include the cost of the item(s) in your estimated SEND cost breakdown.  

1. To estimate the cost of buying larger items, we recommend searching for items via the Amazon website for your host country, i.e. Amazon.com if you are going to North America.
2. To estimate the cost of transporting your own equipment abroad for the year you will need to get quotes from shipping companies such as FedEx, UPS and DHL. Remember to also estimate the return. 

*Small equipment such as laptops/tablets/ergonomic mouse/keyboard can be packed with your standard luggage so do not include these as an estimated SEND cost.   

The guidance below is to help SEND students estimate additional costs they may incur for medication and treatment abroad as part of their GPO Managed Funding application. More detailed information on obtaining health insurance and accessing medication and treatment will be shared with you in due course as you prepare more fully for departure.  

Health Insurance and estimating costs for medical appointments 

The cost of your health insurance plan is not in itself an eligible Turing Scheme SEND cost and cannot be included in your SEND cost estimation. This is because all students studying abroad must obtain health insurance, whether they have SEND or not (though eligible students can later request reimbursement via the Student Finance travel grant - see below). Additional costs that arise from needing to attend medical appointments are however an eligible SEND cost.   

Some routine care or treatment for pre-existing medical conditions (i.e. a diagnosis/condition you had before you arrived in that country) may not be covered by your health insurance plan: for example, counselling sessions for a pre-existing PTSD diagnosis. Further, under the terms of your health insurace plan you may be required to pay a “deductible” (or excess) amount per appointment to see a GP/doctor/specialist (even if to obtain a prescription).

To calculate medical appointment costs:  

1. Do you attend regular appointments to manage your condition/s (including GP appointments for prescriptions / talking therapies)? If yes, proceed to step 2.
2. Estimate how many appointments you are likely to need during your stay, and research the typical cost in your host country for each different appointment type (i.e. GP appointment / counselling session / physiotherapy session). Multiply the estimated amount by the number of anticipated appointments to arrive at a total estimated cost for appointments.

 

Accessing medication abroad

You will not be able to use your UK prescription to obtain prescription-only medication abroad. All countries differ in terms of which medications may be available over the counter versus available by prescription only, and you will need to do some research to check if you can access medication that you will need abroad in your destination.  

Visit the GPO team’s QMplus resource page to learn if medication cost and availability information is published for your host destination/country. Select the “Student feedback and support” tab, then consult the “Support for you at our partners abroad” section. Here, you will find student support services summary sheets for many of our partner universities abroad with information and resources on local access to support for a wide range of needs at that destination/in that country. A summary sheet for another host university in the same country may also have useful information. You can also use Google searches to calculate potential costs. 

To ensure you have sufficient funds to access medication, you will need to estimate the costs of purchasing your medication if it is prescribed in your host country OR the cost of travelling back to the UK* to renew your prescription and travel back with a legal supply if it is a controlled substance.   

(*) Calculate and provide an estimation now, however please note that if you are eligible for reimbursement of travel costs through Student Finance, you will later need to apply for reimbursement of this through the SF travel grant instead (see below). 

To calculate medication costs:  

1. Do you require medication to manage your health condition abroad? If yes, proceed to question 2. 
2. Having checked the QMPlus resource page and Google, is your medication available on prescription in your host country? If yes, proceed to question 3. If no, proceed to question 4. 
3. What is the estimated monthly cost of your medication in your host country? Calculate that and multiply by the duration of your stay in months, minus the amount of medication you can bring into your host country. Include the final amount in your application.
4. You’ll need to identify how much of your prescription you can access at one time via the NHS and how much you can bring into your host country if this is legal (bringing some medications into some countries even with a prescription is illegal). If you can take up to three months’ supply, calculate the number and cost of journeys you’ll need to make to request/collect your prescription.  Include the final amount in your application.

Example: Josephine Bloggs will require ADHD medication for their full-year (10-month) exchange in the USA. Josephine plans to bring a few months’ supply with them but also hopes they will be able to begin accessing ADHD medication in the States before their supply runs out. As they are still researching accessing medication at the point of submitting their GO Managed Funding application, they include the cost for all 10 months. Josephine calculates this medication should cost $100 USD pm to obtain in the USA, which would be about £80 GBP pm x 10 months = £800 in eligible SEND costs.   

For further questions about accessing medication abroad, please contact dds@qmul.ac.uk.   

International travel journeys between your home and host country for SEND reasons: 

Do you have a health condition that may necessitate more frequent trips to the UK, for example to attend health appointments, to receive periodic infusions, or to collect medication/treatment that you won’t be able to access abroad? If so, students eligible for Student Finance (SF) can claim reimbursement for the cost of return travel (up to three return journeys if abroad for the full year) through the SF travel grant.  

If you are ineligible to claim reimbursement through SF (either you do not depend on SF or the cost of the travel would fall below the threshold amount set by SF), you may be eligible for this cost to be covered through the Turing Scheme. For this, you need to include the estimated costs of the return flight(s) between your host location and the UK.  

You can estimate this by going on a flight booking platform and seeing what the cost of a return journey would be, then multiplying this by the number of return journeys you need.  Include the estimation on your GPO Managed Funding application.

Local transportation at your destination: 

If you have a taxi allowance provided via your Disabled Students’ Allowance and anticipate needing to access similar support in your host country then you can also apply for estimated in-country travel support. It may be difficult to estimate exactly the amount of support needed without confirmation of your accommodation address and class locations, but you can consider: 

1. Does the host university have accommodation that is not within walking distance to its main campus that you may be allocated? You can use the furthest distance from campus to estimate your journey. 
2. Find a local taxi provider (or Uber if it is available in your host location) to identify the cost of a single journey and multiply that by ten trips per week (i.e. assuming you will travel to and from campus every weekday), and also by the number of weeks in each term.  

 

If you have a health condition that requires adjustment to campus accommodation (for example a wheelchair accessible room / an en- suite room), then you can apply for funding to support this. The eligible SEND cost in this scenario would be the difference between the cost of standard, non-accessible accommodation and the cost of the accommodation you require.  

To calculate costs: 

1. Identify the different room rates in your host university. You will then need to subtract the cost of a standard room from that of your required room, i.e. from the cost of your accessible room.  
2. Multiply the difference to cover the entire duration of your accommodation licence (for example if rates are quoted monthly, multiply the difference by the number of months for which your housing contract would last. If rates are quoted per semester and you are staying for a full academic year, you would need to multiply the amount by two).  
3. The difference multiplied by the duration of licence would be your eligible SEND cost. (If there is no difference in terms of cost between a standard or accessible accommodation, then there would be no eligible SEND cost).  

Example: Joe Bloggs is going to study abroad for a full academic year (10 months) and requires a wheelchair accessible room on the ground floor. They research that this will cost £1100 pm, whereas a standard, non-accessible accommodation would cost £900 pm. This difference of £200 pm x 10 months = £2000 in eligible SEND costs.  

 

If you have any questions about SEND related costs you can book an appointment with your Disability Adviser for further advice. If you haven’t yet registered with DDS or met with a Disability Adviser, please contact us to book an appointment.  

We also have a bank of resources and information on the support that our individual partner organisations offer disabled and neurodivergent students, and students managing longer-term health conditions (including mental health conditions). These resources are available via the  GPO team’s QMplus resource page.   

If you depend on Student Finance (SF) then you will have noticed that some of the above costs will be reimbursed through the SF travel grant. The SF travel grant application procedure takes place only after you re-apply for SF for the year during which you will be abroad (usually from the March preceding your period abroad.) The process is means-tested (depends on your annual HHI assessment per data held by SF), meaning that the amount up to which SF will reimburse you depends on your need level (students with the highest financial need are eligible for a higher reimbursement of costs). Please visit the weblinks below to learn more about the SF travel grant.   

For more information on SF, visit: 
SF England: https://www.gov.uk/travel-grants-students-england   

SF Northern Ireland: https://www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/types-of-finance/undergraduate/full-time/northern-ireland-student/extra-help/travel-grant/what-is-it/   

SF Scotland: https://www.saas.gov.uk/forms_and_guides/full_time.htm   

SF Wales: https://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/undergraduate-finance/full-time/welsh-student/what-s-available/extra-help-for-students-studying-abroad/ 

 

When the GPO reviews submissions, your requested SEND costs (if eligible) will be included in Queen Mary’s annual Turing Scheme funding bid submitted to the Department for Education in the spring. Depending on the outcome of our bid and how much funding our University is allocated (typically only known in the summer), Queen Mary may then be able to provide you with financial support in the form of reimbursement for eligible costs (up to a maximum value). If your requested SEND costs are eligible for reimbursement, the GPO team would email you during the autumn once you are abroad to confirm the approved costs, total amount, receipts required, and procedure to follow.