NMH–AT Champions
Connecting Students, Assessors, and Support Providers
The NMH–AT Champions initiative helps Non-Medical Help (NMH) providers build greater confidence, knowledge and practical awareness of Assistive Technology (AT) across their teams.
AT is often recommended through the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) process because it can help students overcome barriers to their studies. The NMH–AT Champions initiative helps NMH providers support students to gain even more value from that technology by encouraging practical, tailored approaches to using AT throughout their learning journey.
This means helping students develop strategies that incorporate AT and ensuring that the technology is relevant to what they are working on at the time. Support should be useful and personalised to each student’s needs, course and goals.
NMH staff are in a unique position to provide this support. Tutors and mentors often work with students throughout their academic journey and develop an understanding of their learning styles, barriers, confidence levels and preferred ways of working. This allows them to help students reflect on what is working well, identify what they can build on and consider how AT can form part of their individual study strategies.
This is not about expecting students to learn every feature of every tool. It is about helping them use the right features at the right time, in ways that are targeted to their needs. This focused approach can make AT feel more manageable, practical and easier to incorporate into everyday study.
For this reason, we believe it is important for NMH staff to have a good understanding of AT and how it can be incorporated into practical strategy development. With a wide range of tools and features available through DSA, staff benefit from having a reliable resource they can return to. This can help them keep their knowledge up to date and build confidence in supporting the use of AT from an NMH perspective.
The result is simple: students gain more value from their AT, NMH staff feel more confident, and providers can demonstrate a stronger, more joined-up approach to support.
What is an NMH–AT Champion?
An NMH–AT Champion is an NMH staff member who has completed the CPD-accredited Tau XL AT awareness training, giving them the knowledge to support students more confidently with AT during NMH sessions.
NMH–AT Champions do not replace specialist Assistive Technology trainers. Specialist AT training is extremely valuable because it helps students become familiar with their software, understand key features and begin to recognise how the tools can support their studies.
The role of an NMH–AT Champion is different. Champions help students continue using their tools after formal training has taken place. They support students to apply AT to study strategies in real course situations in a meaningful and consistent way.
Providers displaying the NMH–AT Champions mark next to their Touch Point Gateway profile have met the programme’s trained-staff requirements.
The mark tells Needs Assessors, universities and students:
This provider has a core group of NMH staff who have completed key AT awareness training through Tau XL and can use that knowledge to support students more effectively.
What the NMH–AT Champions mark means on Touch Point Gateway
For many students, confidence develops through repetition. They may need to practise the same strategy several times before it becomes part of their usual way of studying.
NMH staff often see students regularly and can support this process over time. Because NMH support is personalised, staff can help students use AT in ways that reflect their course, learning style, confidence level and individual barriers.
This is why the NMH–AT Champions initiative is valuable. It helps providers turn AT awareness into practical, repeated and personalised support that can improve student engagement, build confidence and support positive outcomes.
Why this matters
Benefits for NMH providers
5. A clear point of difference on Touch Point Gateway
Providers that qualify can display the NMH–AT Champions mark on their Touch Point Gateway profile.
This helps your service stand out and shows that your team has a core group of staff who have completed key AT awareness training through Tau XL.
1. More confident staff
NMH staff already have strong skills in understanding barriers to learning, building supportive relationships and developing personalised strategies.
The NMH–AT Champions initiative helps staff add practical AT awareness to those existing skills.
This means staff can feel more confident supporting students to apply AT tools to real study tasks in ways that are tailored to their specific needs.
2. Better use of allocated NMH hours
Some students may not use all of their allocated NMH support hours.
When staff are confident incorporating AT into support strategies, sessions can be used productively to:
review which AT tools have been recommended to the student and how they currently use them;
explore how specific AT features could work with the student’s learning style;
develop AT-based study strategies in response to assignment feedback and build on progress;
prepare for future modules, assignments or deadlines; and
build independence by increasing the student’s confidence in using AT strategies.
This can be especially useful during quieter academic periods, when students may have more time to prepare for the next term or academic year.
3. Increased student engagement
Students are more likely to attend and engage with sessions when they can see clear and practical value in the support they receive.
AT-aware NMH support can help students feel more in control of their learning and more confident using the tools available to them.
For providers, stronger engagement can contribute to:
better use of allocated hours;
improved student satisfaction;
stronger outcomes;
improved retention; and
clearer evidence of high-quality support.
4. A stronger offer to Needs Assessors and HEIs
Needs Assessors and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) want students to receive effective, joined-up support.
The NMH–AT Champions mark helps your organisation demonstrate that it is actively investing in AT awareness and staff development.
It gives Needs Assessors, students and HEIs a simple way to identify providers that are taking practical steps to connect NMH support with AT.
When a provider has the NMH–AT Champions mark next to its Touch Point Gateway listing, it means that members of its NMH team have completed the required Tau XL training.
This can help Needs Assessors identify providers that are well placed to:
reinforce AT recommendations made through the DSA process;
support students who find it difficult to develop skills to use their AT tools independently and may benefit from a “little and often” approach;
encourage the development of practical AT strategies during NMH sessions;
promote confidence, independence and engagement; and
provide a more joined-up support experience.
Benefits for needs assessors
To display the NMH–AT Champions mark on your Touch Point Gateway profile, your organisation must meet the following requirement:
At least 20% of your active NMH staff must:
have completed the agreed Tau XL NMH–AT training; and
have ongoing access to Tau XL through a current annual Tau XL licence.
“Active NMH staff” means staff who are currently available for student bookings. It does not include people who may remain on your wider records but are not currently delivering support.
Provided that the minimum 20% requirement is maintained, your organisation can continue to display the NMH–AT Champions mark on its Touch Point Gateway listing.
How providers qualify
Tau XL is a CPD-accredited online training programme designed to improve awareness and understanding of AT in educational and professional support settings.
The course helps staff understand not only what different AT tools do, but why they matter and how they can support students in practical ways.
Tau XL is designed to be flexible and accessible, allowing staff to complete their learning online and at their own pace.
Tau XL helps staff understand:
the role of Assistive Technology in education;
how AT can support accessibility and inclusion;
the differences between different types of AT tools;
how AT can support reading, writing, planning, organisation and study skills;
how to help students think about applying AT effectively; and
when a student may require further specialist AT training or technical support.
Course areas include:
text-to-speech;
note-taking;
mind mapping;
speech-to-text;
organisation tools;
study support tools;
e-learning platforms;
spelling support;
document accessibility tools;
magnification and screen-reading; and
captioning and devices for deafness or hearing loss.
Tau XL also includes access to a resource library, quizzes, videos and learning materials to support ongoing staff development.
What is Tau XL?
To find out more about NMH–AT Champions, Tau XL training, pricing or how to display the NMH–AT Champions mark on your Touch Point Gateway profile, please contact us.
Email: hello@touchpoint-system.com
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