Access arrangements allow students with additional needs to access assessments and achieve their potential without changing the demands of the assessment. They aim to give all students a level playing field in which to demonstrate their skills, knowledge and understanding and should always reflect the student’s normal way of working in the classroom.
Examples of access arrangements:
• Extra Time
• Reader or Computer Reader
• Examination Reading Pen
• Read Aloud
• Word Processor
• Scribe
• Prompter
• Practical Assistant
• Braille or Enlarged Papers
• Supervised Rest Breaks
Students are assessed for access arrangements at the start of Y10. An application is then made to JCQ on the basis of these test scores, evidence of established normal ways of working and a detailed picture of need. A letter is sent home to parents/carers explaining if any Access Arrangements have been granted for their child.
With regard to requests for students to sit formal assessments in an alternative space within school, exam boards have strict regulations about how students access exams. There is an expectation that students access exams in a central area, and they allow very few exceptions to this. Students will only be authorised to sit their exams in an alternative space if they have been granted access arrangements in the form of a reader, scribe, additional time or use of a word processor or if there is a verified medical reason. JCQ regulations state that ‘Nervousness, low level anxiety or being worried about examinations is not sufficient grounds for separate invigilation within the centre.”
We are able to make reasonable adjustments to support such as seating students at the back/front/edge of the exam hall to suit individual need