Exam Access Arrangements

Who are the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)?

JCQ is a membership organisation comprising the eight largest providers of qualifications. It provides a single voice for it’s members on the issues of examination administration, providing common administration and regulations to support in reducing bureaucracy for schools and colleges.

Every year, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) produce a document for Adjustments and Reasonable Adjustments.

This is available online and contains the rules, regulations, and guidance on what a student may, or may not receive when sitting formal examinations. If you would like to read the full version, please go to our policies page.

What are Access Arrangements (AA)?

Access arrangements are the principal way in which awarding bodies meet their duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments. Allowing learners with specific needs, such as special educational needs, disabilities, or temporary injuries to access assessments and show what they know and can do without changing the demands of the assessment.  (JCQ, 2021 pg7).

Access Arrangements are only available to students with substantial, long-term difficulties that are known to have an adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities in school. They are reasonable adjustments that are put in place to ensure that all students are given a fair opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in examinations, without being disadvantaged by any learning, physical, sensory or SEMH difficulties. Access Arrangements are not meant to create an unfair advantage or compromise the integrity of an assessment.

Access Arrangements are agreed before an assessment, based on ‘evidence of need’, and it being the candidates ‘normal way of working’.

Access Arrangements are considered on a subject by subject basis because different subjects and methods of assessments may have different demands. Therefore, do not assume if your child has been granted an access arrangement for a subject it will be applied to all subjects.

Examples of access arrangements are below, note this is not an exhaustive list.

JCQ-approved arrangements

• Scribe
• Word processor (spell check enabled)
• Computer Reader/ Reader
• Extra Time (generally up to 25% extra time for each paper/assessment)

Centre-approved arrangements (Normal Way of Working)

• Supervised rest breaks
• Separate invigilation (small venue)
• Examination reading pen
• Word processor (spell check disabled)

Does my child qualify for AA? What is the process involved?

Towards the end of year 9 or during year 10, all students on the ‘provisional’ AA list meet with a member of the team, to determine if they want the AA process to begin. This provides the opportunity to explain the AA process and allows any questions to be answered.

Following the decision to remain on the AA provisional list, all subject teachers will be asked for student feedback, to enable a comprehensive picture of need and normal way of working, within the classroom or internal assessment, fulfilling JCQ’s requirement of ‘evidence of need’. 

For student that have complex needs which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on them: e.g. students with an Education, Health Care Plan, ASD/ADHD diagnosis; SLCN, SEMH (e.g. seeing CAMH); Sensory and/or physical needs (Vision impairment) or sometime of equivalent needs. Specialist evidence confirming the candidates difficulty is required.

Appropriate forms of evidence include;

• A letter/report from CAMHS, a HPC registered psychologist, a medical consultant, a psychiatrist, a Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT); or
• A letter/report from the local authority specialist service, LA Sensory impairment Service or Occupational Health Service; or
• A current EHCP, which confirms the candidates learning difficulty, medical condition, physical disability or multi-sensory impairment.

The specialist evidence must confirm the candidate’s disability.

For students that do NOT have complex needs: e.g. students who have cognitive processing difficulties (phonological processing, visual processing, verbal processing, speed of processing, working memory and attention & concentration), these students need to be assessed by a Specialist Access Arrangement Assessor. This will happen, internally, by NSC’s own AA assessor, either at the end of year 9 or throughout Year 10. (Any private specialist reports will be used as support evidence).

Under the current JCQ guidelines a school may only apply for special access arrangements for pupils (e.g. extra time in examinations) should all three of the following circumstances apply:

1. the School is able to provide evidence of persistent and significant difficulties
2. the School is able to provide evidence (including through the feedback of teachers) that any difficulty has impacted on teaching and learning in the classroom
3. the School is able to provide evidence that the pupil’s normal way of working in school has required the type of provision which is being sought for his examinations (i.e. the pupil normally receives extra time to complete tests and examinations.

Once the evidence is compiled and regulation criteria met, an application will be made to the JCQ.

JCQ require a signed data protection form in order to process the AA application. Thus, all students sign JCQ’s data protection form, giving permission for NSC to share their details and any supporting paperwork. It notes that the AA application and all supporting evidence can only be accessed by JCQ, JCQ inspectors, or the SEND team. Without the signed data protection form, we can not process any application.

Families will be informed, by letter, where access arrangements have been approved by JCQ or granted through centre delegated arrangements.

Important regulations to note:

It is important to note that under JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) regulations a privately commissioned assessment carried out without prior consultation with the centre (i.e. the School) cannot be used to award access arrangements and cannot be used to process an application using access arrangements online.

JCQ state that AAs should be part of students ‘normal way of working’, this means, that this ‘need’ has been there throughout the duration of their GCSEs / BTEC, and probably also evident in years 7-9, and the relevant AA used and can be evidenced.

Schools are required to monitor the use of access arrangement in the run-up to formal examinations, through end of term or year examinations or mock examinations in Years 10 and 11. Schools must keep a record of the use of access arrangements. Thus, if students do not ‘use’ their arrangements, they will be removed, as it is not their ‘normal way of working’.

How can I support my child as a parent?

• Discuss access arrangements with your child to ensure that you decide on the best form of support for them.
• Consider the implications of Access Arrangements and the long-term aim of promoting independence.
• Communicate with the Additional Needs department to discuss the options
• Ensure that you respond promptly to any correspondence sent home about Access Arrangements.
• Check with your child that they are using their Access Arrangement in class and that they are aware of the implications and benefits in exams.
• If your child is entitled to a Reader, check if this is the best option for them. They will need to ask either the invigilator or their scribe (if they have one) to read the word/sentence aloud. Would they be better with a reading pen, allowing them to hear the word as many times as they like and without having to rely on another person to respond to their request?