Access Arrangements

Who are the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)?

JCQ is a membership organisation comprising the eight largest providers of qualifications (including AQA, OCR & Pearson). It provides a single voice for its members on the issues of examination administration, providing common administration and regulations to support schools and colleges.

Each year, JCQ produces a document for ‘Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments’. This is available online and contains the rules, regulations and guidance on which adjustments a student may or may not receive when sitting formal examinations. If you would like to read the full version, please visit jcq.org.uk

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, by allowing learners with specific needs (such as Special Educational Needs, disabilities or temporary injuries) to access assessments and demonstrate what they know without changing the demands of the assessment or conferring an unfair advantage (JCQ Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments 2023-24, pg 7).

AA are only available to candidates 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 the candidate’s ‘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 that it will be applied to all subjects.

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

JCQ-approved arrangements

Scribe
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
Word processor (spell check disabled)
Separate invigilation (small venue) (See note about small examination rooms)

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

During years 7 & 8, teaching and TA staff note pupils who need additional support to tackle class assessments. This begins a picture of the candidates’ needs. Towards the end of year 9 or during year 10, our SENDCo and teaching staff review the needs noted for these students and produce a shortlist of students for whom it may be appropriate to explore AA for formal examinations.

All subject teachers will be asked for feedback on these students to enable a comprehensive picture of need. It is important to establish a candidate’s normal way of working, within the classroom or internal assessments, to fulfil JCQ’s requirement of ‘evidence of need’.

For students who have complex needs which have 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 some equivalent need, specialist evidence confirming the candidate’s 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 candidate’s learning difficulty, medical condition, physical disability or multi-sensory impairment.

The specialist evidence must confirm the candidate’s disability. A letter from a GP is insufficient. Please note, that specialists are responsible for providing formal diagnoses. They are not responsible for decisions about Access Arrangements; this is done in partnership with the school.

For students who 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), they need to be assessed by a Specialist Access Arrangement Assessor. This will be arranged by Swavesey Village College either at the end of year 9 or throughout Year 10. Parental permission is sought for this step. (Any private specialist reports may be used as support evidence).

Under the current JCQ guidelines a school may only apply for special access arrangements for pupils with complex and non-complex needs should all three of the following circumstances apply:

the School is able to provide evidence of persistent and significant difficulties
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
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 are met, an application will be made to 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 SVC 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 cannot process any application.

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

Important Notes:

It is important to note that under JCQ 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 AA should be part of a student’s ‘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 7-8.
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’.
The Exam and SEND departments are receiving an increasing number of requests for students to sit their exams in small/separate rooms. These are becoming very problematic to accommodate.

We can only consider requests to accommodate students outside of the usual exam hall when we are provided with specialist evidence, for example; a letter from CAMHS, an NHS Psychiatrist or a qualified counsellor. A letter from a GP or pressure from parents are not grounds for sitting exams in a different room.

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.
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 remind them that they will need to ask either the invigilator or their scribe (if they have one) to read the word/sentence aloud.

Please contact sendadmin@swaveseyvc.co.uk for further support.