Access to assessments - taking exams and tests

What are access arrangements or exam concessions?

Access arrangements, or exam concessions as they are sometimes called, are designed to enable young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities to demonstrate their skills and knowledge around what is being tested in exams without being disadvantaged by their difficulty/disability in areas of learning that are not being tested. 

Access Arrangements allow candidates/learners with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment without changing the demands of the assessment. For example, readers, scribes and Braille question papers. In this way, Awarding Bodies will comply with the duty of the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.

For instance, if a student taking a science exam has difficulty with reading, support can be given with reading the test paper so that the student can demonstrate their ability in science.

What concessions are available?

A whole range of different arrangements can be put in place to support students, and the school should work with each student to decide which ones are most helpful to them. Students can have different arrangements for different exams. See JCQ guidelines: Access Arrangements, Reasonable Adjustments and Special Consideration - JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications. These guidelines are updated each academic year.

Concessions include:

• supervised rest breaks
• 25 per cent extra time
• extra time of up to 50 per cent
• extra time of over 50 per cent
• computer reader/reader
• read aloud and/or an examination reading pen
• scribe/voice recognition technology
• word processor
• transcript
• prompter
• oral language modifier
• live speaker for pre-recorded examination components
• communication professional (for candidates using Sign Language)
• practical assistant
• alternative accommodation away from the centre 
• bilingual translation dictionaries with up to a maximum of 25 per cent extra time
• modified paper, for example, coloured, enlarged and Braille papers
• modified language papers and transcript of listening test/video.

The school or college needs to consider carefully what is most helpful to students and whatever arrangements are decided on should become part of the student's usual way of working and should be put in place for internal assessments and national exams.

Access arrangements must be applied online and done as early as possible to cover the whole course, so assessments are usually done in Year 9 or 10 for Key Stage 4 courses such as GCSE and BTECs and Year 12 for A-level and other post-16 courses. The deadlines for schools applying for access arrangements are outlined in the JCQ guidance.

How do I know if my child is eligible for exam concessions?

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) issues guidance each year on the arrangements that can be made and the criteria for students receiving them. 

What about Primary SATs?

Similar access arrangements are available for Key Stage 2 SAT tests, but the assessment process for applying for these is much simpler.  Schools apply for access arrangements online by giving details about the levels at which pupils are working.

What do I do if I think my child is eligible but s/he has not been assessed by the school?

You will need to discuss this with your child’s school. You may want to request that the school do some assessment work with your child to check whether they meet the criteria for access arrangements. 

If your child is eligible, it is worth discussing with the school which arrangements will best meet their needs. 

Extra time may sound like a good option, but students often struggle to use additional time effectively and are often better off taking rest breaks, so discuss the options with the school and what is best for your child.