Access Arrangements

Legislation

Equality legislation in the UK means that any students who have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) such as dyslexia, which is hindering them in their academic work at school or college and in public examinations (such as GCSEs and A Levels), should be considered for appropriate arrangements in exams to level the playing field and enable them to access learning and complete exam papers to the best of their ability.

Having an SpLD does not mean you automatically need or qualify for Access Arrangements. There has to be a sustained and evidenced history showing that processing difficulties have negatively affected work over time and that an arrangement is the normal way of working, with both of these reported by the educational centre where a student studies.

(N.b. Access Arrangements are also available as appropriate for students with documented medical or emotional needs.)

Schools & Colleges

Schools and colleges have a regulated process for identifying students who need Access Arrangements. It is a school’s responsibility to identify the nature of support required and to keep a record of evidence of the need for and the established use of that particular support. They are required to use assessors with whom they regularly work to collect standardised test scores as part of this process.

They cannot use independent reports as supporting evidence, unless they have corresponded with the assessor in advance and accept that assessor as a suitably qualified, known assessor. If they want to accept an independent report, the school needs to complete the history of need section of a Form 8 and send it to the Assessor in advance of the diagnostic assessment. The test results will then be completed by the Assessor, who signs the form, submitting it as evidence to the examining boards.

There are several different Access Arrangements that can be awarded, depending on need. Where a school or college (a “centre”) collects relevant evidence from teachers and test scores, a student who reads very slowly may qualify for 25% additional time in exams where a lot of reading is involved. A centre may collect evidence that a student’s slow processing means they need extra time to finish maths papers or papers with lots of long written answers. Or a centre may collect evidence that a student needs to use a computer reader in exams, so they understand the questions being asked of them. Similarly, a centre may document evidence that a student struggles to write legibly, or to spell legibly, and will then apply for appropriate Access Arrangements for these difficulties. In all these cases, evidence would be needed that the school provides equivalent support for identified difficulties on a regular basis in class and in school tests and exams. That is, they need to prove that it is the student’s “normal way of working”.

In all these cases, evidence of need must be built up over time, not just before exams. And if a student does not do better consistently with that particularly arrangement (for example, if they do not use their extra time when it is given to them), they would not continue to qualify for it.

It is important to understand that independent diagnostic assessments of dyslexia or other SpLDs cannot be used as evidence of need for Access Arrangements unless the school has agreed to acknowledge them as a known assessor and sends them a history of need before the assessment date. Assessors who assess without such prior contact can highlight potential need for such arrangements in their reports, and parents can show teachers such reports, so the school better understands the situation, but then it is up to the centre to look at the evidence of need they have and decide, if they have not done so already, whether they need to do their own screening tests and build up a picture of need towards an arrangement such as extra time or reading support. Schools are however legally obliged to take reasonable account on a new diagnosis of dyslexia in terms of the support they then offer to a student.