Exam access arrangements

Access arrangements Access arrangements Extra help a child can have in public exams, such as extra time, a separate room, a reader or a scribe. The school puts them in place, following exam board rules. Read the full definition of Access arrangements are adjustments Reasonable adjustments Changes a school or service must make so a disabled child is not put at a big disadvantage. The duty applies now, and it does not wait for a diagnosis. Read the full definition of Reasonable adjustments to GCSEs and other qualifications: 25% extra time, rest breaks, a reader, a scribe, a word processor, a smaller room. They exist so an exam tests what a child knows, not how fast they can read or write.

Two rules matter. The arrangements must reflect your child's normal way of working, so the school needs to be using the same support in class well before exam season. And the application is made by the school, not by you, usually with evidence from a specialist assessor. Parents routinely discover this too late, so if you think your child will need adjustments, raise it with the SENCO SENCO The teacher in your child's school who leads support for children with special educational needs. They are usually the quickest person for a parent to reach. Read the full definition of SENCO early in secondary school. A diagnosis is not required. This framework covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland runs its own system through the SQA.