Exam boards permit a broad range of Access Arrangements for eligible pupils. The most common arrangements used at Yarm School are:

• Rest breaks
• 25% extra time
• The use of a laptop
• Modified examination papers

In addition, some pupils might be eligible for:

• A computer reader
• A scribe
• A prompter
• Separate invigilation

The JCQ (www.jcq.org.uk) publishes the Access Arrangement regulations. All schools must comply fully with these and are inspected at least once a year to ensure that all Access Arrangement applications are fully in line with the regulations. Failure to comply is deemed malpractice and results in significant sanctions for both the pupil and the school.
Please note: JCQ does not handle individual parent or student queries. As such, parents cannot contact the JCQ directly for information about Access Arrangements.

Within the school, pupils’ assessment completion is closely monitored from their first assessment point in First Year. Pupils who underperform relative to their classroom attainment, or who fail to complete examination papers, are tracked across subjects and assessment points to identify any emerging patterns that may indicate difficulty in accessing assessments over time. Attendance data is also reviewed in parallel to determine whether poor exam performance is more likely to be a result of missed learning.

All pupils in First Year, Third Year and Lower 6th complete an online screening assessment in the Autumn Term. These assessments help to identify pupils who may experience specific difficulties with the key skills required for successful exam completion. Teachers are also consulted to provide feedback on each pupil’s normal way of working in lessons, which helps to determine whether any difficulties identified in these screening assessments are also evident in a pupil’s day-to-day learning.

Where pupils are identified through tracking, screening and teacher feedback as having potential difficulties with exam completion, the Director of Learning Skills (SENCo) will contact their parents/carers to offer an individual screening assessment. This screening assessment helps to determine eligibility for exam arrangements and is conducted by one of the two qualified specialist assessors employed by the school. There is no additional cost for this Access Arrangement screening assessment.

If a pupil meets the eligibility criteria for exam arrangements, this will be confirmed with the pupil and their parents/carers and they will be added to the school’s Access Arrangements register. Where possible, within the reasonable constraints of the timetable and available staffing, these arrangements will be in place for pupils’ future assessments. All agreed Access Arrangements are in place for pupils’ end of year, mock and external examinations so that they have ample opportunity to practise making best use of their Access Arrangements.

It is recommended that parents and carers let the Director of Learning Skills (SENCo) know as soon as possible if their child has diagnosed additional needs so that their exam arrangements can be reviewed.

All pupils would benefit from extra time in examinations. Underperformance in examinations is more likely to be as a consequence of ability, revision skills, exam technique, missed learning, fatigue, motivation and/or anxiety.

Pupils with learning difficulties (including dyslexia) might be eligible for extra time if:

• They have an EHCP that identifies the need for extra time in examinations or
• They have at least one below average and one low average standardised score related to two different areas of speed of working such as speed of reading, speed of writing and/or speed of cognitive processing and
• Their teachers support the need for extra time, and this arrangement in used in lessons and in internal assessments and
• Extra time can be evidenced as their normal way of working.

Pupils with a physical disability or medical condition (including hypermobility, ADHD, ASD and SEMH) might be eligible for extra time if:

• They have a formal diagnosis of disability/condition and
• This disability/condition has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their speed of working and
• Their teachers support the need for extra time, and this arrangement is used in lessons and in internal assessments and
• Rest breaks have been trialled and exhausted and
• Extra time is their normal way of working.

At Yarm School, pupils might be permitted to use a laptop (with the spelling and grammar check facility/predictive text switched off) if:

• They have a specific barrier to learning that is reduced by the use of a laptop (such as illegible handwriting or slow handwriting speed) and
• Where the use of a laptop is their normal way of working in the classroom and for internal assessments.

Pupils who are eligible to use a laptop can choose to use it in some subject examinations and not others. They can also choose to handwrite some answers on the paper and type other answers.

[accordion-item title="Who qualifies for separate invigilation?"] The use of an alternative room with one-to-one invigilation must only apply where:

• The candidate makes use of a human reader or another access arrangement that would disturb other candidates in the examination room or
• The candidate has a medical condition (such as frequent seizures or Tourette’s) which would disturb other candidates in the examination room and
• The arrangement reflects their normal and current way of working and is supported by subject teachers who can provide evidence of long-term need.

Alternative rooming, where a small group of pupils works in a smaller venue away from the main examination room, might be appropriate for pupils who:

• Have a formal diagnosis of disability/condition and
• This disability/condition has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to access examinations in the main examination room and
• Their teachers support the need for alternative rooming, and this arrangement is used in lessons and in internal assessments.

Nervousness and low-level anxiety are not sufficient grounds for separate or alternative invigilation.