Access Arrangements for SEND Students

Access arrangements allow students with specific needs, such as special educational needs and disabilities to access an exam.

Please note students cannot self-refer themselves for access arrangements - this must come from a teacher. Therefore, if your child feels that they need an assessment for access arrangements, they must first discuss this with their class teachers and one of their teachers must make a referral to learning support in order to start this process.

Once a referral has been received, we will collect evidence from all of their teachers and assess whether the evidence suggest that the student needs any arrangements. We will then assess and confirm the outcome via email to parents, teachers and the student. Please note that if a student has a diagnosis of Autism, it does not automatically mean that they qualify for extra time. Similarly, if a student has a diagnosis of Dyslexia, they do not automatically qualify to use a Word Processing device. Every arrangement must form the student's normal way of working in lessons, in assessments, in practice papers and in mock exams in order for the student to then use the arrangements in their external exams. If a student does not use their arrangements, they will lose them. We will review each student's use of their arrangements after the appropriate mock series.

Students across all year groups are able to obtain Access Arrangements, however, it is only when in Year 9 that the school can formally apply for these through JCQ, the Joint Council for Qualifications. Please note that any student who has qualified to use a device (e.g. Chromebook/laptop) as their normal way of working is welcome to bring in their own device and teachers will know that this is the case. If your child needs any help in setting this up, notably connecting to the WiFi, please ask them to come to Oasis at a convenient time and we can sort out any teething issues.

A date for your diary

The last date for issuing any access arrangements to Years 11 and 13 will be Friday 20th December 2024. This enables us to get all of our paperwork ready for the mock series and then for formal application to JCQ. The School will not accept any reports or assessment requests post this date nor amendments to current arrangements. The School will only accept external psychological and specialist teacher reports if there is a working relationship with the School and SENDCo is satisfied that the author is suitably qualified, with evidence of qualifications, and that sufficient liaison with the School takes place before the assessment.

As per JCQ regulations, the final decision regarding access arrangements remains with the School. Please see the below guidance issued from JCQ regarding access arrangements for parents.