In line with Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) regulations, a pupil’s entitlement to Access Arrangements is dependent upon both formal assessment by the school’s qualified Academic Assessor, together with supporting evidence of need, which reflects his ‘normal way of working’ within the classroom.

Access arrangements are agreed before any assessment and allow pupils with specific learning difficulties to access an assessment without affecting its integrity.

The most frequently provided entitlements are for readers/scribes/extra time/word processors.  As facilitators for pupils in exams, readers and scribes are required to follow strict guidelines.

Our Academic Assessor is also our Head of Learning Development, Mrs Sarah Cavannagh, who assesses pupils at the end of Year 9 or beginning of Year 10 to determine their individual entitlement, and they are regularly monitored during internal assessments in Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13 to ensure that their arrangements remain appropriate.

The school is inspected annually and must produce evidence of need, together with approval documentation.  The school is not in a position to grant access arrangements without adhering to the strict guidelines set out by JCQ.

Access arrangements can be viewed on the school's Parent Portal.

Facilitators (Readers/Scribes)

Facilitators (Readers/Scribes) of access arrangements must abide by the regulations since failure to do so could lead to the disqualification of the candidate.   

They are not able to guide a candidate through his exam paper.   It is his responsibility to direct the exam and to instruct his facilitator. 

Readers can read the instructions on the question paper and the questions to the candidate and may not explain or clarify. This may involve reading the whole paper or the candidate may request only some words to be read.

For GCSE English Language only – for candidates entitled to a Reader, a human reader is not permitted.  However, candidates can opt to use a Computer Reader or a Reading Pen – for which they have been assessed – and can practise in LDC and in English lessons. 

Scribes write down or word processes the candidate’s dictated answers.  Candidates are expected to dictate punctuation and grammar, identifying when headings and new paragraphs are required.  Scribes may not add punctuation/grammar unless it is dictated by the candidate. 

Candidates using a Scribe can access some marks for Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar (SPAG) if they dictate their punctuation and grammar.  A JCQ Scribe Cover Sheet is attached to scripts indicating what was dictated. 

For more information on what the Readers and Scribes can and cannot do please see the below memory aids: