Curriculum Access and Examinations

Entitlement Access arrangements are seen as reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act to give access to all candidates including those with a special educational need Care is taken not to compromise the exam nor to give certain candidates an unfair advantage. All access arrangements must reflect the normal way of working for the candidate

Access Arrangements Access arrangements: Not to be confused with : agreed with JCQ before an assessment. apply to GCSE, GCE, Functional Skills Not to be confused with : Reasonable adjustments: Has a wider meaning. Adjustments under the Equality Act to overcome a disadvantage. Can be specific to an individual Special Considerations: Mark adjustments made because of illness etc at time of assessment 3

Making Access Arrangements Normally prepared by Exams Officer at centre Some can be made by the centre (eg word processor; separate invigilation) Others need an online application (eg Reader) Deadlines apply http://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration 4

Informing an application Detail usually supplied by SENCO or Learning Manager Specialist input required for VI or HI HI can be difficult because main issue is not hearing but language For VI – evidence from specialist teacher For HI – evidence from specialist teacher to include standardised test scores for extra time over 25%, Reader, Scribe or Oral Language Modifier. Form 8 completed. 5

SCSN form for access arrangements Form for General Qualifications Form for KS2 assessment 6

SCSN form for access arrangements Referring only to HI and VI arrangements Completed by Visiting Teachers after Year 7 Updated as necessary Informs SENCO or Learning Manager Evidence for a JCQ inspection (if signed, dated and updated no more than 26 months before the exam Much appreciated by FE colleges enrolling new students onto exam courses 7

Oral Language Modifier Controversial – Ofqual aware of variations in application patterns and quality of modification Vital – for candidates with a below average reading comprehension and who require language to be modified regularly in class Role of Teacher of the HI? 8

Teachers of the HI and OLM Their work revolves around language development and they should have an awareness of difficult language structures such as : Complex sentences, especially those containing more than one subordinate clause Passive voice Non-literal language such as idiom and metaphor Embedded sentences Ellipsis Examples of language modification 9

Teachers of the HI and OLM They should be in a strong position to promote the OLM access arrangements Courses on the OLM access arrangements are offered to groups by the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors http://ciea.co.uk/ciea-training/ and online to individuals by Communicate-ed http://online.communicate-ed.org.uk/ 10

Oral Language Modifier It is unfair if a candidate cannot access an exam because the carrier language is too difficult (rather than language specific to the subject or command phrases) Brief details of other access arrangements 11