Exams Information

Access arrangements are provisions made by exam boards to ensure that students with needs, such as learning difficulties, physical disabilities, or mental health conditions, can access exams on an equal basis to their peers. These adjustments help to remove any barriers to a student’s performance.

Students with documented physical disabilities, learning difficulties (e.g., dyslexia), sensory impairments, long-term medical conditions, social, emotional, or mental health needs, or other specific conditions that affect their ability to access an exam are eligible. Evidence from qualified professionals is required to support the application.

Common types of access arrangements include:

• Extra time (usually 25% more time)
• A reader or computer reader
• A scribe (someone to write on behalf of the student)
• Rest breaks
• Use of a word processor
• Modified exam papers (e.g., enlarged text, Braille)
• Separate invigilation or a smaller exam room

Please note, although you may have documentation and approval for any of the above arrangements, centres may not be able to cater for them.

Some access arrangements, such as reader or scribe, are currently NOT available via our Remote Invigilation Service, so please take this into account when considering how you would like your child to take their exams.

Please ask your entering centre directly for further information.

Applications for access arrangements are made by the centre where you are registered to sit the exams, not necessarily King’s InterHigh.

To ensure you apply for the correct access arrangements for your child within King’s InterHigh, you must complete the Exam Registration form and identify your child as ‘yes’ for SEN accessible – and continue to answer the questions, stating the access arrangements you are applying for.

The process involves gathering supporting evidence, such as assessments from educational psychologists or medical professionals, and submitting it to JCQ for approval.

Please send all evidence documents to senservices@kingsinterhigh.co.uk

For both King’s InterHigh and external exam centres, additional evidence of the access arrangements ‘in action’ is now required in at least 2 mock / sample assessment pieces.  This is an updated requirement from the JCQ from 2025 onwards.

Please ensure that you have established with SEN services what access arrangements your child is eligible for from the start of year 9 onwards, and where extra time or rest breaks are approved – complete the relevant section on the cover page of the assessment to indicate the use of access arrangements.

Candidates must change pen or font colour when entering their extra time allocation on all assessments. We recommend avoiding blue to black or vice versa, as this can be difficult to distinguish on scanned assessments.

Applications should be made as early as possible.

The access arrangement deadline for Summer exams for any exam centre to apply online on your behalf is usually mid-March of the exam year.

This means all evidence processes, including those requiring additional professional assessments, must be completed before this date. At King’s InterHigh, we request that this process be completed by January of the summer exam date.

Please be aware that if you are entering through a private centre, these deadlines could be earlier.

The evidence required depends on the student’s condition.

Typically, we require one of the following:

• An up-to-date Dyslexia diagnosis or level 7 assessor assessment within 26 months of June exams / a completed form 8 part 2 assessment within 26 months of June exams
• a letter/report from CAMHS, an HCPC registered psychologist, a medical consultant, a psychiatrist, a Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT); or
• a Neurodevelopmental Specialist GP or GP with an extended role in ADHD, who must have completed an RCGP framework for developing and maintaining an extended role specifically in ADHD. Evidence must be provided of this; or
• a letter/report from the Local Authority Specialist Service, Local Authority Sensory Support Service or Occupational Health Service; or
• a current EHCP (England), or a current Statement of special educational needs (Northern Ireland) or a current Individual Development Plan (Wales) which confirms the candidate’s learning difficulty, medical condition, physical disability, sensory or multisensory impairment.

A Form 8 assessment is associated with a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia.
If a child has previously had a full dyslexia/dyspraxia diagnosis report, but it is older than 26 months in date, a Form 8 update assessment must be carried out.

If a child has never had a diagnosis but there is evidence of slow processing speed, reading difficulty, or spelling/writing difficulties, a Form 8 update assessment can be used to determine access arrangements without the need for a diagnosis.

Again, this assessment must be within 26 months of age.

Scores must be reported in the standardised ‘IQ type’ format and be 85 or below in multiple test areas.

Where a child has a specific learning difficulty, AND another diagnosis of a life-long condition such as Autism Spectrum Condition, ADHD, medical or sensory/physical needs, a Form 9 can be used instead, and an updated Form 8 assessment will not be necessary

First, you must find a level 7 assessor to conduct your Form 8 Part 2 ‘exam access arrangement assessment’.

These can be found either locally from an internet search or from the PATOSS website

https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/Tutor-Index-Landing

Under service provision, select: assessment for access arrangements

Once you have secured an assessor, you must contact your exam centre (either King’s InterHigh or an external centre) SEN team to assist you:

–Part 1 of form 8 is completed by the SEN team and passed onto the assessor
–Part 2 of form 8 is completed by the assessor where the relevant scores from the update assessment are entered
–Part 3 of form 8 The assessor hands the completed part 2 form back to the SEN team at your chosen exam centre to complete part 3.

King’s InterHigh is currently employing our own assessor.  Once this process is established, Form 8 Part 2 assessments can be completed within our own team.

If your child has a diagnosis of a lifelong need, rather than a specific learning difficulty, you will need a Form 9.

First, the SEN team at your chosen exam centre must have your relevant SEN evidence from the following:

• a letter/report from CAMHS, an HCPC registered psychologist, a medical consultant, a psychiatrist, a Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT); or
• a Neurodevelopmental Specialist GP or GP with an extended role in ADHD, who must have completed an RCGP framework for developing and maintaining an extended role specifically in ADHD. Evidence must be provided of this; or
• a letter/report from the Local Authority Specialist Service, Local Authority Sensory Support Service or Occupational Health Service; or
• a current EHCP (England), or a current Statement of Special Educational Needs (Northern Ireland) or a current Individual Development Plan (Wales), which confirms the candidate’s learning difficulty, medical condition, physical disability, sensory or multisensory impairment.

Please note that a GP record or GP letter is not sufficient evidence for JCQ regulations

If you are entering through our Remote Invigilation Service, our SEN Services team will assess the evidence provided and confirm it meets the regulations, after which we will complete Form 9 and confirm which access arrangements are allocated.

No, formal evidence is required to apply for access arrangements. Schools may carry out assessments or refer students to specialists (such as educational psychologists or doctors) who can provide the necessary documentation.

Students can only get extra time if an assessment by a qualified professional shows they have a substantial impairment affecting their speed of reading, writing, or processing information. Simply being slow is not enough to qualify; there must be a diagnosed learning difficulty or disability.

If a student’s condition worsens or improves after arrangements have been approved, the school can submit additional evidence to the exam boards to modify the access arrangements, if necessary.

Yes, access arrangements can apply to coursework, practical exams, and oral assessments, depending on the student’s needs and the type of qualification. Schools should make sure these provisions are also available in these assessments.

Yes, access arrangements can be denied if the evidence does not meet JCQ’s requirements, or if the proposed adjustment is not deemed appropriate. Schools and colleges are responsible for ensuring the application is made correctly.

Yes, access arrangements are confidential and are only shared with staff members who need to know in order to support the student during their exams.

Yes, the JCQ guidelines apply to all major UK exam boards, such as AQA, OCR, Edexcel, and WJEC, ensuring consistency across qualifications.

Please note any exams using the Cambridge exam board have a different process of applying for access arrangements and you must discuss this with your external exam centre for Cambridge International Exams.

Access arrangements are designed to level the playing field for students with additional needs, so they should not have a negative impact on your final grade. They are not designed to give an unfair advantage but to ensure that you can demonstrate your knowledge and skills to the best of your ability.

Yes, if your application for access arrangements is denied, your school or college can appeal the decision through JCQ’s appeals process. This may involve providing additional evidence to support the need for arrangements.