For teens and sixth form
Exam access arrangements, explained honestly
If your teenager works harder than their grades show, an assessment can be the start of a fairer chance in exams. Here is how access arrangements actually work, in plain terms.
Nothing here is a deadline you have to race. It helps to have the right evidence in place in good time, and this page explains what that means, without the false urgency you may have been told about.
How it works
What access arrangements are
Access arrangements are adjustments that let a student show what they actually know. The most common ones are straightforward.
Extra time
Usually 25 percent more time, where slower reading, writing or processing speed would otherwise get in the way.
A reader, or reading software
The questions are read to the student, on paper or on screen, so reading does not get in the way of the subject.
A scribe, or speech-to-text
The student says their answer and it is written down, where putting it on paper is the barrier.
A prompter
A quiet reminder to stay on task, for a student whose attention drifts during a long paper.
Three things are worth knowing, because they are often misunderstood.
- The school applies for arrangements, not the parent or the assessor. The exam boards work through the school.
- Arrangements have to match how your child already works in class, their typical way of working. A report supports that picture; it does not replace it.
- A diagnosis on its own does not grant extra time. It is one part of the evidence, alongside the school’s own records.
The full rules are set by the JCQ, which publishes the access-arrangements regulations the exam boards follow. The JCQ also publishes a plain-English guidance sheet for parents.
Why assess now
What an assessment gives your teenager
A clear answer
Why things have felt harder than they should, named in plain terms instead of left as a worry.
Recommendations a school can use
Practical steps for the classroom and for revision, not just a label on a page.
Evidence for support
The kind of evidence that helps with access arrangements and, where relevant, an EHCP.
Self-knowledge that lasts
Understanding how they learn is something a young person carries into sixth form, university and work.
The report
A report the school can work with
You receive a full diagnostic report, written to the current SASC guidelines, the standard schools and exam boards expect. It sets out what your teenager needs, and why, in terms a SENDCo can act on.
For students moving on to sixth form, university or the first years of work, see For Adults, which covers DSA and workplace support.
Timing
When to think about booking
There is no single deadline, and you do not need to rush. As a guide, the spring or summer of Year 8 or Year 9 is a sensible time to think about it, so any arrangements are well established before GCSE work begins in earnest. That is a guide, not a JCQ rule.
If your child is already in Year 10 or Year 11, it is not too late. What matters is that the evidence is in place in good time, and that the school has what it needs to apply.
Not sure where to start?
A short conversation is the easiest first step. Tell me where your teenager is, and we will work out whether an assessment is the right move, and when.
Book a free 30-minute chat
Let’s work out the timing together
Tell me a little about your teenager, and we will find a time to talk. I answer every enquiry personally, usually within a day.
Or call or text 07912 147199, or email info@dyslexia-assessment-surrey.co.uk.