FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Access Arrangements: Access Arrangements are reasonable adjustments made available to young people taking exams who have an identified long-term, substantial difficulty in an area of their learning. This may be in their ability to process information, to process information at speed, to read or to write. Access Arrangements include, but are not limited to, having a reader or a scribe in an exam, having extra time or using speech recognition software. The aim of access arrangements is to level the playing field. In order to ensure that these Access Arrangements are used fairly and for those who really need them the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have produced a list of criteria for each access arrangement. They require that anyone who is applying to use these arrangements have an assessment completed. This assessment must be conducted by a qualified assessor, who has a working relationship established with the young person’s centre of education (school, college or sixth form).

Access Arrangements Assessments and Schools: If you wish your Diagnostic Report or your Access Arrangements Report to be used as evidence then this assessment must be conducted by a qualified assessor, who has a working relationship established with the young person’s centre of education (school, college or sixth form). Here at BAYCaB Education we will ensure that we have this working relationship with you or your child’s place of education. We will do this through liaising with the school, college or sixth form, before we conduct the assessment. We will also ask them to provide Part 1 of the Form 8. Upon completion of the assessment we will then complete Part 2 of the Form 8. It will be up to the place of education to then decide which access arrangements then apply for.They do not have to follow the recommendations recorded in the report.

Disabled Students’ Allowance: This is a government based fund, where students in Higher Education can apply for a grant if they have a recognised disability. Specific Learning Difficulties can be acknowledge as a disability, if they have a long-term substantial impact on a learner’s life. See this page for more information ‘Disabled Students’ Allowance’.

Educational Psychologist versus Specialist Assessor: The British Dyslexia Association provides clear guidance on the difference between have a report compiled by an Educational Psychologist versus a Specialist Assessor. This information can be found here. (opens in a new tab)

Form 8: This is a document which the Joint Council for Qualifications require educational settings to complete. This is so that your school or college are able to apply for, on your behalf, access arrangements in exams. This form is completed by the SENCO/Head of Learning Support and a specialist assessor or Educational Psychologist.

Specific Learning Difficulties: These are difficulties which affect one area of learning. These include diagnoses such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Developmental Coordination Disorder or Dyspraxia, ADHD and Dysgraphia. You can have a indicators for a range of SpLDs, which may result in a more general diagnosis of a ‘Specific Learning Difficutlies’. You may also have more than one Specific Learning Difficulty. This is known as co-morbidity. If it is felt, from the background questionnaires, or in fact as a result of the assessment that a diagnosis other than Dyslexia might be indicated then your child will be referred on.