Exam access arrangements

Are you worried your deaf child might find it difficult to access their exams and assessments?

Schools, colleges, universities and awarding bodies are legally required to make access arrangements and reasonable adjustments to help deaf students access tests, assessments and exams fairly.

Exam access arrangements

Examples of access arrangements for deaf children include:

• extra time
• readers
• scribes
• British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters.

Access arrangements are not automatically permitted by exam boards – a school or college will need to show that they were part of a ‘normal way of working’ for a student.

Getting access arrangements

If you feel your child will require access arrangements you should discuss this with their special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) or Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) well in advance of any exams or assessments.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, access arrangements should be discussed at their annual review before the start of course in which your child will be examined.

Official guidance

The Joint Council for Qualifications has detailed information and official guidance on exam access arrangements and reasonable adjustments, and you can also find deaf-specific information in Access Arrangements for Your Child's Examinations.