Exam access arrangements
Exam access arrangements are changes to exams to make sure deaf children and young people are not unfairly disadvantaged.
Qualifications help children and young people show what they have achieved in school and work. It’s important that deaf children and young people have fair access to exams and assessments.
Access arrangements are changes to how tests, assessments and exams are written, assessed or delivered. These changes make sure disabled children and young people are not at a disadvantage. This applies to deaf children and young people with any type of hearing loss or level of deafness.
Some deaf children and young people may find language or language processing difficult. This can make it harder to know what is being asked or show what they understand about a subject. For a deaf student, extra time to process and understand the questions can help.
Exam access arrangements for deaf children and young people should be in place. This is so they are not unfairly disadvantaged because of their deafness.
This page focuses on arrangements for exams that lead to qualifications. Guidance on how to make statutory primary school assessments accessible depends on where you live. Visit your nation’s government website for more information.
The law
Schools, colleges, universities and awarding bodies must make arrangements so that deaf students can access exams fairly. Lots of people do not consider deafness to be a disability. However, the laws that protect disabled people's rights apply to deaf people.
The laws in place in the UK that protect deaf children and young people's rights in education, include:
The Disability Discrimination Act in Northern Ireland
Under these laws, awarding bodies must make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and young people. This is to ensure they are not at a substantial disadvantage compared to someone who is not disabled.
Access arrangements help those with specific needs to show their knowledge and skills. They do not change what the test, assessment or exam is testing. The aim is to support each learner while keeping the assessment fair.
A reasonable adjustment may be unique to a particular deaf child or young person. It might not be included in lists of access arrangements. An example of this could be requesting a seat at the front of an exam room so they can lip-read the exams invigilator's instructions.
Eligibility
All deaf children and young people should be considered for access arrangements. However, not all will need them. Schools, colleges, universities and exam centres must identify barriers to accessing an exam. They must look for the most appropriate access arrangement.
A deaf young person does not need a statutory plan to be eligible for an access arrangement. A ‘statutory plan’ can refer to any of the following, depending on where you live.
England
Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
Northern Ireland
Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Scotland
Individualised Educational Programme (IEP) or Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)
Wales
Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Normal way of working
Exam access arrangements should match the support needed in day-to-day learning. Exam boards refer to this as the ‘normal way of working’.
Schools requesting extra time for deaf students should prove that this is their normal way of working. The student should already be getting extra time during internal tests and mock exams.
When to make access arrangements
Access arrangements should be identified as soon as possible. This should be when, or before, a child or young person starts their course or learning pathway. They need to be agreed before any assessment happens.
It’s important to discuss these arrangements early, so a student knows what to expect. This also means the school, college, university or awarding body will also have plenty of time to prepare.
Children and young people with a statutory plan should have access arrangements included in their plan. Access arrangements should be discussed at their annual review before the course begins.
Who is responsible
There are people responsible for understanding access arrangements and putting them in place. These are the:
head of the exams centre
senior leadership team for the education institution
exam leaders and assessors
Teaching staff also need to help identify exam access needs. They should help to decide and put in place the right access arrangements.
Schools, colleges, universities and exam centres need to work with other professionals. This includes the professionals working with a deaf child or young person:
Teacher of the Deaf (ToD)
educational psychologist
other educational professionals
medical professionals
Further and higher education settings should have someone responsible for exam access arrangements. These settings include sixth form colleges, further education colleges and universities. The person responsible for these arrangements may be a disability officer. At university, they may be part of a wider disability support service.
Deaf young people in further or higher education can discuss arrangements before they enrol, although this is usually discussed when they start the course.
Post-16 access arrangements
Vocational qualifications and apprenticeship end-point assessments
The rules for vocational qualifications are different to those for GCSEs, A levels, Standards and Highers. However, organisations that award vocational qualifications must still make reasonable adjustments.
An awarding body cannot refuse a reasonable adjustment unless they can show that it interferes with a ‘competence standard’. A competence standard is a particular type of skill that must be demonstrated.
Example: Hospitality course
A competence standard might be to ‘apply communication and team-working skills in addressing a work-related problem’. A reasonable adjustment would be allowing a student to demonstrate this skill by using email instead of a spoken conversation.
Deaf students should make sure their assessment centre is aware of their deafness ahead of time so they’re not unfairly disadvantaged during their assessment.
Higher education
Universities must also make reasonable adjustments for exams. However, adjustments will vary depending on the institution and the course. Universities can refuse to make adjustments if it would compromise ‘academic standards’. These aren’t as clearly defined by law as ‘competence standards’.
All universities should have a clear policy about 'academic standards'. It should explain them and how they handle exam access arrangements.
Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA)
Some deaf young people will get Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). DSA is a grant to pay for support and adjustments while studying.
To get DSA, there is an assessment to determine what help is needed. This includes support for exams and other aspects of university life. This assessment can be updated as the student goes through the course.
Apply for DSA in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
Examples of access arrangements
Here are some common access arrangements for deaf children and young people. The rules may be different for vocational qualifications and university exams.
Technology
Any equipment used in everyday classes should be allowed in exams, where possible. A radio aid or streamer can be used in exams. The person giving instructions to students during the exam can wear them.
Deaf children and young people are allowed to wear personal hearing devices. They should not be asked to remove hearing aids or cochlear implant speech processors. Removing a hearing device could:
cause them to feel disorientated
impact their emotional wellbeing
cause unnecessary distractions during exams
place them at risk in an emergency, for example, if the fire alarm went off
If required, Bluetooth settings could be switched off. Hearing devices could be switched to ‘flight mode’.
Extra time
Extra time in exams can help students who find it hard to finish exams in the set time. This may be due to certain conditions, like needing longer to process what they read.
This extension is usually 25% but can go up to 50% in some cases. A student may be awarded extra time along with another adjustment.
School and colleges must apply for extra time to the exam board. They have to show proof that this is a student's 'normal way of working'.
Modified language paper
Exams should always be written in clear and simple English. Accredited modifiers should have input into the language used. This includes the British Association of Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People (BATOD). Exam boards may base the language on BATOD guidance.
Sometimes a paper may need changing after the final paper is developed. Modified language papers are papers with simplified language and sentence structure. This makes it easier to understand.
Modified language papers are not available in Scotland. The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) gives exam setters guidance on how to write in plain English.
Live speaker
Exams that test listening and speaking skills, like French, may have a pre-recorded ‘listening’ assessment. Deaf children and young people, particularly British Sign Language (BSL) users, may find it difficult to understand speech without lipreading.
They should have a live speaker, who will:
read out a transcript of the recording
repeat lines from the transcript
fingerspell or write the initial letters of easily confused words, like ‘deux fois’ and ‘neuf fois’
Reader
Some deaf children and young people find it hard to process written text. However, they may understand spoken language better. In this case, they may need a reader.
A reader is someone who will read exam questions out loud so a student can both see and hear the question.
For some exams where reading is being assessed, only computer readers are allowed. This is because they cannot convey meaning through tone of voice. Some deaf children or young people need to lip-read. In this case, a lip speaker (someone trained to mouth lip patterns clearly) could be requested with the computer reader.
Read aloud
Your child may benefit from reading text, questions, or their own writing out loud. Where reading is being tested, they can have 50% extra time to read out loud. This may help them process what they are reading.
Language modifier
Language modifiers (LMs) can help clarify the wording of a question during an exam. An LM may be a Teacher of the Deaf (ToD), a qualified communication professional or a teaching assistant. They must have completed accredited training.
To qualify for an LM, a student must have a standardised reading score below 69 and need a modified paper.
LMs can use sign language, speak or write their explanations. They cannot explain any technical terms. They can be used for most exams, except for the reading part of an English exam. Any changes must be recorded for the awarding body.
LMs are not available in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Communication professional
If a deaf child or young person's preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL), they may need exams translated into BSL.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland
A communication professional can present questions in BSL (or Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland). They must not change or explain the questions. The communicator is expected to fingerspell technical terms.
Students can only sign answers if they can fingerspell them or where the answer is just one word.
Communication professionals are not allowed in speaking, listening or writing sections of:
English
Gaelic
Welsh
modern foreign language exams
However, they can help clarify instructions. Communication professionals must be filmed to make sure they're translating the exam accurately.
Functional Skills qualification
A communication professional is allowed for the speaking, listening and communication parts of functional skills exams.
Scotland
In Scotland, the centre can apply for a candidate to take the exam in BSL. They may ask to:
receive the paper in BSL
give answers in BSL
or both
Students are expected to use signs for technical terms. The communication professionals signing the exam must do the same. See more guidance about using sign language in Scottish exams (SQA website).
Live speakers, readers, language modifiers and communication professionals should be known to the student. Their voice, lip patterns, accent and signing style should be familiar to the student. For this support, students need to be in a separate, quiet room with separate invigilation.
Exemptions from part of an exam
Sometimes it’s not possible to adjust an exam without changing what’s being assessed. For example, the speaking and listening part of an English GCSE requires students to hear and use spoken language. This might not be possible for a deaf student who uses BSL, even with a communication professional. If this is the case, a deaf child or young person may qualify for an exemption from that part of the exam. This must be agreed before the exam, and they must complete at least 60% of the total exam.
When an exemption is given, a student's marks are ‘enhanced’. Their final grade will combine the marks they earned with the national average for the exemption. This allows them to still be able to get the highest grades in these exams. The certificate they receive when they get their results will show the exemption.
Music exams
Music exams may have a listening requirement. The music teacher should work with a deaf student and their ToD to identify what parts might be hard to access. The awarding body will give more guidance around what arrangements may be possible.
Electronic tests
Many assessments are now carried out electronically. No matter how the exam is given, the same access arrangements should be provided. Consider any additional barriers that may come from the exam being delivered electronically.
What to do if there’s a problem
Unfortunately, there may be situations where things don't go right. A deaf child or young person may be refused an adjustment they are eligible for or take an exam where adjustments should have been made but weren’t. Talk to the school, exams centre, college or university and follow their complaints process.
If you’re thinking about taking legal action, seek advice and contact our Helpline.
You can also get advice on your legal options and next steps from the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
In Scotland, Govan Law can provide advice and information on education law.
The information on this page was developed in partnership with the British Association for Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People (BATOD).
More information
Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ): Information about access arrangements and special considerations. JCQ covers GCSEs, A levels, Scottish Highers and vocational qualifications.
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA): Information about access arrangements for Scottish qualifications.
Additional support for apprenticeship end-point assessments (GOV.UK)
Full references for this webpage are available by emailing
informationteam@ndcs.org.uk