Access arrangements at the Henry Beaufort school

Access arrangements are agreed before an assessment. They allow candidates with specific needs, such as special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment and show what they know without changing the demands of the assessment. They will be sufficient to enable candidates who experience persistent and significant difficulties to access assessments.

Access arrangements could include one or more of the following:

• Human scribe
• Word processor with spell check enabled
• Word processor with spell check disabled
• Extra time
• Reader
• Coloured overlay
• Colour naming
• Rest breaks
• Prompt
• Modified paper

Timeline of access arrangement provision at the Henry Beaufort School

Stage 1: Teachers engage in the assess, plan, do, review process and fill out a SEND concern form if students are struggling to complete in class assessments in the time given. In years 7 and 8 students will do assessments under normal conditions in order for evidence of need to be identified.

Stage 2: All students screened in the Autumn term of year 9 for speed of working scores in reading, word recognition and spelling using the JCQ approved Lucid extract screening tests.

Stage 3: Students with any score that is below 89 will be re-screened in the Spring term.

Stage 4: Any student with two scores that are below average (at least 1 below 84 and two below 89) will be identified and evidence collected from teachers. These students will then be seen by the educational psychologist Dr. J Selman (PsychDClin) for official access arrangement testing.

Stage 5: Students who meet the JCQ criteria for two low or below average speed of working scores will be given access arrangements in all further assessments and this will become their normal way of working.

Private assessments will not count as evidence for access arrangements unless supported by evidence from the school and the school appointed assessor (Dr J Selman).

Medical conditions can also result in access arrangements if medical evidence shows that the student has a condition that would disadvantage them in an exam. The SENDCO would consider the evidence and make a decision about the most appropriate arrangement for that student and their needs.

Students with EHCPs will be given access arrangements in accordance with the recommendations on their plan.