Access arrangements are things the school or college puts in place to help your child during exams. They include things like:
- Having supervised rest breaks during the exam
- Having extra time to complete the exam
- Taking the exam at a different time of day (for example if your child usually has seizures in the morning, they might be able to take their exams in the afternoon)
- Taking the exam in a different place, such as a separate room, at home or in hospital
If you think your child needs extra support with their exams, talk to the person in charge of special educational needs at their school. It’s worth doing this as early as possible because it can take time to get access arrangements in place.
The school might need to get permission to make access arrangements. There are official deadlines the school needs to meet when applying for access arrangements. But if your child is diagnosed after these deadlines, or their epilepsy gets worse, the school can still make a late application.
Your child is much more likely to get access arrangements for exams if the school can show it’s your child’s ‘normal way of working.’ For example, if your child normally gets extra time to do timed assessments in class, it’s likely they would also be allowed extra time in exams.
Some students with epilepsy may also have memory problems which cause issues with revising and recalling information. Speak to teachers or the pastoral team at school about what support might be available.
You can get more information about access arrangements from the following organisations:
- Standards and Testing Agency
Guidance for schools for key stage 1 (KS1) national curriculum tests
Guidance for schools for key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests)
- The Joint Council of Qualifications – covers most qualifications in England, Northern Ireland and Wales including GCSEs and A levels)
- Scottish Qualifications Authority – for Scottish Highers and other SQA qualifications
