Access Arrangements allow candidates/learners with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment/exam without changing the demands of the assessment. For example, readers, scribes and Braille question papers. In this way, Awarding Bodies comply with the duty of the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.
Access Arrangements at the BTC Trust:
· Aim to remove any substantial disadvantage , but not unfairly advantage the candidate.
· The Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO) leads on the access arrangements /reasonable adjustments process with the exam centre.
· Teaching staff and members of SLT works with the SENCO in identifying, determining and implementing appropriate access arrangements and reasonable adjustments.
· BTC Trust has their own Access Arrangement assessor to determine and administer the appropriate Level 7 cognitive assessments for children across the Trust to establish a picture of need. This information enables SENCos to apply for the necessary support required for exam JCQ access arrangements.
In addition to the access arrangements, the Trust Assessor can also assess children using a range of cognitive assessments to present a more detailed picture of need. This information is collated into an assessment report to inform intervention and strategies within school, and support applications for Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
Prior to being the BTC Trust Assessor, Tim worked for 30 years as a Design Technology specialist, alongside pastoral roles including Head of Year, Designated Safeguarding Lead and more recently as a SENCO in both a Primary and Secondary setting. Tim later moved into the Access Arrangements Assessor role on a part-time basis for the Trust in 2020. Tim has the appropriate Level 7 qualification to enable him to assess student needs for access arrangements (in line with JCQ guidance), and complete individualised assessments for cognition and learning needs.