As your child progresses through school and college, they may be required to take exams and or assessments. Changes to support your child/young person to be able to complete these assessments can be referred to as access arrangements or reasonable adjustments – reasonable adjustments are changes made to an assessment or to the way an assessment is conducted that reduce or remove a disadvantage caused by a student’s disability. They are needed because some disabilities can make it harder for students to show what they know and can do in an assessment than it would have been had the student not been disabled.
Schools and colleges apply for reasonable adjustments on behalf of their students. To show that a student is eligible for a reasonable adjustment, they need to be able to show that:
- the student is disabled
- their disability would significantly disadvantage them in the assessment
Schools and colleges must also set out the adjustments the student needs. The student’s normal way of working is likely to be particularly relevant when coming to that view.
A school or college that is unsure what adjustments might be appropriate for a particular disabled student should discuss their needs with the exam board as early as possible. The exam board will be able to provide advice about the different adjustments that are available, and the evidence that will be needed to support the application. Some adjustments take time to arrange, and early notice helps the exam board provide the adjustment in time.
Schools and colleges are responsible for making sure that any adjustments agreed with the exam board are put in place and are used properly when students take their assessments. Schools and colleges have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students under the Equality Act.
Exam Guidance 2026 – Gov.uk
Access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special consideration 2026 – JCQ