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Access arrangements in English exams

The SENCo applies and the school decides, within JCQ’s rules. English teachers supply much of the evidence, and several of the rules work differently in English from other subjects.

Quick guide for teachers · 4 minute read

Access arrangements let a student with specific needs “show what they know and can do without changing the demands of the assessment”, in the words of JCQ’s Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments. The current document is the 2025 to 2026 edition, updated in March 2026, and JCQ has added a line to it: “These regulations continue to apply during the 2026/27 academic year”. As of October 2026 there is no separate 2026 to 2027 edition, so the rules below apply to students sitting their GCSEs in June 2027.

Who decides, and by when

The SENCo, “fully supported by teaching staff and members of the senior leadership team”, leads the process in each school. JCQ is clear that “It is the responsibility of the SENCo to make appropriate and informed decisions based on the JCQ regulations.” A report from an outside professional can inform that decision, but such professionals “cannot make the decision for the centre”.

JCQ’s dates for the June 2027 series set 21 March 2027 as the deadline for processing applications through Access arrangements online, and 31 January 2027 for ordering modified papers. Both fall in Year 11, so the evidence needs gathering in Year 10.

Normal way of working

An arrangement has to match the support the student already has in school: in the classroom where appropriate, in small groups, in internal tests and in mock examinations. JCQ says: “This is commonly referred to as ‘normal way of working’.” It also expects the SENCo and assessor to work with teaching staff so that approved arrangements “are put in place for internal school tests, mock examinations and examinations”.

For 25% extra time based on an assessment, “As a minimum, Part 1 of Form 8 must include teacher feedback and evidence of normal way of working.” English teachers are well placed to give it, because English lessons are where students read and write at length against the clock.

The arrangements, and where English is different

Extra time of 25% needs evidence: a current Education, Health and Care Plan that confirms the disability, with the school’s own evidence alongside it, or a completed Form 8 whose assessment was carried out no earlier than the start of Year 9. The Form 8 needs two standardised scores of 84 or less, or one of 84 or less and one of 85 to 89, in two different areas of speed of working.

Supervised rest breaks stop the clock. JCQ says a rest break “must not be used as ‘thinking time’”, and the student cannot see the paper during it. JCQ’s March 2026 changes ask the SENCo, for a student whose impairment is something other than a learning difficulty, to consider supervised rest breaks before applying for 25% extra time.

A human reader is not allowed where reading is being assessed. JCQ’s own example is a student with dyslexia who “cannot have an adjustment in the form of a reader in the Reading section of the GCSE English Language paper” but “may use a computer reader”. Section A of both Language papers assesses reading, so a student who needs support there needs plenty of practice with the computer reader on exam-length sources, in lessons and mocks.

A scribe has a cost in English. AO6 in Language and AO4 in Literature assess spelling, punctuation and grammar, and AQA’s guidance on those marks says “Students using a scribe or word processor can access some, or all, of the marks available for SPaG”. A student who only dictates can earn the grammar credit, a third of those marks. One who also gives the punctuation can earn two thirds. Only one who dictates, gives the punctuation and spells out every word can earn them all. The JCQ cover sheet records what the student dictated.

A word processor is used with the spelling and grammar check switched off. A student who types every essay in class with the checker on is practising a different task from the one they will sit.

What English teachers should keep

  • Timed answers under the arrangement, with a line drawn where the standard time ran out, so the SENCo can see what the extra time added.
  • Notes on reading: which sources or extracts the student could not get through, and whether hearing the text helped.
  • Handwriting samples from timed work, if legibility is the concern.
  • Mock papers sat with the arrangement in place, every time.

Raise a concern with the SENCo in Year 10. An application that starts in Year 11 runs into the March deadline with little evidence behind it.

English as an additional language is not a reason on its own. JCQ states: “A candidate does not have a learning difficulty simply because their first language is not English, Irish or Welsh.” See Supporting students with EAL in GCSE English for what helps those students, and Adapting English lessons for students with SEND for classroom support. For parents, Extra time and other access arrangements and Dyslexia and GCSE English explain the same rules in plain English.

Sources

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