How do parents/guardians request extra time/reasonable adjustments?

Modified on Thu, 23 Oct at 3:14 PM

As part of creating the applicant record in the ISEB Guardian Portal, a parent/guardian will have to complete the SEND section.

If a parent/guardian is registering an applicant with SEND, they should first check with their current school's SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) which access arrangements should be requested based on what ‘normal ways of working’ the school currently provides and if they believe 25% extra time will be suitable for their child when taking this type of test.

Parents and guardians should then check with the senior schools (to which they are applying) what documentation is required as proof of SEND status.

In most cases, it will be an Educational Psychologist’s report (or other suitably qualified professional) and a letter from the current school which outlines normal ways of working.

If a parent/guardian wants to request 25% extra time it is likely the school will request proof that the applicant’s reading speed or cognitive processing is less than average (ie, a standardised score below 85).

A parent/guardian will decide if they want to request:

25% extra time only
Access arrangements other than 25% extra time
25% extra time AND other access arrangements.

They will have to upload evidence of SEND status before they will be able to complete their requests. However, they can continue with other aspects of the registration and return to the form once they have the necessary documents.

Parents/guardians will have to approve the sharing of this documentation to the senior schools by ticking a box. Invigilation centres will be able to see that a document has been uploaded but they will not have access to the content. ISEB will also have access to the document in case of any mediation (in cases of appeal).

Reasonable adjustments should be provided to any candidate who is considered disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

The JCQ guidelines are specific to a range of examinations and not the Common Pre-Test. Allowing extra time in this assessment will not give automatic rights to the candidate to have extra time for their GCSE examinations. For schools which would like to make this position clear to parents we have suggested the use of a signed pro-forma which is shared with senior schools and kept on the candidate's file.

Restricting access to extra time for candidates who have appropriate professional evidence indicating that they require additional time to access the assessment could place them at a substantial disadvantage. Schools should therefore consider each request carefully and, where supported by evidence and consistent with the candidate’s normal way of working, provide reasonable adjustments. Failure to do so may amount to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, as independent schools must not disadvantage a person in the arrangements they make for deciding who is offered admission.