What exam access arrangements can the SENCO put in place?

What the SENCo can authorise

The SENCo can approve around 22 centre-delegated arrangements, such as rest breaks, a word processor, a prompter and a separate room; extra time, a reader and a scribe need awarding-body approval via an online form. The SENCo leads the access arrangements process inside the centre, working with teaching staff, support staff and the exams officer to decide what each candidate needs from the evidence in front of them JCQ. The rules are set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), whose Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments regulations run from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026.

The split that the headlines miss

Most guidance lumps every arrangement together. In practice they sit in two buckets, and the difference decides who signs them off. The first bucket is delegated to the centre: the SENCo judges whether the arrangement is appropriate and reasonable, records the decision, and puts it in place with no online application. The second bucket needs an online application that the awarding body has to approve before the candidate can use it. Putting a second-bucket arrangement in place without that approval is the mistake that gets disallowed at inspection.

The two tests behind every arrangement

Both buckets are governed by the same two principles, and a diagnosis on its own satisfies neither. First, the arrangement has to reflect the candidate’s normal way of working – the support they already use day to day in class and in internal assessments, not something introduced for the exam. Second, there must be a history of need: a documented, persistent difficulty rather than a one-off. So a label such as autism, ADHD or dyslexia is neither enough nor strictly required; the test is evidenced need. From March 2026, where a Form 8 is required its Part 1 must show teacher feedback and the candidate’s normal way of working, and parental comments are no longer included on JCQ forms JCQ March 2026 update.

Underneath the JCQ rules sits the awarding bodies’ duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments so a disabled candidate is not put at a substantial disadvantage in assessment Equality Act 2010, s.20. The JCQ process is how that duty is delivered in GCSE, A-level and vocational exams – it is not itself the source of the duty.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.