Dyslexia Adjustments

[BlueFlyCheetah]

Hi,

I’m hoping for some help understanding a few things to do with adjustments for Dyslexia. Any teachers who can advise what they do in their own schools would be appreciated. Also any parents in similar situations.

My DC is dyslexic. He is supposed to have a reader for all assessments and exams, plus 25% extra time (in addition to other day to day adjustments).

The school keep saying:

He cannot have a reader for reading assessments. On the face of it, I get why they are saying that, but these assessments just set dyslexic kids up to fail??? Surely, they should have the text adjusted to his level of reading (like his classroom texts are supposed to be)? Sitting the same assessment in the same format as children without dyslexia puts him at a disadvantage and just sets him up to fail, so why do the school do that? If his classroom texts have to be adjusted, why not assessments, especially if they’re already removing the reader?

He doesn’t seem to get a reader/extra time for maths. He can mostly muddle through if they are written as sums (but does sometimes mix numbers up), however if the test is text he is again disadvantaged because he can’t read them. It takes him so long to break words down, he’s either forgotten the first part of the question before he can finish reading it, or has substituted words so is working out incorrect information.

I’m also confused about exams. The reader assigned to my son for a recent one initially refused to read the questions more than once or to read any numbers/symbols. She then had a discussion with another reader (partway through the exam) who told her she could read the questions more than once. Surely these people should know what they can/can’t do! Also, if my sons adjustments state a reader for ALL assessments and exams, that means they should be reading it all? The EP didn’t state that there were any exclusions for that when she issued her report.

Is there something I’m not understanding or is this not right?

What assessments has he been sitting? How old is he?

JCQ rules for GCSEs and A-levels state that pupils are not allowed human readers for parts of exams that specifically test reading. However they are allowed to have a computer reader for tests of reading.

Does he have an EHCP? An EP report recommending adjustments doesn't mean a school is legally obligated to follow the recommendations and definitely shouldn't be following them where they breach JCQ regulations.

How old is he?

Agree with above. He can’t have a reader for a reading question but can have a computer read it (in automated voice, so like a robot). He can have reader and scribe in other subjects though. And other elements of English such as literature. The question can be repeated as often as needed as can his answer as kids who can read it themselves would be able to read theirs as often as they wanted so it’s massively unfair to say they would only read it once for him.

I don't think you can have a reader for an actual reading exam unfortunately. Because they are assessing reading.

A reader can read the questions in other exams, not sure if they are allowed to read the questions in a reading exam.

He should definitely be able to have the reader for Maths. Although sometimes they will only be allowed one or the other, so for example, they can have extra time or a reader but not both.

It is worth reading JCQ’s guidance and also the information for readers around decoding symbols and unit abbreviations in maths and science so you understand the rules. The EP’s report wouldn’t overrule JCQ’s guidance for formal external exams, and to build a picture of need, most schools use these rules lower down the school for internal tests/exams.

Human readers aren’t allowed for any part of a paper testing reading.

Extra time &/or a reader is possible for maths. Some DC who have extra time/a reader for other subjects don’t need them for maths, but where they are required, they can be given.

Readers can repeat questions if the candidate indicates the need.

Readers can read numbers as words as long as it isn’t a question asking for a number to be written as words.

Readers are allowed to read symbols/units if it is the current and normal way of working in the centre. JCQ say “This would occur where a candidate with significant reading difficulties cannot independently access any of the text or symbols in questions” so it wouldn’t apply to all who have a reader.

It is worth raising staff not being aware of what is allowed. Those used as readers in formal external exams must be aware of the rules. For internal tests, the person used may not be someone with experience of being a reader for external exams so may not be 100% on rules. This is something the school could ensure is known going forward.

If primary aged, they're right about reading. The reading Year 6 SATs test has very narrow adjustments allowed - extra time, but little else.

Whether it's fair to give him the same test as everyone else for other assessments depends on his reading level, not his diagnosis.

Thanks everyone for the replies. DS is 11.

I absolutely understand the point of a reading assessment not being read to them, but what I don’t understand is why they force it if they know the child will score so poorly? It just erodes their confidence even more and humiliates them in front of the rest of the class.

Class texts are modified to his reading age (7), so to assess him at a much higher level just seems cruel. It would be like making the rest of the class who don’t have a learning difficulty sit GCSE level papers to watch them fail….

He doesnt have an EHCP because it’s not something that the school can’t provide support for themselves. He manages by using a laptop and scores well in all other exams as long as everything is read to him.

His 11+ reader clearly did not follow the guidelines so I am going to submit a complaint about that as his results will clearly have been affected.

Based on one of the previous comments above, does anyone know if he should access to a reading pen instead of a human reader for reading tests at primary? If not, why would this be the case if it’s allowed at secondary level?

Thanks again to you all, your comments are really helpful. X

I’m not sure how it’s humiliating in front of the rest of the class? No one else sees their paper or their result presumably. You just need to tell them to do their best and answer what they can

It’s in front of the class because they mark them together and then read the scores out to their teacher for her to note down.

My DS is 20 now so I don’t know whether things have changed but he had a reader and a scribe plus extra time for his year 6 SATs. Where he wasn’t allowed to have a reader, he used a C-Pen Reader for single words and an OrCam reader for longer passages. All of this was without an EHCP.

In high school, the important thing was to establish his usual way of working so that he could be accommodated in exams. He was allowed to use a laptop in class and in exams as well as having extra time and a quiet room for exams. He had these for mocks as well as for his actual exams. When he did his A levels, the school invested in reading software that would read exam questions for him and, more importantly, read his answers back to him so he could hear if there were any mistakes.

He’s at university now and the university provide the same accommodations as the school did; we just had to get an email from the school SENCO detailing what they were. He applied for Disabled Students’ Allowance to get funds to pay for dyslexia software for his laptop.

Oh in that case I can see why- personally I think that’s appalling and would never have happened in my school! I would be having a quiet word with the teacher and asking if this method could be changed. Is it practice SATS papers by any chance?

My previous post was based on the rules for GCSE, A levels and other similar qualifications.

For KS2 SATs, the reader cannot read symbols in maths.

For KS2 SATs, electronic aids such as screen readers can be used but have to be used independently and cannot read punctuation in the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test or read mathematical symbols in the maths tests.
For the reading paper, electronic aids can be used to record answers but cannot be used to provide reading support (e.g. cannot read the text or the questions) other than the general instructions. You can’t compare KS2 assessments to secondary ones.

For the 11+ rules, you will need to contact the school/consortium. They might not be the same as JCQ’s EAA guidance or KS2 arrangements.

If DS has a reading age of 7, I would seriously consider requesting an EHCNA.

The thing is OP the sats paper isnt an English assessment its literally a reading assesment. Its not going to help anyone if hes given lots of aids to score highly on it, then goes to secondary school and doesnt get any extra help because all they can see is he did fine on the SATS reading paper so he must be fine. They need to be able accurately assess his reading skills in order for him to be supported.

What i would absolutely take issue with his the whole class marking of papers and reading out of scores, thats just horrible and unnecessary and you should definitely speak to school about them managing this more sensitively.

Tbh if his reading age is 7 should he even be sitting the sats reading paper as i thought there were mechanisms in place such that if a child is more than 2 years behind they dont have to sit it because its going to be too difficult for them?

I’ve definitely got quite a bit to deal with here. I’m just trying to get a grip on what’s reasonable and what’s me being an emotional mummy who needs to accept that some things will be unfair or harder for him.

Out of interest, he uses audio books and emmersive reader so why couldn’t he use a reading pen for SATs? It’s not come up for discussion at school yet because we only go back and forth about human readers. It hadn’t occured to me to query a pen, but he routinely uses emmersive reader and listens to audio books alongside ebooks for day to day work, so if that is his usual way of reading and they can use a reading pen for tests in secondary, why would the school not offer that now? It’s just the method of how text is communicated into his brain, once it’s there, his ability to do what’s needed with it is in line with the rest of his class.

I’m probably clutching at straws here, but I just want to make sure I don’t miss anything because school aren’t proactive about it themselves.

I ended up home educating my dyslexic son because I was worried he would feel so awful about himself if he sat and failed a lot of GCSEs. He passed level 2 functional skills Maths and English (had a reader and scribe for maths and a reading for English writing exam and scribe for the reading part). He has also passed some vocational qualifications and was allowed a reader and scribe for assessments.

Take a look at the Key Stage 2 SATs Exam Access Arrangements.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-tests-access-arrangements/2025-key-stage-2-access-arrangements-guidance

He can definitely use a reader pen for exams at high school so long as it’s his normal way of working.

You are not allowed to use e readers or c pens or anything to read the texts in a KS2 reading test. They can only be used to read questions. This is because the test is a test of reading, against the KS2 curriculum. The school would prefer if he could use a reader pen too, but it's not allowed.

It often isn't feasible for every child who needs a reader to have it in every assessment, so getting and teaching to use a c pen would be really sensible. Then he has a strategy when he is doing assesments and no one is available to read for him.

A reading age of 7 is low but within the Key Stage, and therefore he is unlikely to be exempt from the tests. Sadly, there will be several children in every year 6 class with a reading age of 7, usually due to SEN or EAL needs.

You are not allowed to use e readers or c pens or anything to read the texts in a KS2 reading test. They can only be used to read questions.

When did this change @ThesebeautifulthingsthatIvegot? It was that the aids couldn’t read the text or questions, only the general instructions. That is what the 2026 guidance states too.

Sorry, I misread and wrote out a long answer! Yes, you're correct. My previous message wasn't right - I rushed what I was trying to say there.

I don't see why he should not be allowed access to at least a reading pen in tests that don't assess reading. It is discriminatory not to make reasonable adjustments by law.

The test is trying to find out how well he can actually read for himself. If he uses a tool to read out the words for him, they arent finding out how well he is actually able to read, are they? It isnt just about how well he understands the text, the sats are deliberately designed with texts long enough to also be testing a childs reading speed - lots of children dont finish the reading paper because it takes them too much of the allotted time to actually read the texts. And thats ok - because that helps school identify who still needs more work on reading.

Has he been offered a C-Topps assessment? They can do this in school and send as evidence to the exam boards?

Ah, I thought you might have inside knowledge on a change for the 26/27 academic year that was going to allow the questions to be read but not the text.

It's not up to the school. They have to follow the test administration rules.