A level exams 2025 Reasonable Adjustments for Depression and Anxiety

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Hi. My DD is in Y13 and has a long history of poor mental health. She has been medicated for several years for depression and anxiety although this came from her GP, not a psychiatrist. School have always been fairly supportive of her, recently allowing her to attend only lessons, and nothing else. This has helped enormously. My DD's GP has requested reasonable adjustments for her A levels (smaller room, rest breaks...) but school are saying she needs a letter from a psychiatrist and even then, teachers would need to deem her needs necessary. I don't know what to do next.

This is absolute nonsense. Look up the JQC regulations about this and ask to speak to the SENCO and exams co ordinator once you know the process they should follow.

Small room is organised by the school and doesn't have to be approved. Rest breaks may need to be applied for but I cannot recall.

Thanks @Techno56. Which bit is nonsense, the psychiatrist? So should be reasonably expect a smaller room and rest breaks but no extra time?

So the school wants assurance from someone with more specialist expertise than a GP, but then say that the final decision will be made by someone with no specialist expertise at all (i.e. a teacher)?

Is it not the exam board that makes sets regulations about this sort of thing rather than the school making up its own rules?

Having said all that, perhaps it would be helpful for your daughter to see a psychiatrist for an assessment if this would be possible.

My daughter has just been awarded extra time for her A levels. She is awaiting ASD assessment, no problems with GCSEs, but applied in Y13, undertook an assessment at college which because she scored so low/high teachers were then asked to report their thoughts alongside. We have submitted no 'evidence' the assessments were all in house.

Jcq arrangements can be found online - arrangements need to be their normal way of working so as opposed said, get in touch with the Sendco / exams officer and discuss what can be put in place, quoting the jcq arrangements.

www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/JCQ-AARA-24-25_FINAL_accessible.pdf

The thing with smaller rooms (which don't require JQA approval) is that the more students that want them the more cost and admin to the school.
Instead of everyone together in a big hall you have groups of 5 dotted around classrooms (that the rest of the school is usually in) with an invigilator required for each. More chance of things going wrong (incorrect timings, messages about errors in paper not getting through etc).
So you can see why schools want proper medical evidence before agreeing.

(I'm not unsympathetic, my DD missed all y11 due to anxiety and depression, but I can see where school is coming from.)

Extra time has to be the normal way of working and you are likely to be over the time limit to apply for this. Rest breaks do not require any evidence from a medical professional and neither does a smaller room. The only potential issues with rest breaks and smaller rooms are whether there are sufficient invigilators or room availability.