Exam concessions

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Can you have extra time and rest breaks, or does it have to be one or the other?

How do you 'qualify' for rest breaks?

You discuss EdPsych or other professional report with the school SENCO and exams officer, who will apply for concessions, based on support needed, on your behalf. This is often close to daily classroom support.

And yes it is possible to qualify for more than one type, as it is all rooted in the needs of the individual and how to remove barriers such that they enter exams at minimal or no disadvantage

Thanks. Problem is she is not currently attending school …

Would the fact that the Geography teacher noticed a need for rest breaks in class be helpful then? He used to just give her little tasks to do mid way through the lesson if he felt she needed a break.

Do you know what the rules are around rest breaks? (ie Are they rigidly predetermined, 10 mins after each hour, or more as and when and duration flexible?)

Flexible as needed, Teen, the student can just let the invigilator know they need one and the clock is paused.

I'd have thought you can have 25% extra time as well - student who need extra time may well have more need for a rest break in the middle!

Regulations are here: www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AA-regs-2020-2021-version-for-website.pdf (rest breaks page 21)

You definitely can have both if entitled to them,

Rest breaks usually at students request rather than predetermined.

Brilliant. Just thinking slightly ahead to if we get DD to the state she can actually sit the exams (or even any mocks at any point).

Definitely start speaking to your school SENCO now as they need to apply in advance for extra time etc. You’ve plenty of time at the moment but it’s good to start the ball rolling as early as possible.

She partly qualifies for extra time already.
As in she qualifies for it, then they took it away for everything except English.
I think rest breaks would really help her though.

Given what you’ve said elsewhere I’d speak to senco about the possibility of reinstating for her other subjects. It has to be her usual way of working but that’s hard to prove if she’s not at school. She’s obviously unwell so needs access arrangements. Keep the dialogue open, ask lots of questions. This must be tough so look after yourself too.

Really hope your dd gets all the help she needs. It’s worrying enough for the current exam years, I really feel for your dd.

As others have said rest breaks are at the student's request and not at a predetermined time.
The student does have to be supervised by an invigilator or member of staff during the break though.
The time they left and return is recorded so if they are out of the room for 10 mins they would have 10 mins added onto the finish time.
The only restriction would be making sure than there are sufficient numbers of invigilators in the room so that the remaining candidates are adequately supervised.

@TeenPlusTwenties

Can you have extra time and rest breaks, or does it have to be one or the other?

How do you 'qualify' for rest breaks?

yes, you can have both. It has to be a normal way of working.

I teach a young who has extra time plus a reader and scribe and rest breaks.

Look up JCQ access arrangement guidelines, as there are other accommodation that she may be eligible for to. For example some people have a 'promoter' who keeps them on track and reminds them of time remaining, or a reader/scribe.

Sorry that should say prompter not promoter

@Fatgirlshrinking the prompter is not allowed to tell candidates how much time they have left or provide any direction as to which questions they should be answering. The role of the prompter is merely to make sure the candidates keep on going with their work.
All candidates whether they have access arrangements or not are now only allowed one time check usually 10 minutes before the end of the exam.
I have done the Access arrangements training in Autumn 2019 and several previous years as well as putting them into practice in exam rooms and that's the current rules.
Supervised rest breaks are fairly easy for centres to arrange OP and are common for dcs with all sorts of different medical conditions.

Rest breaks are also centre-delegated e.g. SENCOs don't need to apply for them to the JCQ.

Actually the time check info cited above is incorrect.

Many Exam Boards do not allow for a time check at all eg. Edexcel, AQA, OCR.

CAIE allows for a 5 minute warning.

What's the reasoning behind not allowing time checks?

My DD's ability on time telling is very iffy (we have tried many times, SEN), I do worry that with time pressured exams like English she may find it hard to check whether she is on track.

The JCQ guidelines for 2019_20 are here and state only one time check and 5 mins www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ICE-19-20.pdf.
The section for prompter implies that some time checks could be possible but isn't very clear.
What invigilators are allowed to do is to read the rubric on the front of the paper before starting the exam which for subjects like English may say "candidates are advised to spend one hour on section A and one hour on section B" or some similar phrase.
They are not allowed to give any time checks that direct the candidates that they should have moved onto the next section for example.
I think @TeenPlusTwenties that there may have been some instances that candidates have tried to appeal their results based on the fact that an invigilator told them to do the wrong question. Also schools that give time checks after 1 hour may be seen to be giving their candidates an unfair advantage.