Exam access arrangements - word processor use

[ArianaDumbledore]

Can anyone explain the process to me.

DS2 has Chronic Fatigue syndrome and hypermobility in his hands that causes pain when writing.
He also has Essential Tremors which causes shaking when he's using his hands
School has been given the NHS diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ET, a private OT report which recommended laptop.
He's had a word processor at school for about a year.
He's been assessed at school by an external assessor, who said he was entitled to word processor but not extra time.

He's Yr10 and just done some formal assessments. I asked if it was easier now he had word processor for them but apparently he wasn't on the list.

I've raised with the school and they're making soothing noises, but being evasive on what happened and getting it sorted for future exams

He really needs the use of a word processor for English, History and Geography. It really will be the difference between a pass and fail for English.

Can anyone advise what the school must do for him to be permitted and what the cut off date for it being done in time for GCSES next year will be? Is there any kind of evidence I can request that it's been done?

I've just some access arrangement assessments for a large secondary. Make lots of noise about your child needing a laptop and how professionals agree and have stated this in their reports. Ask to speak to the senco/head of year/head teacher and escalate to school governors if they don't action this request.

I’m primary sen. But I’ve found this document re gcse for this year but it’ll be similar for next year. www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AA_regs_21-22_v11.pdf
applications for access arrangements need to be in by March.
with your ds’ physical disabilities I would have thought he should definitely be entitled to extra time in to account for any pain and rest breaks needed. Have a look through that document and link any arrangements to your ds’ needs and make an appointment with the head of year and sendco laying out what you feel he is entitled to. Why they wouldn’t want to support him I don’t understand.

I'm an EO and work closely with SENCO.

If I was you as a parent I'd be pushing for a scribe rather than word processor. I'd say he is entitled to extra time or rest breaks to ensure he is working on a level playing field.

Schools don’t need to make an access arrangement application for the use of a word processor, but it must be the pupil’s normal way of working. The centre must have a word processor policy, you could ask for a copy.

You don't need any reports for word processing use, just a laptop with appropriate set up and established use in lessons and tests. In practice it may mean being seated in a separate area with more plugs and printer.

I have several students with word processor use for exams. In class, they often hand write (it's hard to take notes in a copy of a play text any other way) but they do all extended writing by typing and then email it to me.
I'm expected to know who they are and ensure they have their entitlement. My SENCO is very clear about that, as she should be.

I would push for laptop and rest breaks (it means the clock stops) dd has rest breaks even at university (back when they still had exams)

It's definitely established as his usual way of working. He's got another exam on Monday, but the assistant SENCO said there wouldn't be time to have it sorted for it. She suggested if he does badly they'll just let him resist them with a word processor.

His teachers all know but these were formal exams in the hall, PPE I think the school call them.

I don't think he needs any other adjustments. He's a bit dreamy so I think rest breaks could be counterproductive and he's very shy so wouldn't like a scribe.

I just have zero confidence the school will get it right for his GCSEs. His BTEC seems like a complete shit-show so that's already been written off. He'll pass maths, physics, chemistry and biology without it but I'm not sure he will for English and History..Unfortunately I think it's too late to get him moved elsewhere now.

Does he have his own laptop? If that's the barrier for Monday I would be tempted to send him in with it. I would email the SENCO and the exams officer and his head of year and whichever member of SLT is responsible for exams and tell them that's what you're doing that politely but firmly request that they make the necessary arrangements to which he is entitled.
Resitting them isn't fair!

Sorry - there needs to be time to sort it out. She can’t just say there’s no time and if he does badly he can resit!! That’s really poor. He will already be feeling nervous and if he doesn’t do well because of this it will affect his confidence.

It’s surprising how much of a difference a good scribe can make. Where we’ve used them, we make sure they pupil and scribe meet up a few times beforehand to practice. They need to be in a separate room - obviously because they will need to talk to each other. Honestly, I’d push for this.

As others have said, word processor is already his 'normal way of working' and school should just put it in place. I'd ask them again.. Any exam that awards marks for SPaG he'll have to have spellcheck switched off.

He does, but he'd probably get put in isolation if he tried that.

He usually goes to student support in the morning to collect the allocated school word processor and takes it back at the end of the day. He accidentally brought it home once and he had a huge freak out so I ended up driving him back with it. Not much chance of him rebelling with his own laptop!

Thanks foe all the replies, I'm really quite frustrated that the school cannot organise this. Bizarre as I thought him getting better grades would be better for them too!

The problem with DS2 is he says everything is fine, bottles it up then has huge panics at home. He'd find having a scribe excruciating but would not admit that at school.
He once volunteered to run for student council, even though he didn't want to join and was terrified of giving a speech in front of his year group. He was in a state for days over it.

He really will be fine with the word processor adjustment.

If DS has been managing fine day to day with a word processor (they just need to pull their finger out for exams) as his normal way of working it is unlikely he meets the criteria for a scribe as the guidance explicitly states ”If a word processor (with the spelling and grammar check disabled) is the candidate’s normal way of working within the centre, then it should be used in examinations to encourage independent working and access to marks awarded for spelling, punctuation and grammar (see section 5.8).

A scribe must only be used where a candidate is not sufficiently competent or confident in using a word processor with the spelling and grammar check or predictive text facility disabled (switched off).”

A good exams officer in a good school have laptops specifically for this purpose which are only used in exams. If it is his normal way of working he should not be sitting an exam unless one is available.

Schools really don't have banks of laptops kicking around waiting for use in exams. All of our students with typing as an arrangement are timetabled in computer rooms for the external exam season, and for internal exam periods. We have to make other arrangements for the rest of the year.

My school does have laptops specially for exam use. Staff can book them for tests which require extended writing, so it really is the student's normal way of working. In terms of access to a plug, those students not requiring extra time or rest breaks sit round the outside of the hall where the plug sockets are located. They have slightly larger than normal exam desks so they can fit the paper, laptop, pencil case etc. on it.

Get onto the SENCO on Monday to ask why the school is not implementing the OT's recommendations. The school needs to keep written evidence of your DS using the laptop for extended writing tasks in each subject he uses it. I run it in my department; the IT manager emails the work to me for marking and I keep an electronic copy in my files as well as sending a copy to the SENCO. Apparently JCQ can demand to see these at any time, or that's what we are told, so as the more organised one in my department, it falls to me.

Whatever the arrangements, they have to be the normal way of working and there needs to be evidence for this.

I can't speak for all schools but ds was assessed as needing word processor for exams last term.

They did an assessment that rated him in bottom 20% for writing, top 1% for typing. I knew they'd done the assessment, so I gave them a couple of weeks and then asked for the results, and they came straight back with definitely using one.
I followed that up with saying he had a mock coming up the next week (year 10, but doing one GCSE) and could that be arranged for that to test it. They agreed, and altered his seat number so he was in the computer suite.

When he got his result, I emailed them to tell them his improvement (up from 4 to 8) and add that he'd just done a test in an normal class (so handwritten) and done badly-I'd had an email about it. So I asked them how it could be sorted so he had a keyboard for that sort of thing as well.
The response I got from the SEN department was roughly that he should really be using a laptop for all lessons, and they would try and source one for him. You could hear that was not necessarily going to be an easy task.
So I emailed the SEN department and said if we bought him one could he use that, and, if so, then what should we get.
They sent a SPEC through, and said when we had one we'd have to take it to the IT department to get everything downloaded.
A week later we finished getting it sorted and ds took it to lessons and told the teachers that he had permission to use it. They believed him so that was that.

This was so successful though that one of his friends is now bringing his laptop in and telling the teachers he has permission too. Ds (and friend) are finding this absolutely hilarious. It's going to unravel when they do their GCSE though as he won't be given a laptop. But it's quite nice for ds as he doesn't feel embarrassed about being different.

He does have to make sure his laptop is charged overnight though as he won't necessarily get to charge it in school.

So roughly he got it through the assessment and I had to be proactive in pushing it. I think if I hadn't pushed it, then he would be lower down on the list because he's doing okay and isn't too bad, so not seen as urgent. I think offering to get him a keyboard for everyday (although he has to use the school ones for exams) definitely made things simpler, and also showed the SEN department that we wanted to help as well as just get the school to sort.
We were lucky in that we had just had some money come in so we could afford the laptop, but I also felt that it was right as we could afford to get it at that point that we did so they can get another child who may not have that option one.

DS2s school does not appear to struggle to provide word processors, once I'd finally got it agreed, he had one allocated the next day.

My issue is the school, or at least the SEN department, are seemingly unaware that normal way of working doesn't require any kind of exam access submission.

I'm going to reply to the Assistant SENCO email and say he is entitled to the use of one on Monday, as per his usual way of working. I'm also going to cc in his English Teacher. She's very supportive and knows exactly the difference between DS2 having it and not.

Ask to see their Word Processor Policy. The school must have one and these are being checked in JCQ Access Arrangement inspections this year.