This policy sets out the procedures that tutors and learners should follow when implementing reasonable adjustments and special considerations.
Reasonable Adjustment
A reasonable adjustment helps to reduce the effect of a disability or difficulty that places the learner at a substantial disadvantage in the assessment situation.
Reasonable adjustments must not affect the validity or reliability of assessment outcomes, but may involve
- Changing usual assessment arrangements
- Adapting assessment materials
- Providing assistance during assessment
- Re-organising the assessment physical environment
- Changing or adapting the assessment method
- Using assistive technology
Reasonable adjustments must be approved by the Internal Quality Assurer (IQA) and set in place prior to assessment commencing. It is an arrangement to give a learner access to a qualification.
The work following a reasonable adjustment must be assessed in the same way as work from other learners.
Below are examples of reasonable adjustments. It is important to note that not all adjustments described below will be reasonable, permissible or practical in particular situations. The learner may not need, or be allowed, the same adjustments for all assessments.
A reasonable adjustment never affect the validity or reliability of assessment, influence the outcome of assessment or give the learner(s) in question an unfair assessment advantage.
Examples of reasonable adjustment:
- Allowing extra time e.g. assignment extensions
- Using a different assessment location
- Use of coloured overlays, low vision aids, CCTV
- Use of assistive software
- Assessment materials in large format or Braille
- Readers/scribes
- Practical assistants/transcribers/prompters
- Assessment material on coloured paper or in audio format
- Language modified assessment material
- British Sign Language (BSL)
- Use of ICT/responses using electronic devices
Applying reasonable adjustments
Reasonable adjustments are the responsibility of Advanced Safety Plus Ltd. Reasonable adjustments are approved by the IQA before an assessment and are intended to allow attainment to be demonstrated. A learner does not have to be disabled (as defined by the DDA) to qualify for reasonable adjustment; nor will every learner who is disabled be entitled to reasonable adjustment.
Advanced Safety Plus Ltd will facilitate access for the learner. A reasonable adjustment is intended to allow access to assessment but can only be granted where the adjustment does not:
- Affect the validity or reliability of the assessment
- Give the learner(s) in question an unfair advantage over other learners taking the same or similar assessment
- Influence the final outcome of the assessment decision.
Advanced Safety Plus Ltd is committed to fair and equal assessment of its learners.
Special consideration
Special considerations are different to reasonable adjustments as they apply to a disadvantage that occurs to the learner either just before or during the assessment. Reasons for special consideration could be:
- Temporary illness
- Injury
- Adverse circumstances at the time of the assessment
A learner may be eligible for special consideration if:
- Their performance in an external assessment is affected by circumstances beyond the control of the learner e.g. recent personal illness, accident, bereavement, serious disturbance during the assessment
- The alternative assessment arrangements which were agreed in advance of the assessment proved inappropriate or inadequate
- Any part of the assessment has been missed due to circumstances beyond the control of the learner.
Advanced Safety Plus Ltd will submit a written Special Consideration request to the appropriate Awarding organisation.
All applications for special consideration can only be made on a case-by-case basis and thus arate applications must be made for each learner.
Learners may apply for special consideration during or after and assessment but may not apply for special consideration in the case of a permanent disability or learning difficulty. The size of the adjustment will depend on the circumstances during the assessment and will reflect the difficulty faced by the learner.