Special Arrangements

SQA Special Arrangements

The SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) produced a document in 2011 outlining special arrangements that may be available to pupils with a variety of support needs.  The document states that:

 

“The purpose of assessment arrangements is to provide disabled candidates with an equal opportunity to demonstrate their attainment in an assessment (ie. to show the skills, knowledge and understanding they have achieved) without compromising the integrity of the assessment”, (SQA Special Arrangements, 2011).


What kind of special arrangements are available for pupils with hearing loss?

 

A variety of arrangements are available:

 

Reader, Scribe, extra time, separate accommodation, questions signed using BSL (British Sign Language), use of ICT to write answers, etc..

 

Pupils with a hearing loss tend to request extra time and separate accommodation to complete assessments.  A Deaf candidate may also request to answer questions using sign language BSL (British Sign Language), if they use this as their main means of communication. 

 

In any external assessment,  a Deaf candidate may have the contents and questions signed to them via a Teacher of the Deaf/Sign Communicator.  The signer should be someone who has worked with the pupil and is aware of the course content and subject specific language.

A Deaf candidate may choose to write or sign their responses. In the latter, these are recorded, translated and transcribed before being submitted to SQA. 

 

However, candidates need to be aware that for some qualifications, it may not be possible for adjustments.  “It is not possible to make an adjustment to the standard of the qualification where to do so would mean that it did not provide a reliable indication of the knowledge, skills and understanding of the candidate” (SQA Special Arrangements, 2011).


Who organises the special arrangements?

 

Secondary schools will have an SQA Co-ordinater who will liaise with mainstream class teachers and apply for special arrangements on behalf of individual candidates.  The SQA require evidence that candidates require special arrangements, eg. examples of assessments/end of topic tests undertaken by the pupil using extra time, separate accommodation and the questions signed using BSL .   Ideally, candidates will have practised using special arrangements throughout S1 - S4 and will be familiar with them. 

 

The Teacher of the Deaf who works with the candidate, can liaise with the SQA Co-ordinator and mainstream staff to find out if special arrangements have been planned and that the candidate is happy with the arrangements set in place. 

 

Mainstream staff are not always aware that a Deaf pupil can complete assessments using special arrangements. The pupil's Teacher of the Deaf can discuss this with staff during support visits and Deaf Awareness training sessions.