Guidance on support that can be given to pupils with additional support needs
Introduction
Pupils with additional support needs taking a National Assessment should be given the type of support which they normally receive in the classroom for individual work. For example, they may be given extra time to complete the assessments, use a computer, have assistance with reading the questions, have a scribe to record answers or use enlarged print versions of assessment units.
The pupil’s class teacher, in consultation with the head teacher or a member of the management team should decide on the appropriate type of support. While special arrangements should be tailored as far as possible to the particular circumstances of the pupil, they should be no more than necessary to allow the pupil to demonstrate his/her level of achievement.
If visually impaired pupils need to have assessments with enlarged text or on coloured paper, etc, then schools should make arrangements to prepare copies themselves. Schools are free to adapt the appearance of an assessment to suit the individual needs of pupils with visual impairments.
Pupils with English as an additional language should attempt the reading and writing assessments only when their progress suggests that they have attained the targets for Level A and beyond in the normal way, independent of any special support. They should attempt mathematics assessments as they attain the targets at a particular level, and should be given the same language support as they would receive under normal classroom conditions.
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Reading
Pupils may have the text of the questions read to them and use the services of a scribe but not have the passage read to them as the aim is to assess reading comprehension and not simply listening or recall.
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Writing
A pupil who normally has the services of a scribe or uses a computer may have the same degree of support when writing for a national assessment. For pupils with specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, the spelling bullet within the writing criteria can be ignored.
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Mathematics
It is important that a pupil’s ability to cope with the language demands of the assessment units does not interfere with her/his ability to carry out the mathematical problems set. While it is not anticipated that pupils will have difficulty in reading the written questions in National Assessments, teachers may, at their discretion, read individual questions to pupils to facilitate understanding.
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It is important that any additional support a pupil requires to demonstrate their level of achievement is recorded and reported to all interested parties eg pupil, parents, and subsequent teachers.
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