SPECIAL CONSIDERATION S POLICY
VERSION CONTROL
VERSION AUTHOR
DATE
COMMENTS/UPDATES
1.0
Gemma Teager
09/24
Annual Review
– no major changes
1. 1
Gemma Teager
09/25
Annual Review
– no major changes
Version control is to be employed for any amendments to the content which result in substantive changes to the meaning, intent or outcome of the policy or process described within and must be approved by the Executive Committee. Spelling mistakes or other typographical errors are not required to be subject to Version Control.
POLICY OWNER
POLICY OWNERS
ACCOUNTABLE EXECUTIVE
Exams Manager
Executive Group Director of Learner Services
APPROVAL CONTROL Approval of this Policy and subsequent amendments is made by the executive committee.
Board
VERSION
DATE APPROVED
APPROVED BY
NEXT REVIEW DATE
1.0
Sept 2024
Stuart Allen (Chief Education Officer)
September 2025
1. 1
Sept 2025
Stuart Allen (Chief Education Officer)
September 2026
CONTENTS
Introduction ................................ ............................... ............................... ..............................4
Purpose of the policy ........................................................................................................... 4
Eligibility for special consideration
................................................................................. 4
Roles and responsibilities
.................................................................................................. 4
Applying for special consideration
................................ ............................... ....................5
Processing applications for special consideration
................................ ......................7
Submitting applications for special consideration
..................................................... 8
Introduction
Special consideration can only be awarded where a candidate has been fully prepared for assessments and covered the entire course but their ability to demonstrate their subject knowledge and understanding is materially affected by adverse circumstances beyond their control at the time of the assessment(s).
Centres must not submit applications for special consideration for trivial cases.
Special consideration can only go some way to assist a candidate affected by a potentially wide range of difficulties, emotional or physical, which may influence performance in their assessments. It cannot remove the difficulty faced by the candidate. This means that there will be some situations where candidates should not be entered for a qualification or a unitised examination. This is because only minor adjustments can be made to the mark awarded. To make larger adjustments would jeopardize the standard of the qualification. (SC 1) Purpose of the policy The purpose of this policy is to identify roles and responsibilities within the special consideration process and confirms SCL Education & Training will submit an application for special consideration where a candidate meets the published criteria. (GR 5.9)
Eligibility for special consideration
• Candidates will be eligible for special consideration if they have been fully prepared and have covered the whole course but performance in the examination, or in the production of coursework or non-examination assessment, is materially affected by adverse circumstances beyond their control (SC 2.1)
• Special consideration must be applied for at the time of the assessment (SC 2)
• Candidates will not be eligible for special consideration if preparation for, or performance in the examination is affected by the reasons detailed in the JCQ document A guide to the special consideration process (SC 2.3 )
Roles and responsibilities
The role of the head of centre
• Be familiar with, refers to and directs relevant centre staff to the
annually updated JCQ publication A guide to the special consideration process
• Ensure where a candidate meets the published criteria, an application for special consideration will be submitted to the relevant awarding body by the exams office/officer
The role of the exams office/officer
• Refer to the criteria detailed in the JCQ document A guide to the special consideration process to determine where a candidate is/is not eligible for special consideration
• Where a candidate meets the published criteria, submit an application for special consideration to the relevant awarding body
The role of the senior leader
• Sign appropriate evidence to support all eligible applications (SC 6)
The role of other staff
• Provide any appropriate evidence or information that may be required to determine a candidate’s eligibility for special consideration
The role of an affected candidate (or parent/carer)
• Provide any medical or other evidence that may be required to confirm eligibility for special consideration
Applying for special consideration
At SCL Education & Training, where a candidate is eligible, special consideration will be applied for at the time of the assessment in accordance with the regulations as detailed in the JCQ document
A guide to the special
consideration process.
For candidates who are present for the assessment
but disadvantaged SCL
Education & Training must be satisfied that there has been a material detrimental effect on candidate examination performance or in the production of coursework or non -examination assessment.
Examples where a candidate/candidates may be eligible for special consideration include: • A candidate arrives for the examination and is clearly unwell, extremely distressed and/or may have sustained an injury that requires emergency access arrangements to be put in place: • the candidate is kept under centre supervision (from 30 minutes after the published starting time for that examination until they begin it) while appropriate arrangements are put in place for the candidate to take the examination (ICE 6.9 ) • special consideration is applied if this indisposition has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on the candidate’s ability to demonstrate his or her normal level of attainment in the examination (SC 1) • Application for an allowance on the last paper taken in a day when a candidate has been entered for three or more examinations timetabled for the same day and the total duration of those papers is more than 6 hours (GCE and Level 3 exams) or more than 5 hours 30 minutes (GCSE, Level 1 and Level 2 exams) including any approved extra time but not any time taken for supervised rest breaks, special consideration for an allowance on the last paper taken will be applied for (SC 3.3)
• Serious disturbance during the examination (SC 2.1)
Candidates will not be eligible for special consideration if preparation for, or performance in the examination is affected by a minor disturbance in the examination room caused by another candidate, such as momentary bad behaviour, a mobile phone ringing, or a momentary fire alarm (SC 2.3) (In accordance with SC 1: A centre must not submit applications for special consideration for trivial cases. Examples of trivial cases which would not warrant special consideration include, but are not limited to: a bird tweeting outside the examination room; a lorry reversing; a toilet being flushed; doors in a corridor adjacent to the examination room opening and closing; very short, momentary noise from, for example, aeroplanes, helicopters, lawn mowers)
Candidates who are absent from a timetabled component/unit for acceptable reasons
If a candidate is absent for acceptable reasons, and SCL Education & Training is prepared to support an application for special consideration, special
consideration will be applied for if the examination missed is in the terminal series and the minimum requirements for enhanced grading in cases of acceptable absence can be met. (SC 4) For unitised examinations taken in an examination series prior to certification, candidates must be re -entered for any missed units at the next assessment opportunity. Unless there are difficulties arising, e.g. group performances which cannot be repeated, special consideration will not be awarded. (SC 4)
Other issues
Where other issues or problems affect a candidate or a group of candidates, special consideration will be explored in
A guide to the special consideration
process
and applied for where eligible. This may include, for example:
Other certification (SC 5)
•
• Coursework/non-examination assessment extensions (SC 5)
• Shortfall in work (coursework/non-examination assessment) (SC 5)
• Lost or damaged work (non -examination assessment components) (SC 5)
• Candidates taking an incorrect or defective question paper (SC 5)
• Candidates undertaking the wrong controlled assessment or non - examination assessment assignment (SC 5)
Additional issues: Where a candidate may be eligible for special consideration (a post- assessment adjustment) in a vocational qualification, SCL Education & Training will follow A guide to special consideration (7)and awarding body guidance to determine if, when and how an adjustment can be applied for.
Processing applications for special consideration
The role of the head of centre
• Ensure all eligible applications are supported by appropriate evidence signed by a member of the senior leadership team (SC 6)
The role of the exams office/officer
• Ensure applications are processed as required by the awarding bodies
• Ensure a candidate/candidates (or a parent/carer) understands that all cases must be dealt with by the centre (SC 6)
• Ensure that special consideration is applied for at the time of the assessment
• Ensure special consideration is not applied for in a cumulative fashion and where a candidate may be affected by different indispositions, ensure special consideration is only applied for the most serious indisposition • Keep evidence to support all applications on file until after the publication of results and provide • the appropriate evidence signed by a member of the senior leadership team to support an application where this may be requested by an awarding body (SC 6)
• Meet the awarding body deadline(s) for submitting applications
Submitting applications for special consideration
At SCL Education &Training, where a candidate or group of candidates is/areeligible for special consideration, applications will be submitted to the relevant awarding body following the published processes in A guide to the special consideration process. In cases of online applications for special consideration, the candidate/candidates will be informed when an application for special consideration is submitted to the awarding body (to ensure compliance with the UK GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018).
Evidence to support all applications will be retained on file until after the publication of results.
Timetabled written examinations
• Applications for individual candidates will be submitted online by
logging into the relevant awarding body secure extranet site and following the links to special consideration (where the awarding body’s secure site accepts applications online) • A single application to cover all examinations affected where a candidate is present but disadvantaged and a separate application for each day on which examinations are missed where a candidate is absent from an examination for an acceptable reason will be submitted
• Form 10 Application for special consideration will only be completed and submitted to the awarding
body where the online system does not
accept applications for a particular qualification
• For cases involving groups of candidates, applications will be made online where the awarding body’ssecuresystemacceptsgroup applications or form 10 will be completed
• Form 14 Self certification form (Self
certification for candidates who have
missed only be completed by a candidate/parent/carer where circumstances warrant this and will not be used where the centre knows the candidate was ill an examination) will
Internally assessed work
• Where appropriate, applications will be made online where the awarding body’s secure system accepts them or form 10will be completed and submitted to the awarding body • Where a short extension to a work submission deadline for an individual candidate is being requested, the awarding body will be contacted directly • Where an application relates to a shortfall in work for an individual candidate, this will be submitted online or by completing form 10, dependent on the awarding body
Post -assessment adjustments
- special consideration (Vocational
qualifications)
• Where the learner's circumstances are eligible, form 10 or form VQ/SC Application for special consideration - Vocational qualifications will be completed and submitted to the awarding body
Applications post
-publication of results
If, after the publication of results for a particular examination series, a claim is made that special consideration was not applied for at the time of an assessment where a candidate was eligible, the claimant will be informed that late applications will only be accepted by an awarding body in the most exceptional circumstances and where a senior leader is able to produce compelling evidence to support a late application. If a claim is made after the completion of a review of results, the claimant will be informed that an application for special consideration cannot be submitted.
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