British Safety Council Reasonable Adjustments and Special Consideration Policy and Application Form
What are reasonable adjustments?
Reasonable adjustments are made to ensure that candidates receive recognition of their achievement without compromising the equity, validity and reliability of the assessment. They are not concessions to make assessment easier for candidates, nor advantages to give candidates a head start.
Candidates may require reasonable adjustments for a number of reasons including:
- a permanent (long-term) disability or medical condition;
- a temporary (short-term) disability or medical condition.
The British Safety Council ensures that its reasonable adjustments:
- do not invalidate the assessment requirements set out in the specification for the relevant qualification;
- reflect the current needs of the individual candidates and, as far as is reasonably possible, their usual methods of working;
- do not give the candidates an unfair advantage compared to candidates for whom reasonable adjustments are not being made;
- maintain the relevance, validity, reliability, comparability and integrity of the assessment;
- take account of all current legislation that has an impact on equality of access to assessment and qualifications.
Reasonable adjustments are approved or set in place before the assessment activity takes place.
Entry Level and Level 1 reasonable adjustments
The centre should consider what adjustments future candidates with disabilities or difficulties may need, and make appropriate provision in advance.
The centre should select an appropriate qualification for the candidate, based upon his/her particular circumstances. The centre should explain to the candidate the assessment requirements of the qualification and the planned programme of study. It should be made clear at the outset if the candidate will not be able to meet all the assessment criteria. The candidate may still decide to proceed with the qualification but enter only for part, or none, of the assessment. In this case the centre should explain to the candidate any restriction on progression to other qualifications as a result of not achieving all the criteria.
The centre should identify as early as possible, preferably before registering a candidate for a qualification, any difficulties the candidate may have in accessing assessment. To assist with this the centre should ensure that all staff who recruit, advise, or guide potential candidates have had training to make them aware of access-related issues.
What is reasonable will depend on the individual circumstances, the impact of the disability, cost implications and the practicality and effectiveness of the adjustment.Centres are encouraged to have policies and procedures in place to prevent discrimination against candidates with access-related assessment needs.
Centres are permitted to implement the following reasonable adjustments without seeking the prior permission of the British Safety Council. Any adjustments required above and beyond this should be requested by the centre, at least one week before the examination at Level 1 (or before completing the portfolio of evidence at Entry Level), by contacting the Operations Manager at the British Safety Council (tel. 020 8600 1033).
Additional time
Reading of questions
Use of a scribe
Use of a bilingual dictionary
Extra time of up to 25% of the examination time may be granted to candidates who have medical evidence to prove dyslexia or other medical conditions.
The examination questions may be read to candidates. Arrangements must ensure that any such procedures are carried out in a separate room, or at a separate time, to the main examination. A signer may be used for hearing-impaired candidates.
An amanuensis may be used if the candidate is unable to record their own answers. This may be in addition to the use of a reader, who could be the same person. The candidate will require extra time for this and alternative accommodation and supervision must be provided.
May be used if the candidate's first language is not English. If a bilingual dictionary is used, it must not contain explanations of terms. Electronic dictionaries are not permitted.
When a centre implements a reasonable adjustment they must declare it on the Candidate Registration Form, and return it to the British Safety Council after the Level 1 examination. Entry Level Centres must declare reasonable adjustments on the Candidate Declaration Form
The centre must contact the British Safety Council if they do not consider that they have the necessary expertise to judge whether a reasonable adjustment is needed, and/or how it should be applied.
It is recommended that centres nominate a member of staff to take responsibility for demonstrating the implementation and recording of reasonable adjustments at the centre for monitoring by the British Safety Council or the regulatory authorities.
If the centre exceeds the level of assistance and type of assistance as set out in this policy it may lead to malpractice investigations.
Level 2, Level 3 and Level 6 reasonable adjustments
Candidates requiring a reasonable adjustment for their assessment must submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application Form (available at www.britsafe.org/qualifications) to the Operations Manager at the earliest possible opportunity and (except in the case of a sudden disability or medical condition) at least four weeks before the date of the examination. The application must be supported by appropriate documentary evidence (e.g. a doctor's letter).
On receipt of a request for reasonable adjustments, the Operations Manager will decide whether or not to grant approval and, if appropriate, the provision required to meet the needs of the candidate. Applications for reasonable adjustments may be dismissed by the Operations Manager if there is insufficient time to permit adequate arrangements to be made. The decision of the Operations Manager is final. If the request for reasonable adjustments is approved, the candidate will be informed, in writing, of the arrangements that can be made. If the request for reasonable adjustments is not approved, the candidate will be provided with a reasoned response.
Special Consideration
Special consideration involves procedures that may result in an adjustment to the marks of candidates who have not been able to demonstrate attainment because of exceptional circumstances during the examination itself.
The British Safety Council ensures that its special considerations treat candidates fairly and in accordance with national guidelines.
Candidates who believe that they were disadvantaged in the examination through circumstances beyond their control - for example, illness during the examination, fire alarm during the examination - may make a request for special consideration. They should ensure that the invigilator records the circumstances and then complete a Special Consideration Application Form (available at www.britsafe.org/qualifications) and submit this to the Operations Manager no later than 14 days after the examination (2 days for Level 1 examinations). The application should be supported by appropriate evidence, for example, a doctor's letter in the case of illness.
Requests for special consideration will be considered at the awarding stage, and appropriate allowance may be made at the judgement of the awarding committee. The maximum allowance is 5% of the total raw marks available for the particular component.
No allowance will be made for circumstances which may have affected a candidate's learning or preparation for an examination
Aegrotat Awards
The British Safety Council cannot make aegrotat awards to candidates who fail to attend an examination. As all assessment is external there would be insufficient evidence on which to make such an award. Candidates who miss an examination for reasons beyond their control should inform the British Safety Council as soon as possible.
Contact details for this policy
Sarah Reed
Quality and Compliance Manager
BSC Examinations
70 Chancellors Road
London W6 9RS
Telephone: 020 8600 1031
E-mail: examinations@britsafe.org
First published: April 2004
Last updated: February 2010
