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Number of students reported to receive extra time in exams
overstated, says regulator.
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No change for students receiving or applying for access
arrangements as procedures are unaffected.
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Access arrangements granted to students remain appropriate
and valid.
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New official statistics with improved methodology to be
published in late 2025 following comprehensive evidence
review.
The exam regulator Ofqual is withdrawing its official statistics
on access arrangements for GCSE, AS and A levels from 2014 to
2024 after identifying issues with the data.
Access arrangements are adjustments to exams for students with
special needs, disabilities, or injuries, ensuring fair
assessment. Examples include extra time and the use of a reader
or scribe.
Ofqual's statistics for access arrangements were based on data
collected by exam boards. Ofqual's detailed analysis of
underlying data from the boards has now established that the
published figures significantly overstated the number of students
receiving access arrangements.
The difference is due to the way the data is recorded and
aggregated – for example, including arrangements for students who
did not sit exams in the relevant year, or duplicate applications
for the same student.
The new analysis suggests that the actual proportion of students
receiving access arrangements – including 25% extra time in exams
– is now broadly in line with the proportion of students with
special educational needs in the school population.
Tom Bramley, Executive Director of Research and Analysis at
Ofqual, said: “We are correcting the record as soon as possible.
The access arrangements process has not changed, and students who
received support did so appropriately.
“This issue is limited to our access arrangements dataset and our
other statistics are not affected.”
Ofqual is working with exam boards to improve data quality and
reporting processes. Revised statistics will be published in late
2025 and will be classified as “official statistics in
development”. Ofqual is working closely with the Office of
Statistical Regulation on the new approach.
Notes to editors
More
information is available in our blog
For reference, SEN statistics: Special
educational needs in England, Academic year 2024 to 2025
For information on access arrangements: Access
Arrangements, Reasonable Adjustments and Special Consideration -
JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications
The withdrawn data covers all access arrangements except modified
exam papers, such as large print or braille papers, which use a
different data set and are unaffected.
Statistics on modified exam papers will be briefly taken down
from Ofqual's website and then re-uploaded on a separate page.
