Candy Clarkson MA.Ed
SpLD Specialist Assessor
Access Arrangements for the Academic Year 2021 - 2022
Spring Term Week 11
Spring Term Week 10
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 23 students: one day of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £300 (£13.04 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Then return visit to an East Berkshire comprehensive school, to see three Year 10s, three Year 11s and eleven Year 12s, all new to the school. Group tested all students, then marked, scored and recorded results on the spreadsheet, before individually assessing all students. Discussed the results with the SENCO, then completed Part 2 of Form 8s and the spreadsheet of agreed JCQ and centre granted arrangements.
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 17 students: one day of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £300 (£17.64 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Spring Term Week 9
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 47 students: 2 days of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £600 (£12.76 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 2 days.
Spring Term Week 8
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 85 students: three days of individual assessment + one day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £1,200 (£14.12 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 3 days.
Spring Term Week 7
The SENCO wondered how I could see so many students in one day, when more usually, assessors see between four and six. I explained that this is because my initial group testing makes for three major efficiencies: Firstly, group testing, where possible, reduces individual testing time. Secondly, group testing allows me to observe and note students' behaviour under formal, written examination conditions, then by scrutinising their written responses along with their Form 8 Part 1s, I can fairly accurately predict their assessment needs to know which to apply from the whole range of further individual tests. Thirdly and most importantly, given my extensive experience as a secondary English teacher, senior school leader and FE and HE lecturer, group testing enables me to quickly establish a firm but mutually respectful, supportive, warm and trusting rapport with students, entirely in keeping with the ethos and expectations of their own school or college. This opens up the way for individual, private discussion, in which each student immediately feels secure in confidently disclosing their difficulties, such that their access needs can be fully explored and properly accommodated.
Cost to the college for individual assessment:
For 24 students: one day of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £300 (£12.50 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Spring Term Week 6
Cost to the college for individual assessment:
For 60 students: four days of individual assessment + one day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £1,500 (£25.00 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 4 days.
Thank you Candy. It was great to work with you again. Assistant Head of Extended Learning
Spring Term Week 5
Cost to the college for individual assessment:
For 16 students: one day of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £300 (£18.75 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Spring Term Week 4
'Thanks so much for your time, Candy. It was great having you in! Efficient as ever.' SENCO
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 36 students: one day of individual assessment, plus one day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £600 (£16.66 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Spring Term Week 3
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 41 students: two days of individual assessment, plus one day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £900 (£21.95 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 2 days.
Spring Term Week 2
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 10 students: one day of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £300 (£30.00 per student)
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Spring Term Week 1
Thanks again for all of your guidance and support with this process, have a great weekend. SENCO
Cost to the school for screening and individual assessment:
For 34 students: one day of screening @ £300 per day = £300 (£8.82 per student)
For 48 Students: one day of individual assessment, plus one day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £600 (£12.50 per student)
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 2 days.
Autumn Term Week 14
Cost to the college for individual assessment:
For 190 students: 10 days of individual assessment and 2 days of clerical work @ £300 per day = £3,600 (£18.95 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 10 days.
Autumn Term Week 13
Autumn Term Week 12
Thank you very much and for all your work with the students and for your advice and guidance.
Look forward to seeing you next time. Kind regards, SENCO
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 125 students: 3 days of individual assessment and 2 days of clerical work @ £300 per day = £1,500 (£12.00 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 3 days.
Next day, a return visit to a Berkshire school to see 30 new entrants to Years 12 and 13 who had been granted access arrangements in previous schools, but for whom the SENCO, quite correctly, had decided that the evidence from previous schools was either too incomplete or too insubstantial to qualify for 'roll forward' applications.
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 30 students: 1 day of individual assessment @ £300 per day = £300 (£10.00 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Autumn Term Week 11
For 48 students: 2 days of individual assessment and clerical work @ £300 per day = £600 (£12.50 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 2 days.
Autumn Term Week 10
Then a return visit to a Berkshire school to 'mop up' new entrants to Years 10, 11 and 13, who had been granted access arrangements in a previous school, but for whom the evidence from previous schools was either too incomplete or too insubstantial to qualify for 'roll forward' applications.
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 15 students: 1 day of individual assessment and clerical work @ £300 per day = £300 (£20.00 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Autumn Term Week 9
Cost to the school for screening and individual assessment:
For 82 students: 3 days of screening and/or individual assessment and 1 day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £1,200.00 (£14.63 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 3 days.
Autumn Term Week 8
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 44 students: 2 days of individual assessment and clerical work @ £300 per day = £600.00 (£13.64 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 2 days.
Autumn Term Week 7
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 12 students: 1 day of individual assessment and clerical work @ £300 per day = £300.00 (£25.00 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
'Thank you so much Candy! It was a pleasure working with you! I really appreciate your efforts and efficiency.'
Assistant SENCO.
Autumn Term Week 6
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 24 students: 1 day of individual assessment and clerical work @ £300 per day = £300.00 (£12.50 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Autumn Term Week 5
Cost to the school for screening:
For 127 students: One day of screening and one additional day for clerical work @ £300 per day = £600 (£4.72 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day) x 1 day.
Enquiry from an independent college wanting me to 'remotely' sign off their GL Exact results as evidence for Form 8 Part 2. Politely declined.
Autumn Term Week 4
Cost to the school for individual assessment:
For 50 students: 2 days of assessment for Access Arrangements @ £300 per day = £600.00 (£12.00 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day).
At the request of the SENCO, telephone and email correspondence with two parents of students from Week 1, who were understandably disappointed that their children no longer qualified for access arrangements. Kindly explained and resolved matters to everyone's satisfaction.
More enquiries from schools and colleges wanting to 'establish a relationship', simply to satisfy JCQ criteria to continue to act as an examination centre and not because they had any intention of using my services. All politely declined.
Autumn Term Week 3
Enquiry from a small, independent, faith school in the West Midlands. JCQ have given them a deadline, by which time they had to have registered a qualified assessor, in order to continue to act as an exam centre. Further questioning revealed that although they had been established for 23 years, not one application for access arrangements had ever been made, the reason being, 'Our students are too intelligent to need them.' I tried hard to explain the nature and purpose of the regulations but they simply weren't interested. Finally, they offered me a considerable sum of money just to use my name. I declined, explaining as politely as I could, that I have no interest in supporting a school determined to evade their responsibilties to their students under current disability legislation. I do get lots of this type of enquiry and I'm afraid that my response will be always the same. So please, please, please, don't ask.
Two more full diagnostic assessments to complete. Busy week!
Autumn Term Week 2
Cost to the college for screening:
For 78 students: 1 day of screening and clerical work @ £300 per day = £300.00 (£3.85 per student).
Cost to the college for individual assessment:
For 34 students: 1 day of individual assessment and clerical work @ £300 per day = £300.00 (£8.82 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day).
'Thank you so much. It's always a pleasure working with you.' SENDCO.
Autumn Term Week 1
We re-screened the cohort to find that 63% of students might qualify for Access Arrangements. The results were marked, scored and recorded on the spreadsheet and emailed to the SENCO by close of play the following day. As directed by the SENCO, we then individually assessed 91 students in 2 days, to find that only 42% of the whole cohort required a Form 8 Part 2 and/or a SENCO File note, which along with the updated spreadsheet, were completed the following day. I felt extremely sorry for the SENCO, who on the basis of screening with EXACT and in preparation for my visit, had wasted so much of her precious time onerously completing Part 1 of Form 8s, that then proved not to be needed.
Cost to the college for screening:
For 161 students: 1 day of screening + 1 day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £600.00 (£3.73 per student).
Cost to the college for individual assessment:
For 91 students: 2 days of individual assessment + 1 day of clerical work @ £300 per day = £900.00 (£9.89 per student).
Plus travel or overnight accommodation (capped at £50 per day).
'Thank you for working so tirelessly to get through all the students. Much appreciated.' SEND Administrator.