Reasonable Adjustment Policy

As a training provider, we act to encourage open access for learners who are eligible for a reasonable adjustment (‘adjustment’) to or special consideration for a formal assessment. Any adjustment made needs to ensure that the assessment of skills, knowledge, understanding and competence is not compromised.

A reasonable adjustment is any action that helps to reduce the effect of a disability that places the learner at a substantial disadvantage during the assessment. It is important that the adjustment does not affect the reliability or validity of assessment and it should not give the learner an advantage over other learners undertaking the same assessment. Where an adjustment has been applied, the work produced by the learner will be assessed to the same standard as the work of other learners.

Learners should inform us of any request for an adjustment as early as possible, providing appropriate medical evidence to support the request (e.g. specialist educational assessment for dyslexia). An adjustment request and its supporting medical evidence will be passed on to our Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) team so that they may consult with the Awarding Organisation (“AO”), if applicable, to determine what, if any, adjustment can be put in place. An adjustment will only be agreed if it is ‘reasonable’ and ‘practicable’. What is reasonable will depend on the individual circumstances, cost implications and the practicality and effectiveness of the adjustment. Other factors, such as the need to maintain competence standards and health and safety will also be taken into account.

Please note that our enrolments, delivery and assessment teams (‘staff’) cannot implement an adjustment without prior authorisation from our IQA team. Strict guidelines and evidence requirements govern the decision-making process for an adjustment, and our staff are unable to make these decisions independently. We will seek clarification from the AO, if applicable, in any case where we consider that we do not have the necessary expertise to judge whether an adjustment can be applied and/or how it should be applied.

When making an adjustment we will ensure:

• Any person using the certificate to identify an individual’s competence is not misled regarding the learner’s attainments
• The assessment is both rigorous and fair
• The assessment activity is valid and may be measured against the national standard
• The assessment result is reliable
• The assessment is able to operate practically within available resources, facilities and time

We will only reject an enrolment on a course in circumstances where:

• The content and delivery of the chosen course would prevent the applicant from fulfilling a major part of the requirements of the course and it proves impossible to overcome this difficulty.
• Admission of the learner may constitute a serious safety hazard that cannot be reasonably overcome.

In these instances we will propose an alternative choice of course or training opportunity and give relevant feedback to the applicant. We will not refuse to enrol an applicant on the grounds that better facilities or support could be provided elsewhere.