Key Facts
| Standardised scores needed for 25% extra time (learning difficulty) | At least two below average scores of 84 or less, or one of 84 or less and one low average score of 85 to 89, in two different areas of speed of working. Source: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance/ |
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| When the Form 8 assessment can take place | Part 2 of Form 8 is carried out no earlier than the start of Year 9. Source: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance/ |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
Tuition can help with slow processing speed and working memory by giving a child one-to-one lessons taught in shorter steps, with one instruction at a time, written prompts and planned review, all paced around how the child learns. Difficulties with processing speed often show up in timed or fast-paced work, and the school evidences any need and decides on exam arrangements such as extra time, with an access arrangements assessor carrying out the assessment. Lessons take place online or in person in central London.
What do processing speed and working memory mean in the classroom?
In the classroom, processing speed appears as speed of working, which the JCQ regulations on access arrangements divide into speed of reading, speed of writing, cognitive processing and fluency. Slow processing speed describes how difficulties show up in timed or fast-paced work and names no condition, so the useful evidence is the pattern of work a teacher sees across lessons and tests.
Everyday signs that parents often link with working memory include the two listed for dyslexia: difficulty remembering the order of things, and trouble planning and organising schoolwork. A parent who recognises either at home can note when it happens and pass the examples to the class teacher, who sees how the child copes with the same demands in lessons.
How can these difficulties show up in lessons and timed work?
Difficulties show up in three settings that Part 1 of Form 8 asks the school to record: the classroom, timed internal tests and mock examinations. The same part records teacher feedback and the candidate's normal way of working, which together give a picture of how a child manages when work is timed or fast-paced and when it is not.
A practical step is to keep a short running note of examples from homework and from timed tests, matched to the areas of speed of working above and to the signs of difficulty with sequences and planning. Sharing the note with the class teacher or the SENCo gives the school detail of the kind Part 1 records, and gives a tutor a clear starting point for the first lessons.
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Enquire about this tutorHow does a one-to-one tutor adapt lessons for these difficulties?
A one-to-one tutor adapts lessons by teaching the skills a child's needs make harder in a busy classroom in shorter steps, with more practice and review. Tutoring for processing speed and working memory usually draws on a small set of adaptations, and a parent can ask the school which of them already appear in the classroom so that the same approach carries across.
- Shorter steps: a task is broken into short slots, each finished before the next begins.
- One instruction at a time: simple instructions are given singly, so each can be completed before the next is given.
- Written prompts: step lists and to-do lists that the child can look back on.
- Planned review and repetition: earlier material is revisited at planned points in later sessions.
- Retrieval practice: the child recalls earlier material before seeing it again.
- Pacing: the speed of the session follows how the child works, with time to finish each step.
How does tuition fit with SEN support at school?
SEN support follows a four-part cycle of assess, plan, do and review, and the class or subject teacher remains responsible for the pupil even where interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the class. Within that cycle, a tutor's part is regular, well-paced teaching that carries the strategies in an SEN support plan or EHC plan into weekly practice. Tutors cannot diagnose a need or set statutory provision.
Where a plan is in place, a parent can ask the school for the strategies written into it and share them with the tutor before the first lesson, so that written prompts, pacing and the order of tasks match what the child meets in class. A short note to the tutor after each review keeps the two in step.
Who provides the evidence for extra time in exams?
An access arrangements assessor provides the evidence for extra time on the basis of a learning difficulty, through an assessment recorded in Part 2 of Form 8. That assessment must confirm below average standardised scores relating to different areas of speed of working, and the key-facts table and the source page give the exact figures. The findings sit alongside the Part 1 record that the school completes from its own observations.
A privately commissioned assessment carried out without the school's involvement cannot be used to award access arrangements, so a parent considering one should speak to the school first. A tutor cannot carry out this assessment, although a tutor's lesson notes can help a parent describe what happens in practice. Asking the school who its access arrangements assessor is, and when assessments take place, clarifies the route.
Who decides whether a child gets extra time?
The school decides whether a child receives extra time, as part of its exam arrangements, and the school's SENCo is the person who applies, since parents and tutors cannot. The application draws on the Part 1 record and the Part 2 assessment, so both need to be in place. Tuition has no part in the decision itself, though a tutor can describe how the child works in lessons.
The first step for a parent is a conversation with the SENCo about how the child manages in lessons, timed tests and mock examinations, bringing the running note and asking what the school still needs to see. Where the school agrees that an assessment is appropriate, the SENCo can explain how it will be arranged.
Can sessions be online or in central London?
Sessions run online for families across the UK, and in person in central London, which is the only area where in-person tuition is available. Online sessions suit families outside London, whilst families in central London can choose between the two formats. Either format keeps the lesson one-to-one, with the same adaptations described above.
A parent can make an enquiry and receive tutor recommendations for the child's age, subjects and needs. Giving the tuition provider the child's age, the subjects where timed or fast-paced work is hardest and the strategies the school already uses helps the recommendation fit. A tutor can then plan the first sessions around those strategies.
Related guides
- SEN tutors
- GCSE tutoring
- Catch-up tutoring
- Exam access arrangements
- SEN support plans in England
- Study skills and executive function
- JCQ access arrangements: extra time, readers and scribes
- Dyscalculia tutoring
Tutoring with Taylor Tuition
One-to-one support for this stage works best when the tutor can see the pupil's own work, so sessions with us start from recent papers and homework and build a routine from there. More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools.
Sessions run online for families across the UK and internationally, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject. There is no registration fee. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check and families receive progress reports after sessions.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the purpose of identifying a special educational need?
- The SEND Code of Practice says the purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take. It adds that children often have needs that cut across areas and that these change over time, so support should be based on a full understanding of the child's strengths and needs, use well-evidenced interventions targeted at areas of difficulty and, where necessary, specialist equipment or software.
- How can parents be involved in the school's support plan?
- Parents should be fully aware of the planned support, and where appropriate plans should seek parental involvement to reinforce progress at home. Schools talk to parents regularly, should include the pupil's views and may involve specialists at any point, so a parent can ask at each review how the child's views have been recorded and whether a specialist is involved.
- Which areas of need does the SEND Code of Practice use?
- The Code groups needs into four broad areas: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, and sensory and/or physical. Specific learning difficulties affect one or more specific aspects of learning and encompass conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. The social, emotional and mental health area lists attention deficit disorder and ADHD among disorders children may have, and children with ASD are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction.
- Does tuition replace support from the school?
- Tuition runs alongside the support the school already provides and any specialist or health input, giving a child more time with one adult on the skills school support has identified. A parent weighing it up can ask the school which skills are named in the plan and whether any specialist or health input is planned, then give the tutor the same information so that lessons and school support point the same way.
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