Assessments

Reasonable adjustments involving documents

• Coloured overlays.
• Exam papers on coloured paper, for example pale yellow, cream, salmon pink or grey.
• Exam papers in larger or non-serif font.
• Single side papers.
• Larger size papers or exam sheets.
• Instructions in written form.
• Reasonable adjustments through allowances
• Extra time in written or oral exams.
• Additional reading time to view exam paper.
• Breaks permitted in exams for example for rest or toilet breaks.
• Permitted to use eat, drink or use insulin, medication, eye drops or inhaler.
• Extensions to individual assessment deadlines.
• No penalty for poor spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax or structure where the meaning is clear.

Reasonable adjustments through equipment

• Computers for exams or in-course assessments.
• Spellchecker.
• A3 optical mark reader for MCQs or slides (the marks then transposed onto A4 sheets for marking).
• Special lighting.
• Desk with extra space.
• Writing slope.
• Supportive furniture or cushion or lumbar support.

Reasonable adjustments relating to locations

• Private rooms or separate supervision, for example so questions can be read aloud.
• A smaller, separate venue.
• Seat near the door to allow student to have toilet breaks.
• Seat at the front or the back of the examination room.

Other reasonable adjustments to written exams

• A scribe.
• A reader.
• Scrap paper available.
• Student circles answer on question paper and after the exam has finished sits with a member of staff who completes the optical mark sheet with them.
• Gap of at least two hours between exams.
• Scheduling so that student did not take two exams in one day.
• Visual prompts given to signal the start and end of exams.
• Oral instructions given individually.

Reasonable adjustments for practical assessments such as OSCEs

• Chairs.
• Gloves.
• Ear defenders.
• Sphygmomanometer with a red flipper valve for a blood pressure station.
• Amplified stethoscope.
• Student permitted to summarise verbally at the end of each station.
• Student permitted to use an agreed alternative word or expression.
• Student permitted to write down a word if unable to verbalise it.
• Extra question reading time.
• Paper copies of the instructions for each station.
• Extra time at station assessments that do not directly replicate clinical practice.
• Student individually timed at each station once they had entered that station.
• Physical stations in OSCE to be followed by a rest station or placed at the end of the exam.
• Where OSCEs are being held at more than one location, efforts made to place candidates at the site which is easiest to navigate.
• Allocation to a specific morning or afternoon slot.
• Face to face interaction ensured with student positioned suitably for all sessions.
• A reader.
• A 'competent other' provided in the station who could be instructed by the student in conducting the resuscitation task.
• Additional practice sessions and support given prior to the OSCE.
• Timing of OSCE exams to earlier rather than later in the day.
• Individual circuit for OSCE assessments.
• OSCE stations made more accessible, for example a resuscitation manikin placed on a couch.
• Examiners briefed about individual doctor in training requirements.
• A signer entering the assessment cubicle with the student to place a microphone on the mannequin while the student reads the instructions.

Other reasonable adjustments to assessments and examinations

• Appropriate timing during the day.
• Flexibility in ways of enabling students to answer, such as: an oral rather than written assessment; a written exam, extended essay, or Powerpoint presentation rather than a verbal presentation.
• Partial retakes and deferred exams for those with illness.
• Extension of the registration and completion period for royal college examinations.