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Fair Access to Design

The regulatory authorities have produced the guidance document Fair access by design: Guidance for awarding bodies and regulatory authorities on designing inclusive GCSE and GCE qualificaitons in partnership with the JCQ awarding bodies and representatives of disability groups.

The regulatory authorities have a duty to ensure there is fair access to external qualifications. The statutory regulation of qualifications supports this with a requirement on awarding bodies to consider the needs of all potential candidates when developing specifications, assessment arrangements and associated materials. Examinations must be designed to minimise any later need to make adjustments for candidates who have particular requirements.

This guidance sets out the principles underlying current good practice and can be used to support wider training and development programmes within awarding bodies and the regulatory authorities. This document coupled with its sister publication, developed for vocational qualifications, provides comprehensive guidance covering all awarding bodies.

Designing inclusive GCSE and GCE qualifications Guidance for Awarding Bodies/Regulatory Authorities. (Updated March 2009)PDF, 236K

Designing inclusive vocational qualifications Guidance for Awarding Bodies/Regulatory AuthoritiesPDF, 294K