The letter should contain certain elements. Below is an example with the elements described. The letter begins, for example

Ref: Access arrangements — Candidate A

To Whom It May Concern,

The letter should: "Confirm that the candidate has persistent and significant difficulties when accessing and processing information and is disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010", for example:

Background

This candidate has special educational needs arising from a permanent, congenital, bilateral hearing loss. He is a profoundly deaf student who uses British Sign Language (BSL) as his first language.

The letter should: "Include evidence of the candidate's current difficulties and how they substantially impact on teaching and learning in the classroom", for example:

The deafness has resulted in delayed English language acquisition and has a significant effect on communication and literacy and his access to the curriculum. He has an Education, Health and Care Plan, he is in a Resourced School and has daily access to Teachers of the Deaf, Communication Support Workers (CSW) and Deaf adults.

He has limited reading skills (shown by word reading and reading comprehension texts). He has a small vocabulary of English words and the number of unknown new words can render texts meaningless. He can follow meaning over shorter sentences but can lose the meaning over longer texts. BSL has a very different structure from linear English. A lot of information is conveyed by body movement and facial expression as well as in the signs. Information can be consecutive and moderated by each different feature of BSL which is hard for deaf children to then translate into English.

His free writing is influenced by the structure of British Sign Language (BSL); it can be grammatically incomprehensible and difficult to follow without mediation.

He has a CSW interpreting into BSL to access the curriculum in each lesson. The CSW also supports him by helping him put his ideas and thoughts into written English. All tests are done in a separate room in the resource base.

The letter should: "Show the involvement of teaching staff in determining the need for A's access arrangement", for example:

He has 'back up' lessons in the resource base where the ToD emphasises the spelling and meaning of vocabulary (as these have to be finger spelled in any tests or examinations).

Throughout his school career the Teacher of the Deaf, along with his support professionals, mainstream teachers and the SENCo have determined the appropriate access arrangements he will need to ensure that he can access all the examinations he is undertaking.

The letter should: "Confirm that without the application of A's access arrangement the candidate would be at a substantial disadvantage; (the candidate would be at a substantial disadvantage when compared with other, non-disabled candidates undertaking the assessment.)", for example:

Access arrangements (all exams except English)

The letter should: "Confirm that A's access arrangement is the candidate's normal way of working within the centre as a direct consequence of their disability", for example:

Throughout his school career, the candidate has been provided with these access arrangements as result of his deafness and related difficulties for internal examinations and tests and for mock exams so as to prepare him for public examinations and to ensure that he is able to show what he knows and can do.

The letter ends, for example

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

John Smith

SENCo