Schools that have students with long Covid who are taking their GCSE and A-level exams this summer will be able to apply for a special consideration exemption if the condition worsens during the exam period, Tes has learned.
Today’s clarification of how the guidance applies to the illness from the Joint Council of Qualifications (JCQ) ends months of uncertainty over whether long Covid would be counted as a special consideration reason for a student to miss an exam and receive alternative assessment.
Although long Covid will remain classed as an “ongoing condition”, which means students who have been diagnosed with the chronic illness must sit the exam as long as the school has made suitable adjustments known as “access arrangements”, Tes understands that, if the pupil’s condition worsens around the time the exam is taking place, their school could apply for them to sit out the exam under special consideration rules.
The JCQ has clarified that the current guidance, which says special consideration cannot apply to students with a long term illness or other difficulties during the course, “unless the illness or circumstances exacerbate what would otherwise be a minor issue at the time of the assessment”, will also apply to students struggling with long Covid.
It said that schools could apply for special consideration for a student who is “having repeated difficulty maintaining concentration during examinations” despite having “previously approved” adjustments, such as supervised rest breaks.
A JCQ spokesperson said a doctor’s note would not be needed to support the application as the fact that a student is struggling within an exam or over the course of a series would be “evident to the invigilation team”.
Long Covid symptoms include fatigue, post-exertion malaise, loss of smell, shortness of breath and difficulty concentrating, as well as gastrointestinal problems.
The severity of these symptoms and the number of symptoms that each person suffers from can vary.
Special considerations exist for exam candidates who have temporarily experienced illness, injury or some other event outside of their control at the time of the assessment.
They can be applied when “the issue or event has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on a candidate’s ability to take an assessment or demonstrate” their “normal level of attainment in an assessment”.
The JCQ has stressed that students with long Covid would only be eligible for special consideration status if previously approved access arrangements - as formulated and set out by the school’s Sendco - cannot alleviate the candidate’s emerging medical condition.
Access arrangements might include taking the exam in a different room, being able to take rest breaks, extra time or completing the examination from home.
A spokesperson for JCQ told Tes that it “appreciates” that some students sitting exams this summer “may, unfortunately, continue to suffer from long Covid” and that Sendco staff ”should determine appropriate and reasonable adjustments based on their knowledge of the candidate’s impairment, its effect upon teaching and learning, and the candidate’s normal way of working in timed assessments” in line with “any long-term medical condition”.
“Special consideration would only be relevant if the candidate’s condition worsened at the time of the examination(s), and/or the candidate’s condition manifests itself at the time of the examination and previously approved access arrangements cannot alleviate the candidate’s emerging medical condition,” the spokesperson said.
They added: “For example, despite having a prompter and/or supervised rest breaks, the candidate is having repeated difficulty maintaining concentration during examinations, which is evident to the invigilation team.
“Alternatively, the candidate is suffering more and more from fatigue as the examination series progresses. Under these circumstances, the centre would have sufficient evidence of the candidate’s difficulties to apply for special consideration, and a note from a GP would not be necessary.
“JCQ and the exam boards have sought to mitigate this by spacing exams at least 10 days apart, though do appreciate some cases require further support. This process has been put in place to help support students in the fairest, most effective way possible.”
The update highlighted guidance from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which says children with mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat or slight cough, can continue to attend their education setting, but that those who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people.
