Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the shortage of ADHD medication on students during the upcoming exam season; and whether her Department has had discussions with (a) examination boards and (b) schools on mitigation measures.

The department is aware of the current difficulties some students are facing in obtaining medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The department has not held discussions with examination boards specific to this.

There are established arrangements in place that schools and colleges will be familiar with, which should be used to arrange any reasonable adjustments or access arrangements for students with disabilities.

The Equality Act 2010 requires examination boards to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. Reasonable adjustments are changes made to exams or assessments, or to the way they are conducted, to mitigate the risk that a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. They are needed because some disabilities can make it harder for students to show what they know, understand and can do in an assessment, than it would be had the student not been disabled. The exam or assessment must still test the same knowledge, skills and understanding for that qualification.

If a student’s need has changed or they need a reasonable adjustment that has not been applied for, the school or college should contact the relevant awarding organisation as soon as possible.