Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support pupils undertaking exams when experiencing (a) health issues and (b) bereavement.

There are existing arrangements in place to support students who may experience disruption at the time of their exams and assessments known as special consideration.

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness, injury, or other event outside of their control, including bereavement, at the time of the examination or assessment which significantly affects their ability to either take an assessment or fully demonstrate what they can do within it.

Students must have been fully prepared for the assessment and have covered the whole course to be eligible for special consideration.

More information about special consideration and the eligibility criteria can be found here: https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/JCQ-A-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-24-25_FINAL_accessible.pdf.