Guide

SEN Support for Dyslexia: EHCPs and Access Arrangements

The vocabulary is different in the UK — SEN Support, EHCPs, access arrangements instead of IEPs and 504 plans — but the underlying rights exist, and dyslexic pupils are entitled to real support. Here is what the terms mean in plain words.

SEN Support and EHCPs, in Plain Words

Most dyslexic pupils are supported through SEN Support, arranged by the school’s SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) without needing a formal assessment from the local authority. A smaller number of pupils, whose needs are more complex, have an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) — a legal document setting out the support the local authority must provide. Start with the school SENCO either way: they are the quickest route to what is actually available.

Exam Access Arrangements

For GCSEs and A-levels, exam boards allow access arrangements such as extra time, a reader, a scribe, or coloured paper, agreed with the school in advance. One honest point worth knowing early: exam boards do not allow a prepared concept map or notes into the exam room, however it was made — access arrangements change how a pupil takes the exam, not what they bring into it. That is exactly why revision work — building and listening to maps well before the exam — matters more than anything you could carry in on the day.

What to Use at Home Between Now and Exam Season

• Text-to-speech, so revision does not stall on decoding;
• Concept maps for each topic, built and listened to well ahead of the exam;
• Coloured overlays, which some pupils find helps reduce visual stress on the page.

Studying under a US system instead? See our guide to IEP and 504 plan accommodations — the terms differ, but the ideas carry over.

Start Revising, Free

Paste a text, get its map, and listen to the voice explain it box by box. Print the card or save it as a PDF with one tap. Free, no account.