Reasonable adjustment ideas finder

How do I use the adjustment ideas finder?

Choose the barriers the learner has described and the settings they learn in, then select Show ideas. You get a list for each barrier, grouped by setting, with a few questions to ask the learner. Then:

1. Read the ideas with the learner, or use them to prepare. Ask which sound useful, which they have tried before and what happened.
2. Choose a small number to try. Two or three well-delivered adjustments are better than ten that nobody remembers.
3. Make each one specific. “Instructions for practical tasks given in writing as well as verbally, on a laminated card at the workstation” is something a tutor can do. Add an owner and timing.
4. Write them into the plan with the support plan builder or the reasonable adjustments agreement template.
5. Review them. Ask the learner after a few weeks whether each one is helping, and keep, change or stop it.

Why does the tool start from barriers rather than diagnoses?

The duty to make reasonable adjustments in the Equality Act 2010 is about removing disadvantage. What matters is what gets in the way for this learner, in this setting. Two learners with the same diagnosis can need completely different support, and many learners who need adjustments have no formal diagnosis at all.

Starting from the barrier also keeps the conversation respectful. A learner may be comfortable saying “I lose track when instructions are only spoken” but not want a diagnosis written on every document. It produces adjustments that tutors can act on, rather than labels they have to interpret. The guide to neurodivergent learners in FE explores this approach further.

What about exams and formal assessments?

Exams are different. For qualifications covered by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), access arrangements must follow JCQ’s current Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments regulations and your exam centre’s own process. The centre decides, usually led by the person responsible for access arrangements (often the SENCo or equivalent) working with the exams officer. Arrangements generally need to reflect the learner’s normal way of working, and some need evidence gathered well before the exam.

So this tool does not suggest specific exam arrangements. When you choose the exams setting, it gives preparation steps and points you to your exams officer. For apprenticeship end-point assessment, the end-point assessment organisation decides reasonable adjustments under its own policy. See the guides on exam access arrangements and end-point assessment adjustments.

What about adjustments in the workplace?

For apprentices, adjustments often need to work across off-the-job training and the job itself. The employer has its own duties to disabled employees, and the provider and employer need to agree who does what. Share only what the employer needs to make workplace adjustments, with the apprentice’s agreement. Access to Work, run by the Department for Work and Pensions, may help with some costs. See working with employers on adjustments and Access to Work for apprentices.

What are the limits of this tool?

The ideas are general and not exhaustive. They are not clinical or specialist advice, they do not tell you whether an adjustment is “reasonable” in law, and they cannot account for health and safety requirements in your setting. For complex needs, involve specialist staff, such as a qualified specialist teacher, sensory support service or occupational health, and take advice where you need it. Your organisation remains responsible for deciding and delivering adjustments.

How does Inclusion Studio help with adjustments?

Inclusion Studio is learner support software in development for England FE colleges and apprenticeship providers. It is being built so agreed adjustments are recorded with an owner, delivery and missed support are logged, and employer contacts see only workplace adjustments. A clickable prototype with fictional learners exists today. See employer collaboration and delivery tracking.