Baseline Assessments & Access Arrangments

At Absolute Inclusion, assessment is never simply about producing a set of scores. It is about understanding the learner behind the data — identifying strengths, recognising barriers and using evidence to determine what will make a meaningful difference to access, engagement and progress.

We provide comprehensive baseline assessments, dyslexia screening and Access Arrangements assessments for schools, colleges, specialist provisions and other educational settings. Assessment can support early identification of need, inform intervention and teaching strategies, contribute to EHCP planning and review, and provide robust evidence when considering examination Access Arrangements.

The quality of an assessment depends not only on the tests used, but on the experience and professional judgement of the assessor. Our assessments are undertaken by an experienced SEND professional with extensive SENCO and senior leadership experience, alongside specialist qualifications in psychometric assessment and ETAAC. This combination allows assessment data to be interpreted within the wider context of how a learner functions in education. Data can show us what is happening; skilled observation and professional triangulation help us understand why.

Assessments are selected according to the learner’s age, presenting needs, educational history and the specific questions being explored. We do not apply the same battery to every learner; tests are carefully selected to build the clearest and most relevant profile.

• WRAT-5 – Wide Range Achievement Test
  Assessing key areas of academic attainment, including reading, spelling and mathematics.
• WIAT-III-T – Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
  Providing detailed information about literacy skills and academic attainment.
• Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement
  Assessing academic skills across reading, written language and mathematics, helping identify patterns of strengths and difficulties.
• WRIT – Wide Range Intelligence Test
  Supporting assessment of verbal and non-verbal cognitive ability.
• CTOPP-2 – Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing
  Exploring phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid symbolic naming.
• RAN/RAS – Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus Tests
  Exploring the speed of retrieval and naming of familiar visual information, an important area when considering dyslexic-type difficulties.
• TOMAL-2 – Test of Memory and Learning
  Providing information about verbal and non-verbal memory and patterns that may affect learning and classroom performance.
• DASH-2 – Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting
  Exploring handwriting speed and written output, particularly where timed written tasks present difficulty.
• SPaRCS – Speed of Processing and Reading Comprehension Speed
  Providing evidence relating to processing and reading comprehension speed.
• Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices
  A non-verbal assessment of reasoning and problem-solving, particularly useful where language or communication may influence performance.

Our dyslexia screening looks beyond reading and spelling scores alone. We consider the wider pattern of strengths and difficulties that may indicate dyslexic-type markers, including:

• phonological awareness;
• phonological memory;
• rapid naming;
• processing speed;
• working and short-term memory;
• reading accuracy and fluency;
• spelling; and
• written production.

No single score is interpreted in isolation. Assessment data is considered alongside educational history, classroom presentation, previous intervention and information from those who know the learner well. This creates a more meaningful picture of need than relying on a single screening score.

Our reports are designed to be practical working documents, not simply collections of test data. Alongside standardised scores, percentiles and factual assessment findings, reports include professional observations of how the learner approaches tasks, responds to challenge, manages cognitive load, sustains attention, processes instructions and uses strategies when difficulties arise.

Reports also provide practical recommendations and, where appropriate, identify opportunities to strengthen current educational practice. This may include:

• teaching and classroom strategies;
• Quality First Teaching approaches;
• targeted intervention;
• assistive technology;
• reasonable adjustments;
• changes to the presentation of information; and
• opportunities to strengthen the learner’s Normal Way of Working.

Assessment should lead to meaningful next steps for the learner, family and educational setting and should never take place in isolation. Wherever possible, findings are triangulated with evidence from the people and professionals involved in the learner’s education and support, including:

• school or college SENCOs;
• teachers and learning support staff;
• senior leaders;
• parents and carers;
• Local Authority teams and EHCP coordinators;
• Local Authority case workers;
• Speech and Language Therapists (SaLT);
• Occupational Therapists (OT);
• Educational Psychologists;
• social care professionals; and
• other members of the learner’s multidisciplinary team (MDT).

Bringing these perspectives together allows assessment findings to be considered alongside classroom performance, home experiences and wider professional evidence, helping distinguish an isolated test result from an established pattern of need.

Appropriate Access Arrangements should reflect a learner’s genuine needs and their established Normal Way of Working (NWOW). Absolute Inclusion therefore supports educational settings not only with individual assessments, but with the systems surrounding them. We help schools and colleges develop structured processes for identifying need, trialling adjustments and gathering meaningful evidence over time.

This can include:

• referral processes;
• teacher evidence;
• learner feedback;
• classroom observations;
• assessment evidence; and
• systems for recording adjustments routinely used in teaching and learning.

This creates a clear evidence base and helps ensure examination arrangements reflect established classroom practice.

Absolute Inclusion can design and implement bespoke Normal Way of Working systems that are practical, consistent and sustainable across departments and staff teams.

Support can include:

• reviewing current Access Arrangements and NWOW processes;
• developing referral and evidence-gathering systems;
• creating teacher and learner evidence tools;
• establishing screening and assessment pathways;
• reviewing existing documentation and practice;
• supporting SENCO and examinations teams;
• developing quality-assurance processes; and
• creating clearer oversight of learners who may require assessment.

Our aim is not to create unnecessary administration. It is to help settings collect the right evidence, at the right time, for the right reason.

We provide bespoke training for SENCOs, teachers, support staff, examinations teams and senior leaders. Training can cover Access Arrangements, identifying potential need, Normal Way of Working, evidence gathering, understanding assessment data and translating findings into classroom practice.

No two settings have the same learner population, staffing structure or priorities. Our packages are therefore built around the needs of the organisation and can include:

• individual baseline assessment;
• dyslexia screening;
• Access Arrangements assessment;
• whole-cohort screening;
• NWOW development;
• staff training;
• quality assurance;
• systems review; or
• a combination of services.

For larger schools, colleges, trusts and specialist provisions, we can combine assessment days, systems development and staff training to provide a service that is both responsive and cost-effective. Our focus is sustainability. Rather than simply assessing learners and leaving, we aim to strengthen the knowledge, systems and practice around them.

Ultimately, assessment should lead to action. By combining robust data, skilled professional observation, stakeholder triangulation and practical recommendations, we help settings understand not only where a learner is experiencing difficulty, but what can be changed to help them succeed.