25% Extra Time vs Word Processor: JCQ Rules

25% extra time and a word processor are two separate access arrangements, and qualifying for one does not mean qualifying for the other. Under the JCQ rules, 25% extra time needs an online application to the awarding body backed by evidence of need: for a pupil with learning difficulties, that usually means a qualified assessor's standardised scores showing below average performance in two different areas of speed of working, plus evidence that extra time is the pupil's normal way of working. A standard word processor, with the spelling and grammar check and predictive text switched off, is decided by the centre itself, based on the pupil's needs and their normal way of working. A pupil can have both when each is justified on its own terms, and being a slow or fast typist does not, by itself, decide either.

This article is general information for SENCOs, exams officers and parents, not advice on any individual pupil. JCQ usually revises its rules every year; it has said that the 2025/26 Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments (AARA), as updated in March 2026, continues to apply in 2026/27. Always check the current JCQ access arrangements regulations and guidance and the forms for the year in question before acting on anything here.

What is the difference between 25% extra time and a word processor?

Access arrangements are agreed before an assessment so that a candidate with a disability, learning difficulty or other need can show what they know without changing what is being assessed. The AARA sets out the rules for GCSE and A level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the two arrangements in this article solve different problems. Extra time addresses speed of working: a pupil whose processing, reading or writing speed is substantially slower, so the standard time does not let them show their knowledge. A word processor addresses the method of writing: a pupil for whom handwriting is a barrier, because it is slow, painful or hard to read, or because of a medical condition, a physical or sensory impairment, or planning and organisational difficulties when writing by hand.

	25% extra time	Word processor (spell check off)
Who decides	The centre applies online; the awarding body decides	Delegated to the centre (no awarding body application)
Main evidence	Evidence of need (for example Form 8 or Form 9) plus evidence of normal way of working	Evidence of need and normal way of working, kept by the centre
Standardised scores	Required on the Form 8 route for learning difficulties	Not required for the standard arrangement
Key condition	Extra time is how the pupil normally works in timed tasks	Typing is how the pupil normally works in the centre

What evidence does 25% extra time need?

For candidates with learning difficulties who do not have an EHCP, JCQ's Form 8 and its overview of evidence requirements set out the following:

At least two below average standardised scores of 84 or less, or one below average score (84 or less) and one low average score (85 to 89). Two low average scores on their own are not enough.
The scores must relate to two different areas of speed of working, such as reading speed, writing speed or cognitive processing measures.
The assessment is carried out by an assessor who meets JCQ's requirements, after the SENCO has completed the centre's part of the form describing the pupil's difficulties. The assessor's report informs the application; it is not a decision in itself.
The centre must also show that extra time is the pupil's normal way of working. Since September 2025 that has meant keeping a small sample of internal tests or mock papers across relevant subjects showing how the extra time was used (for example a change of pen colour or font when it starts) and comments from subject staff on why it is needed and how it is used.

Pupils with an EHCP, or with a substantial and long-term impairment other than a learning difficulty, follow a different route using Form 9, on which the SENCO sets out the evidence of need and normal way of working. JCQ's March 2026 changes to the AARA softened one point here: where a pupil's impairment is not a learning difficulty, the SENCO should consider supervised rest breaks before applying for 25% extra time, rather than having to trial and exhaust them first. Either way, the centre applies online to the awarding body.

How is a word processor decided?

Our guide to using a word processor in GCSE and A level exams covers this in detail. In short, the centre may allow a word processor, with spelling and grammar check and predictive text switched off, where it is the pupil's normal way of working in the centre and reflects a genuine need. It is not granted simply because a pupil prefers to type, types faster than they write or uses a laptop at home. No standardised scores or awarding body application are needed for this standard arrangement, but the centre must be able to show both the need and the normal way of working.

A word processor with spell check, grammar check or predictive text switched on is different. JCQ treats it as an alternative to a scribe, so the pupil must meet the scribe criteria and the centre must apply to the awarding body, and the pupil then has no access to the marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Keeping clear records of how a pupil works on a keyboard across the year makes both routes easier; our guide to keeping normal way of working evidence for typing includes a termly log.

Can a pupil have both extra time and a word processor?

Yes, when the pupil meets the criteria for each one separately. A pupil might have very slow handwriting that makes a word processor appropriate and, separately, below average processing and reading speed that meets the evidence threshold for 25% extra time. The two arrangements are evidenced independently, the word processor through the centre's own records and extra time through the awarding body application, and having one creates no entitlement to the other.

In practice the SENCO gathers the evidence and makes applications, teachers supply normal way of working evidence from lessons and mocks, and the exams officer delivers the arrangements on the day. Parents can share information, such as reports from private assessments, but a private report does not by itself secure an arrangement. On the Form 8 route, the SENCO must complete the centre's section and give it to the assessor before the pupil is assessed, so an assessment arranged without the centre may not be usable. Speak to the SENCO early.

Where does typing fluency fit in?

Typing speed matters most for the word processor arrangement, not for extra time. A word processor only helps if the pupil can type fluently enough for the keyboard to save effort rather than add it, and a pupil who still searches for every key may end up no better off than with a pen.

Some assessors use timed typing tasks as part of a standardised assessment. GL Assessment, for example, describes its Exact tests as including handwriting and typing to dictation, which can help show whether a pupil might benefit from a word processor. That is an assessor's tool used within the JCQ process. An informal online typing test is different: it can show a pupil and their family how practice is going, but it is not a standardised assessment and does not count as evidence for access arrangements.

Two misunderstandings follow from this. Slow typing does not qualify a pupil for extra time; the answer to slow typing is usually practice. And fast typing does not qualify a pupil for a word processor, because being quicker on the keyboard is not, on its own, a reason to grant one.

For pupils who will type in exams, starting touch typing practice in Year 9 or early Year 10 leaves time to build fluency and make the laptop their genuine normal way of working. If a pupil has dyslexia or dyspraxia, our guide to touch typing for dyslexia and dyspraxia covers how to adapt practice. In Scotland, National 5 and Higher exams follow Qualifications Scotland's own assessment arrangements, so the JCQ rules described here do not apply there.

Where Kluppy fits

Kluppy is one option for building typing fluency; it plays no part in access arrangements and is not affiliated with JCQ or any awarding body. The typing test is free and needs no sign-up, which is useful for tracking progress informally. A free account includes the finger-placement level plus levels 1 to 7 of the typing course, with no card required, and it runs in the browser on computers and Chromebooks with nothing to install and no ads. For schools, a teacher panel gives per-pupil reports on speed, accuracy and practice time, and classes can be imported from Google Classroom or Microsoft 365 Education; UK prices are on our pricing page. These reports are for teaching and practice only; they are not evidence for JCQ access arrangements.

Frequently asked questions

What are the criteria for 25% extra time?

For pupils with learning difficulties on the Form 8 route, JCQ asks for at least two below average standardised scores (84 or less), or one below average and one low average score (85 to 89), in two different areas of speed of working, plus evidence that extra time is the pupil's normal way of working. Other routes apply for pupils with an EHCP or other impairments, so check the current JCQ regulations.

Does a word processor need an application to the awarding body?

Not the standard arrangement with spelling and grammar check and predictive text switched off; JCQ delegates that to the centre. A word processor with spell check or predictive text switched on is an alternative to a scribe and does need an application.

Does using a word processor mean a pupil gets extra time?

No. The two arrangements are separate. Extra time needs its own evidence and its own application, whatever device the pupil writes with.

Can a typing test score support an application?

Only standardised assessments carried out by a qualified assessor within the JCQ process count. A general online typing test, including Kluppy's, is a practice tool, not access arrangements evidence.