Copying from the board, reproducing source material and completing many similar questions can consume most of a lesson without showing what a pupil understands. Reducing these demands can create time for the subject thinking that matters. It should not remove content, challenge or necessary practice.

Separate transcription from the objective

Ask whether pupils need to generate the information or merely copy it. If copying is not part of the learning, provide:

• printed or digital questions;

• an annotated slide or source extract;

• a partially completed table;

• the diagram or quotation to be analysed;

• headings for an extended response;

• a worked example that can remain visible.

Keep writing where writing itself is being taught or assessed. The aim is to remove avoidable transcription, not meaningful composition.

Choose work that samples the full learning

Mark a set of questions that covers the range of knowledge and difficulty. Include application and reasoning, not just the first or easiest items.

For a mathematics problem set, select examples from each method or level of demand. In science, provide the method and require the pupil to record results and interpret them. In humanities, provide the source text but retain the analysis. In an extended task, reduce repeated evidence rather than removing the overall argument.

Check that necessary practice remains

Repeated practice can support fluency and retention. Review whether the pupil is becoming secure. If more practice is needed, use a shorter, focused set or revisit the skill through spaced practice. Do not treat a reduced worksheet as a permanent substitute for teaching and rehearsal.

Make homework manageable

Select the questions that reinforce the central learning and state an expected duration. Avoid assigning all unfinished classwork automatically. If homework repeatedly takes far longer than expected, agree a reasonable stopping point and review the pattern with the pupil, home and the SENCo.

Review across subjects

Collect examples showing where copying or repeated output is consuming time. Check whether access improves when source material is provided or task quantity is better sampled. Persistent difficulties may also involve reading, writing, motor, attention or working-memory demands.

Classroom practice and examination arrangements

These adjustments support access to ordinary teaching. Formal examination access arrangements follow current JCQ requirements and must be based on the candidate’s needs, normal way of working and the required centre-based and assessment evidence. Subject teachers may be asked to provide observations or examples, but should not promise an arrangement.

Further reading

• Time limits and speed of working in assessments (Ofqual)

• Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments (JCQ)