Introduction
Real Training’s Free Access Arrangements Update course – open to all qualified access arrangements professionals.
Each year, we release a FREE online Access Arrangements Update, which provides you with all the information you need to be fully up to date with the new Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) exam regulations and requirements for the upcoming academic year.
This course is free of charge, as part of our ongoing aim to keep access arrangements assessors fully up to date and confident in their practice.
To register, complete the form below – registration only requires your email address, name and your declaration that you are a qualified access arrangements assessor.
Register here for free
Registering now will give you access to our 2025/26 update course. We are currently working on our 2026/27 course, which is likely to be available by the end of September.
PLEASE NOTE: Once you click “Register now”, you will be sent an email confirmation.
Please DO NOT click “Register Now” again or refresh your browser. After clicking the link in the email, it can take a few minutes for our system to enrol you, so please only click this link ONCE, as clicking multiple times will result in duplicate bookings.
ℹ️ If you have previously signed up for a past AAU course, there is no need to sign up again: simply sign into your Campus Online account and the new AAU course release will be available for you.
If you have forgotten your password to Campus Online, please click here to reset it.
If after an hour you still have not received confirmation of enrolment, please get in touch using our contact form and one of our IT Support team will be happy to help.
The 2026/27 course structure
This 2026/27 course will comprise:
- An introduction
- Findings from 2025-2026 inspection
- Explanation of the March changes
- Answers to JCQ regulations questions submitted in advance of the course, in Q&A format
- Questions to test your knowledge of the Findings from Inspection and March changes
- Case Studies relating to the Form 8, Form 8 RF and Form 9
- Videos demonstrating the completion of:
- Form 8
- Form 8 Roll Forward
- Form 9
- Video review of five tests
- Test checklist – see how your portfolio scores!
Course details
How will you benefit?
Those registering for the free access arrangements update will:
- Gain 3 SASC-accredited CPD hours upon completion (provided all parts are completed)
- Be fully up to date with the new JCQ guidelines and requirements for the academic year
- Have access to a popular forum to ask questions of both peers and tutors about specific challenges
- Be able to work through the course in their own time, as it is fully online and set out in a series of strands
- Have access to a certificate of completion
How is the course delivered?
This update is delivered fully online, hosted on our bespoke virtual learning environment, Campus Online.
Are you eligible?
The first part of the course (presentation of the access arrangements updates) is open to anyone who has an interest in the updated legislation regarding exam access arrangements.
The rest of the activities are aimed at professionals holding a JCQ-approved level 7 access arrangements qualification. Only those holding such a qualification will be able to attain the SASC-accredited CPD hours. Please feel free to share this page with colleagues working in a similar role.
Please note that the Access Arrangements Update course is in no way a standalone qualification and does not in itself confer the right or ability to carry out access arrangements.
When will the new course be available?
We update our course annually once the new JCQ regulations have been released. We are expecting that our 2026/27 course will be available by the end of September.
Not currently qualified?
Real Training has helped more people to qualify as Access Arrangements Assessors than any other training provider. Our Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements (CPT3A) meets the JCQ criteria to allow you to become an Access Arrangements Assessor. CPT3A comprises two parts, the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) and the Access Arrangements Course (AAC). CPT3A is flexibly delivered with options to study either self-paced online, live online or blended.
Qualified but need additional support?
If you have completed and passed Real Training’s CCET or CPT3A and would benefit from additional support in your school or Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), one or more of your colleagues could be trained through the Access Arrangements Coordination Course (AA-Coord). This enables them to oversee the provision of access arrangements to eligible students, collate and complete paperwork and act as a point of contact for colleagues and parents.
Additionally, if sharing some of the responsibilities for testing your learners, outside of access arrangements, suits your requirements, you may wish to consider training one or more of your colleagues to be an Assistant Test User (ATU).
Please note that only Test Users (i.e. CCET and CPT3A) holders can administer assessments which are part of an access arrangements application.
“This update is the best yet! Very informative, very detailed with all the Q&A’s covered comprehensively. The format of case study, video and questions is very helpful with the examples and detail for completing the new forms.”
Jill
Module leaders
Module Leader
Sophia Butler read Experimental Psychology and then trained as a counsellor before moving into teaching. She is a specialist assessor, she works closely with the JCQ and she leads Real Training’s Access Arrangements Update which keeps assessors fully up to date with legislation each year.
Latest articles
Adopting a Trauma-Informed Approach: Key Takeaways
We take a look at how trauma impacts young people, run through some of the key things to remember about trauma-informed practice and wrap up with some advice for senior leaders as they embed a whole-school approach.
Maths Difficulties: Understanding Where the Problem Lies
We investigate the causes behind maths difficulties as well as social and psychological factors that can exacerbate the problem. Does our approach maths teaching need to change?
Adaptive Teaching: Understanding the Barriers and Enablers
We take a look at how to implement adaptive teaching and create a dynamic learning environment where every student can thrive.