Co-Module Leader – Access Arrangements Course, Private DSA Assessor
After a degree in Experimental Psychology at Oxford, Sophia trained and worked as a Gestalt Counsellor and Dance Movement Therapist. She then moved into education, starting as a Teaching Assistant, then training as a Specialist Teacher with our sister company, Dyslexia Action. She qualified as an Assessor and has worked in a variety of settings both state and private, from Primary to FE Colleges.
Sophia is Module Leader for our new Access Arrangements Coordination course (AACoord) and is Co-Module Lead for our SASC-accredited Access Arrangements Course (AAC) and annual Access Arrangements Update (AAU) course. Due to this, she is very involved with the JCQ Review process. Sophia has a busy private practice carrying out diagnostic reports and is also the appointed exam access assessor and diagnostic assessor for a variety of schools.
Sophia has written articles for The Dyslexia Review on Access Arrangements and Remote Assessment. She has given lectures on statistics in assessments to local Patoss groups and at the 2015 ADSHE Conference. Sophia is also a tutor on our Dyslexia Professional Report Writing Course, the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing and our Access Arrangements course. She is often called on for guidance on APC report writing.
Her latest venture, with Anna Smith and Louise van der Valk, is a soon-to-be published psychometric test of Rapid Information Processing (which will be available from the Dyslexia Action shop).
Sophia was made a fellow of The Dyslexia Guild in 2019. Her qualifications and memberships include BA (Oxon), MA (Oxon), PG Cert Counselling, PG Cert DMT, PGDip Dyslexia & Literacy, APS, APC, AMBDA, FDG.
A short Q&A with Sophia
Q: Why study Access Arrangements?
The AACoord offers an opportunity for HLTAs, TAs, and administrators supporting SENCos to train to take over the responsibility of Access Arrangements It takes delegates through what to do before, during and after the process of applying for Exam Access Arrangements in support of the SENCo or Access Arrangements Assessor.
The AAC can be taken either as a one day intensive course, delivered live online or via self-paced online study, which provides maximum flexibility. It teaches not just the JCQ regulations, Equality Act and administration relevant to exam access covered, but also how to administer tests. It qualifies those completing the course, after the CCET, with CPT3A.
Q: What can someone who has taken this course offer?
The AACoord gives delegates the confidence and competence in working as an Access Arrangement Coordinator.
With the CPT3A delegates may test candidates for access arrangements and become a centre’s appointed assessor.
Q: How does the Real Training learning experience differ?
AACoord – The student experience on these modules is second to none. It shows that you can develop practical skills by distance learning. It’s not just about book learning and doing exercises online which is tremendously empowering for students. It requires not just familiarity with the forms, regulations and Equality Act but also for you to engage with your SENCo and students as you learn.
AAC – Everyone has a personal tutor on hand with a wealth of experience. The tutor feedback rating we have is almost uniformly excellent. Tutors are quick to mark and to answer queries. A vibrant online community is encouraged enabling delegates to engage with discussions and share experience. Whether you have trained “in person” or online, the teaching videos, test reviews and templates are there to refer back to and the follow-up free AA Update course is unique to Real Training.