Exam Survival Kit SEND Students

You know more than you think. Now let’s help you show it. 🎒

The Exam Survival Kit is a research-informed workbook for students with special educational needs: brilliant brains that learn differently. It covers revision methods proven to work, how to get the right access arrangements in place, exam technique, and calm strategies for exam day, with practical adaptations for dyslexia, ADHD, autism, DLD, dyspraxia and anxiety.

Exams can feel like they were designed for one type of brain. Students who learn differently often work twice as hard and still feel their results don’t show what they know. The barrier is usually not knowledge, but reading, writing, processing speed, attention, memory or anxiety under timed conditions. This kit tackles each of those.

WHAT’S INSIDE (64 pages, 8 sections)

🧠 1. How I Learn Best – How My Brain Learns, What Works for Me in Class, My Mock Exam Review, My Exam Strengths, My Exam Goals

🔁 2. Revision That Works – The Science of Revision, Retrieval Practice, Spaced Practice, Interleaving, Dual Coding, Ask Why and How, The Blurt Sheet, Revision Tips for Different Brains

🗓️ 3. Planning My Revision – My Exam Timetable, RAG My Topics, My Weekly Revision Planner, Session Builder, My Revision Space, Countdown Planner

🗝️ 4. Access Arrangements – What Are Access Arrangements?, The Arrangements Menu, Normal Way of Working, Talking to My SENCo (timeline and script), Using My Arrangements Well, For Parents: Checking It’s Sorted

🎯 5. Exam Technique – Command Words Decoder, BUG the Question, My Time Plan, Planning Longer Answers, Check It!

😌 6. Exam-Day Calm – Butterflies Are Energy, Write Your Worries Out, Calm Your Body, The Night Before, My Exam Morning Plan, In the Exam Room, After the Exam

💛 7. Looking After Me – Sleep: Your Memory Booster, Fuel & Move, Balance Planner, Results Day Plan, Looking Back

🧰 8. The Toolkit – flashcard templates, Past Paper Tracker, cut-out Calm Cards and a one-page My Exam-Day Card to print again and again

Plus a My Exam Snapshot starting point, a For Parents, Carers & Teachers page, a Where to Get Help page and a full reference list.

WHY STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS VALUE IT

✔ Explains access arrangements in plain English: extra time, a reader, a computer, rest breaks, a smaller room, and how to ask for them
✔ Helps students record their normal way of working, the evidence a SENCo needs to apply
✔ Revision methods drawn from cognitive psychology research, with sources listed
✔ Adapted for different needs, with tips for dyslexia, ADHD, autism, DLD, dyspraxia and anxiety
✔ Practical tools for panic and blank moments, including silent ones to use in the exam room
✔ “Share it” pages for the SENCo, teachers and family
✔ Fill it in on screen or print it out, and reprint planners and flashcards as often as you like

PERFECT FOR

• Students in KS3, KS4 and KS5 (Years 7–13) with SEN, with or without a diagnosis

• GCSE and A level students, and anyone preparing for mocks

• Parents and carers who want to check exam support is in place

• SENCos, exams officers, teachers, tutors and teaching assistants

WHAT YOU GET

• 1 fillable PDF file, 64 pages, A4

• Instant digital download, so no physical item will be posted

PLEASE NOTE

This kit is written for the UK exam system. Access arrangements for GCSEs and A levels are set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and the rules are updated every year, so always check the latest JCQ guidance and speak to your school’s SENCo or exams officer about individual students. This workbook is a guide, not professional or legal advice.

© 2026 The SEN Advocate. For personal and educational use only. Not for resale or redistribution.