Ms Celeste O'Callaghan:

The Department and the SEC work very closely together. We are in fairly ongoing contact on all manner of things relating to the State examinations but in a way that respects the distinction between the Department's role in policy and the SEC's role in terms of the operation of the scheme.

An array of accommodations is provided by the SEC and overall the set of accommodations available is very carefully worked out. The central tenet, and I will pass over to Ms Feeney later on this, is that students should be able to engage in the exams and demonstrate what they know so they are fully facilitated to do so. As Ms Feeney said in her opening statement, this should also be in a way that does not provide them with any advantage over a candidate with a different learning or physical difficulty or a candidate who does not have any difficulty. This overall approach to the accommodations needs to take account of ensuring it is a level playing field. What we seek to do is ensure a level playing field for all candidates. An individual intervention by the Department in one area without reference to the rest of the scheme, without very careful consideration or without particular expertise in the Department does risk unintended consequences. There could be unintended consequences with regard to fairness and integrity or a perception of these unintended consequences.