If your child knows the work but seems to fall apart the moment a test or exam starts, you’re not alone – and you’re asking exactly the right question. Many parents don’t realise that struggling under assessment conditions is different from struggling with the actual content. That distinction is often the first clue to what kind of support your child might actually need.

Accommodations and concessions exist to give learners with genuine barriers to learning a fair shot at succeeding academically. But they solve two different problems – and it’s not always obvious which one applies to your child, or whether it’s really a tutor you need instead. Here’s how to start figuring that out.

What’s the Difference Between an Accommodation and a Concession?

This is worth getting right, because the two terms get used loosely but mean different things:

Accommodations change how your child engages with or writes an assessment – not what they’re being assessed on. Extra time, a reader, a scribe, rest breaks, enlarged print, being allowed to type instead of write: all of these adjust the conditions of the exam itself, while the actual content and standard your child is measured against stays the same.

Concessions change what your child is required to study or be assessed on in the first place. Being exempted from a First Additional Language, or granted an exemption from Mathematics and  Mathematical Literacy, are concessions – they alter the curriculum or subject requirements, not just the writing conditions.

Put simply: if the support changes how your child sits an exam, it’s an accommodation. If it changes what they’re required to take at all, it’s a concession.

Many learners only ever need accommodations. Some need a concession as well. It depends entirely on the nature of the barrier.

Signs Your Child Might Need Accommodations

A few patterns tend to point toward an accommodation – support that changes exam conditions, not subject requirements:

• They know the work at home but blank out in tests. If your child can explain a concept clearly the night before, but the mark doesn’t reflect that understanding, the gap may be in how the assessment is administered.
• They run out of time, every time. Not occasionally rushing the last question – consistently unable to finish, even on content they understand well.
• Reading or writing itself is the obstacle. If your child can discuss a topic fluently but struggles to get thoughts onto paper, or reading a question is where they stumble, a reader or scribe accommodation may be worth exploring.
• Focus, not knowledge, is the issue. Some learners – often those with ADHD or who are on the autism spectrum – know the content but lose the exam to distraction, hyperfocus, or difficulty pacing themselves.
• There’s a diagnosed or suspected physical or medical barrier. Vision, hearing, mobility, or a condition requiring breaks or medication during a long assessment.
• Anxiety takes over. Some learners have the knowledge and the skills, but the pressure of the assessment itself derails their performance.
• Spelling or handwriting quality is masking what they actually know. If untidy writing or spelling errors seem to be costing marks unrelated to the subject itself, that may be an accommodation issue.

Signs Your Child Might Need a Concession

Concessions are a different question entirely – this is about whether a specific subject or requirement is the barrier, not the exam conditions:

• A specific subject is consistently and disproportionately difficult, in a way that seems tied to a diagnosed difficulty rather than lack of effort or support – for example, a learner with dyscalculia struggling with Mathematics specifically, regardless of how much support is in place elsewhere.
• A language requirement is the primary obstacle, particularly where a First Additional Language is proving to be a barrier unrelated to overall academic ability.
• The issue persists despite accommodations already being in place. If your child already has extra time or a reader and a specific subject is still consistently out of reach, that may point toward a concession conversation rather than a further accommodation.

Is It a Tutor I Need, or Accommodations/Concessions?

This is the question we get asked most often, and it’s a genuinely important one to get right, because these solve different problems.

A tutor helps when the issue is understanding the content. If your child hasn’t fully grasped a topic, is behind on curriculum, or needs to build confidence and skill in a subject, tutoring is the right tool – and often makes a real, measurable difference to marks over a term.

Accommodations help when your child understands the content but can’t reliably demonstrate it under standard exam conditions – because of how they read, write, focus, or manage time. Concessions help when a specific subject or requirement itself is the barrier, regardless of how much support is given.

For some learners, it’s a combination of all three. A learner with dyscalculia, for example, might benefit from Maths tutoring, an accommodation like extra time, and ultimately a concession from the standard Mathematics requirement if the barrier persists. These aren’t competing solutions – they can work together.

If you’re not sure where your child’s situation falls, that uncertainty is itself worth raising with a professional, rather than trying to resolve it alone.

Does It Matter Which School or Exam Body My Child Is Under?

Yes – and this trips a lot of parents up. Accommodations and concessions aren’t governed by one single set of rules. Whether your child is in a CAPS (public school), IEB (private school), or Cambridge/international curriculum changes:

• Who assesses eligibility
• What documentation is required
• How the application is submitted
• How long it takes to get a decision

The good news is you don’t need to become an expert in all of this yourself. Your first move is simply to find out which body governs your child’s assessments. Your school will know – and take it from there.

For the full breakdown of every accommodation and concession type, plus the step-by-step process for each curriculum, see our Ultimate Guide to Concessions and Accommodations.

What Happens If I Think My Child Needs to Apply?

Broadly, the path looks like this regardless of curriculum, and regardless of whether you’re pursuing an accommodation, a concession, or both:

1. Start the conversation with your child’s school – their teacher, school counsellor, or head of phase can point you to the right internal process.
2. Get a professional assessment, usually from an educational psychologist, if the concern relates to a learning, emotional, or behavioural barrier. Physical or medical barriers usually require a medical report instead.
3. Submit the required documentation through your school or governing body, and allow time – this process is rarely instant.

This is a simplified overview on purpose. Every governing body has its own forms, timelines, and specific requirements, and getting those details right matters.

Once Support Is Approved – What Then?

If your child’s approved accommodation doesn’t require another person present – extra time, a separate venue, enlarged print – your school will generally implement this directly.

If your child is approved for an accommodation that requires a facilitator – a reader, scribe, prompter, or similar – the next step is finding the right person for the job. This matters more than it might seem: a facilitator isn’t just administrative support. Rather, they’re someone your child needs to feel comfortable and confident with in a high-pressure moment.

This is where BrightSparkz comes in. We’ve placed concession facilitators for learners for years, across CAPS, IEB, and tertiary institutions. Every facilitator we place is trained, vetted, and backed by a team – so if your regular facilitator can’t make an exam, you’re never left without support. Our experienced team has put together a blog on what facilitators want clients to know, if you’d like to learn more about the nitty-gritty. 

Not Sure Where You Stand? Start Here

If you’re still unsure whether your child needs an accommodation, a concession, a tutor, or a conversation with their school first. That’s completely normal – this isn’t always a clear-cut decision. It shouldn’t have to be one you figure out alone.

Get in touch with BrightSparkz Tutors and we’ll help you think through the right next step for your child.