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Original poster

Scribe for GSCE exams - any experience please?

34 replies

bindibahji · 07/09/2011 16:34

Child has sld Iincluding severe handwriting problems and is sitting his first 2 gcses this school year.
School are aware of his dyslexia problems etc but as he is very bright, they have put him down for the academic route, 11 gcses. in total including things like history which involve a LOT of writing. None of which he is likely to pass if no-one can read his writing or decipher his spelling.
School have said ''oh yes'' to my bleating on about getting him a scribe but whose decision is it? WHo do I nag (AND I HAVE LEARNED ENOUGH TO KNOW i must NAG...;) )
If the worst came to the worst, could I offer to pay for it myself?

Any experience or advice please?

OP posts:
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beatenbyayellowteacup · 11/09/2011 14:04

Ah. Sorry must have missed bits Blush

Should be eligible for a scribe then!

Original poster
bindibahji · 11/09/2011 12:33

beaten, it's not just the handwriting, it's the spelling - he is dyslexic, his handwriting is illegible and the spelling is not phonetic even, it is totally bizarre and he misses out half the word. He cannot even read his owen writing 10 minutes after he has written it, neighter can anyone else.

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Talker2010 · 10/09/2011 20:05

My daughter had a scribe for one GCSE ... she has a nerve in her hand that spasms ... we only discovered this during exams at the end of Y10 so she had a scribe for her early entry English in November

She could not cope with telling the scribe what to write as the thinking process for talking is, of course, different from the thinking process for writing

So she then went without and (luckily) all was ok

I think that the key is practice ... they practice answering questions but not answering them verbally at school

You either need a medical note or a submission from the SEN team at school ... it is not about paying it is about exam boards deciding yea or ney based on one of these

PonceyMcPonce · 10/09/2011 20:01

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PonceyMcPonce · 10/09/2011 20:01

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beatenbyayellowteacup · 10/09/2011 19:58

TBH if it's just handwriting that's the problem, he won't get a scribe, but he will most likely get a typewriter (with no spell check etc).

Talk to the SENCO. Shouldn't be a big problem.

Original poster
bindibahji · 08/09/2011 17:14

Thanks all , as Rosie says, been some great advice here.

Rosies, I have to type as to be honest, my handwriting is pretty crap too and slooooooow ;)

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RoseC · 08/09/2011 15:21

You've received some very solid advice here. I would recommend speaking to the SENCO and trying to arrange a meeting with the Exams Officer before they get too bogged down organising January exams (I've worked as an invigilator for five years and honestly think Exams Officer is the worst job in school at the moment - ours is excellent and only manages 4-5hrs sleep a night during the summer exam season).

The one thing you might like to start practising with your DS is punctuation. Particularly in English exams students are expected to punctuate papers, e.g. "school, full stop. Capital letter, we...". In practice most scribes add punctuation anyway but he may get a new scribe or one who's a stickler for rules (I don't know much about specific SENs - if he has a problem identifying when to use punctuation due to his SEN there may be nothing to worry about - I don't know if they bend the rule in these circumstances).

IME scribes write, rather than type, papers so he may also have to learn to wait for handwriting to catch up (especially if your school says they have a lack of computers - ours has enough and scribes still handwrite). Is there a method of notetaking that he can read and understand, e.g. once he's worked out his answer could he perhaps colour-code bits of scrap paper/draw something to prompt his memory if the scribe is taking a while to write and he has the answer already worked out? I have a laptop and don't write in my exams and always ask for scrap paper to jot things down - you're entitled to it.

At our school the SENCO/Exams Officer work closely together and the student is either paired with a TA that they've worked with all year or with the same scribe (invigilator-on-scribe-duty) for the whole season. It would be worth checking whether there'll be any continuity for him as it can help students to relax.

Original poster
bindibahji · 07/09/2011 19:53

well, he has been 'writing' essays and homework like this for the past two years, so I guess he is getting used to the scribe concept. He generally has a 15 minute panic and tears some time thinking about what he is going to say, followed by sitting down and just splurgng his knowledge at me, so fast I can barely keep up typing ;)
Transcription - his writing and spelling is so poor he cannot read it back, let alone anyone else.

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BestisWest · 07/09/2011 18:43

Thanks for starting this. I think DS (also 13) will need a scribe too. No experience but the SENCO tried to put us off when I asked about it last year saying that it required them to think in a different way when answering questions as they had to stop and start.

DD did her GCSEs and A Levels on a laptop with extra time but certainly no spell checker. She applied for DSA for Uni and they have fallen over themselves to help her (a huge box of stuff arrived the other day with laptop, printer, dictaphone, loads of software including Dragon etc). It's almost like a reward for getting to uni - it's a pity they make it so difficult to get help at primary and secondary level - we really had to keep on top of it all they way through.

PonceyMcPonce · 07/09/2011 18:36

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hellhasnofury · 07/09/2011 18:34

It's worth asking if he qualifies for extra time too. DS did as his writing speed was below a certain speed.

hellhasnofury · 07/09/2011 18:32

DS didn't use a scribe, as someone else said it can really disjoint their train of thought but he did have his work transcribed. Both his own work and the transcribed copies were submitted for marking.

Original poster
bindibahji · 07/09/2011 18:30

we bought him a lap top for homework but as we are not wealthy and really could not afford to replace, and his school is quite a challenging environment Wink sometimes, there is no WAY he could take it on the bus, 4 miles every day in tact I'm afraid.

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oldmum42 · 07/09/2011 18:25

Self teaching typing programs are available to download for free/almost free on the net, it's well worth making him do this - 15 mins a day would make a huge difference in a few months. Facebooking friends has also greatly improved my DS2 typing speed!

My ds brought his own laptop to school (one of those really cheap "eee", ones, they are only a couple of hundred but do everything they need for school). the school never objected to it though he was supposed to use the schools "alphasmart" ones, which he hated.

In fact, DS1 used a laptop during his final year (just because he wanted to), and the school had no problem with that.... it's just, the more typing your DS does, the better he will get.

I am amazed no spellchecker allowed for Dyslexics in England????

Original poster
bindibahji · 07/09/2011 18:15

yup, that is what happens npw Poncy - for some subjects, he does homework on a wiki-page and there is no spell check so it is gobbledegook :)
On the other hand, spell check throws up some howlers as he doesn't always realise the word has been changed to something else...

no easy answer!

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Original poster
bindibahji · 07/09/2011 18:13

poncy thank you so much for that document, it is really helpful :)

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Abgirl · 07/09/2011 17:51

Yes you are right poncey!

PonceyMcPonce · 07/09/2011 17:45

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Abgirl · 07/09/2011 17:42

Yes, I was right, see section 2.8 of the document Poncey attached above.

Bindi never hurts to be a bit pushy where special arrangements are concernedWink

PonceyMcPonce · 07/09/2011 17:41

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Original poster
bindibahji · 07/09/2011 17:41

oldmum, i have of course thought of the future (and panicked!) and he does do a lot on computer at home. but it is not a wealthy school and his problems are ''not as severe as some kids'' so he can't have access to a computer during lessons.
But other kids are not doing bloody 11 gcseS! They are doing Btecs which relies more on continuous assessment.
The school says intellectually he is capable of getting many As. But they don't seem to have thought that this is only going to happen if he can get it down on paper.
It is also the school's policy to make the Yr 9s do some gcses early. Which is fine, but means he has less time to learn to type sufficiently well to do exams on a computer. Right now, he can only pick and peck with two fingers.

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Abgirl · 07/09/2011 17:37

If using a computer is the student's normal way of working they can have a special arrangement put in place to allow this during the exam. Pretty sure no special tests required - will check though.

I work for an awarding body and this was a new provision in the JCQ regulations last year.

Original poster
bindibahji · 07/09/2011 17:36

thanks so much for responses.
Mercifully, he cant read fine. One less thing to worry about.

Do I have to rely on the school to arrange it all? Or am I allowed to chivvy them along nag

At present, he is allowed to type homework and I am allowed to 'scribe' longer peices of work for homework as his typing is still bloody slow. he is 13.5.
It is really hard, but he ie getting used to me saying: ''I can't help you, this must be your words'' :) last term we were promised netbooks for him to work on in class but surpsie, surprise, they haven't ever materialised.

I am getting worried that the school haven't arranged any assessment for this yet, despite the fact that every fricking new teacher he gets rings me up and says: ''ooh, handwriting is a big problem innit, I can't read it...''
And i have to bite my tongue and say: ''I had noticed. We have tried everything.''

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oldmum42 · 07/09/2011 17:33

Have read some of the other replies - we are in Scotland and obviously different here, they are trialing exams done on computer for EVERY student (no spell checker), so schools can ask for computer exams for anyone they feel would benefit, but spell checker can be used by people with SLD, at the request of the school.