to expect school to provide special exam arrangements?

[SomethingNarstyInTheWoodshed]

DD is 15. AS. Doing mock GCSEs in mainstrwam comprehensive.

School assesed her and offered a small room (no way she'd cope with hundreds of people and the noise in a gym) and a prompt (just to tap her on the shoulder to keep her focussed).

Without these there is not much chance of her coping with the extra stress of exam conditions.

5 exams into the mocks and the ptompt has not materialised.

I phoned yesterday and someone said they'd check and make sure it didn't happen today.

DD just texted me and spent her English exam watching people play tennis.

I am cross. Very very cross.

I sympathise. Where in the country are you? In our school, pupils entitled to exam concessions often do not get them during mocks because the support staff who provide them would be fulfilling their usual duties, and these are often deemed to be more important than supporting pupils for mock exams. If the mocks are held at the same time as the real ones, it would be impossible to provide support as the staff would be providing it in the real exams, though I doubt this is the case here as I think the exam season is over now.

I can see that it must be frustrating as your child is not having the experience they will get next year, but I know that the argument from the school would be that it is not fair to take X TA away from the child they support in lessons for something that is 'only' a mock.

What is the answer? I don't know. More money and more support staff, I suppose...

'only a mock' will determine whether she does the full GCSE next year or has to do Btech or foundation rather than higher papers. Or does them at all. If she fails the mocks she won't be given the chance to do the real ones.

And if there isn't going to be support available why bother offering it?

And it has taken such an effort to actually get her this far, for them to suddenly change what has been planned for is like taking 17 steps back.

Go to the school and remind them that they have a duty to provide what they have stated, when they have stated it, under the DDA. I find that usually gives them a kick up the arse.

I'd write to them tbh. This is very poor.

I would be kicking up a stink.

if she is in need of the support, she is in need of the support. if the school has offered it, they need to provide it.

aside from the pass/fail issue of mocks, and further exam entry, what good is having completely different conditions in the 'real'exams than in the mocks? 'mock' exams are supposed to be that - a chance for pupils ot settle down, try out the exam, see what they cope with/need to work on. this includes the conditions in the room/timings/set up and a whole host of other things.

the other pupils are getting their proper practice run, why isn't your dd?

YANBU
My DD1 gets extra time in external exams, but has been seriously disadvantaged by internal setting exams taking the form of past controled assessments being squashed into an ordinary lesson.

My school had proper exam weeks when everyone Y7-Y10 did exams and with everyone off time table finding a room for peple with adittional needs would be far easier.

Btech is equivalent to GCSE I thought just more vocational (sorry just pondering)

Of course she should be getting support that is so poor, have they given a reason for this? How was she assessed? What was the conclusion? new law in January makes this clear that all children should have access to education. If not apply for her to do them at home.