AIBU to be fucking fuming at DS's school

[Steggers123]

Fuck, fuck fuck! I probably should put this on the SEN board but posting here for traffic. I have posted before regarding issues with my son and school but they've really excelled themselves this time. He is in year 11 and has dyspraxia and Hypermobility in all his joints. His handwriting is illegible and he has permission from the exam board to use a laptop for all his exams, he also has extra time. When he sat his first set of mocks learning support failed to print off his chemistry paper, and only printed off half his physics paper. So he failed chemistry and got a D in physics. He's a very bright boy and is sitting triple science. Learning support also told him they couldn't find his second physics ISA paper, it was on the system somewhere but they didn't know where and they very helpfully deleted his high level geography controlled assessment (eventually recovered from the recycle bin). I had numerous meetings in school with the head of SEN and the exams office and was assured this would not happen again. Today he got his GCSE timetable and on comparing it to his friends it looks like they haven't entered him for triple science, there are no unit 3 science exams on his timetable at all. So effectively he's being penalised for learning support's incompetence. I've phoned school and Head of Science is off site.

You do with some exam boards, but it's decided by the school. You need to notify the exam board you're using them but don't need to attach evidence. You just need to keep it on file in case they ask to see it.

He has permission from the exam board to use a laptop for all his subjects and he also gets extra time. With maths it is more tricky to use a laptop and he has always had a scribe so he's used to that way of working in exams. The irony is learning support have strongly recommended he goes to sixth form there as they all know him so well...I don't think so!

Does he use a laptop or a scribe in class for maths ? As it does need to be his 'normal way of working' and the school need to be able to provide evidence of this to the board if requested. So it would need to be kept on file that that he normally uses this access arrangement.

Many of our students who do use laptops or scribes don't use them for maths exams as it's really tricky to type out equations/charts/workings out. Likewise with scribes, it is hard to explain to them how to set the work out as you want it without it being labouriously slow. Unless he could maybe write the numbers/equations and just use the scribe for longer written parts.
Though as it has to be his normal way of working, I'm sure he's used to however he uses the scribe/laptop in lessons. It takes quite some practice to use either for a subject like maths. Good luck to him.

Cross posts. Same point though. If he's used to using a scribe in maths and does so as his normal way of working then it shouldn't be a problem.

Bloody hell OP - this is just awful!

Thank God he has you fighting on his behalf every step of the way.

My dd is year 10, dyslexic and can use a laptop and have extra time. I think I will be discussing the saving and printing off of exam scripts with Learning Support at the earliest opportunity based on your experience

...and so the saga goes on. After winning the battle to get him reinstated on triple science, he got a new personalised exam timetable so it's there in black and white, he sat his biology unit 2 paper this morning and when it came to them handing out the unit 3 papers my DS was told he hadn't been entered. He showed the invigilator his timetable and was told 'you're not on the list, but sit the paper and ask questions later'. I have called school and am awaiting a call back from the exams officer, been waiting a couple of hours now so I've emailed the head of science. Please keep your fingers crossed it's an admin error and they have actually entered him.

Steggers the incompetence you're dealing with at the school is staggering. I do hope everything works out in the end and you don't go to grey in the process. Have you identified better 6th forms for him?

Steggers was wondering how your DS did in the end?

I wonder if there is a right to sit those exams off site just like a home educated student? In other words you enter him directly with the board or a local tuition college does so for you if the school will not enter him..

Sorry, zombie thread I know, but just wanted to correct this. You cannot enter direct with the exam boards if you're a home-educated student. Exam boards will not accept any entries direct from candidates/parents under any circumstances. You can only enter GCSEs and IGCSEs via an exam centre. This can be a school or a tutorial college.