To let ds not revise despite gcse exams after holidays?

[gcsehell]

DS missed his mock GCSEs as he had to isolate. He did not have yr 10 exams so has not done any exams since SATS, when he scored very highly so has high GCSE targets, but is not on track for them. He needs 7s for 6th form.

Was hoping he would do some revision this holiday as he has a full week of exams the week they return to school. However he has retreated under the bed covers with headphones on and wont speak. It feels like he is having breakdown so I dont think I can force him although he will be distraught if he doesnt his get 6th form place as he wont consider a back up plan.

He is likely ASD/ADHD and doesnt cope with change or stress and has convinced himself he will fail so there is no point trying. However he often gets 7s and 8s in class tests without revision so he likely could get 7s with just a little revision as he has incredible memory and knows a huge amount considering. I have explained that we will be proud if he revises even if he doesnt get the grades and if he doesnt revise he may regret it later. If his mind worked like his siblings I would think he were capable of making this decision but he doesnt seem to understand consequences.

He knows I will sit with him if needed or print past papers for him to try and have paid for premium seneca and lots of revision books so he has options and unlimited support if wanted

Any suggestions as I know he will be so upset on results day?

It's a pity nobody got him to do the mocks - even if he missed out on the "exam room" experience, it would have given him any necessary wake-up call.

I've no great ideas, I'm afraid. DD was like that in the first lockdown. We did eventually get her doing some subjects by saying she could ignore others. However that was with specific tasks being set; it's more difficult if he's got to decide for himself what to do.

Would he be staying at the same school for sixth form? If so, I think you need to talk to him about his mental health, and establish whether they will let him stay even if he doesn't quite get the grades. If they know him, and know that he's capable, hopefully they will give him that chance.

(I'd be inclined to not tell him, though - a day or so of knowing he's missed the grades before being told "it's okay, they say they'll make an exception" might provide the wake-up call before it gets to A-levels, which will matter rather more.)

When it comes down to it, the main thing he needs the GCSEs for is to get on to the next stage. Whilst for some courses the universities will look at GCSE scores, they will be rather more interested in A-level predicted grades. So while I'm sure you'd prefer him to achieve his potential, it's not the end of the world if he doesn't, and mental health is more important.

See if you can get him out from under the bedcovers for a walk or a drive somewhere - teens always seem more willing to talk then - no eye contact, no distractions, and they begin to relax. Try and avoid talking about GCSEs until it comes up naturally.

Can he repeat the exams or even the year if necessary? Honestly, kids have been through so much, I think they all deserve as many days under their blankets as they want.

I'm disappointed to hear his school are giving them exams after Easter. I don't think that's what the DfE have advised (to be fair it's as wishy washy as anything and I don't blame the school).
Schools needs evidence to give your son a grade. They shouldn't really be using one exam in a subject to do that. You say he has class test results with good grades. That can be used as evidence too. In fact, if he has good marks and generally does well, I don't think he needs to worry.

I'd be asking the school to push that message home. I take it he has broken up already? Could you say you've been reading around and you've found that guidance? These 'exams' should only be a part of the evidence that the school is using to grade him. That might take the pressure off him. I'd suggest a task that has a time limit for each day to break it all up. E.g. a chapt in a workbook or half an exam past paper. So he feels the daunting amount come down and be more manageable.

It's been an incredibly tough year and term for Year 11, so I would aim to strike a balance. Perhaps work with him to make a revision plan and timetable for what he will revise next week, and let him have one week off for his mental health? They have cut down the content for most of the exams so he will, like you say, be able to make a big difference with a fairly limited amount of revision. But there's a danger that if he doesn't have a break he may crash and burn anyway in the exams.

So, I think a compromise is maybe in order - either a whole week off this week, or revising every other day with days off in between if this would work better for him. I think 'all or nothing' is unlikely to work in this instance.

When I say 'cut down the content' for the exams, I mean individual schools will hopefully have done this for their in-school assessments.

Let him have a few days to unwind. DS1 is in U6 and had exams last week and has another set when he goes back. He is still in bed.
Once he has decompressed then be analytical. How many subjects does he need a 7 in (ie can you narrow the focus and make the task smaller)? Are there any subjects he just gets eg Maths or English Language? Are there any subjects that are blockers (for DS2 it was Latin he just hated it and could waste 30 mins trying to avoid it).
It may be easiest getting him to do some work on subjects he already enjoys and ditch the blockers. So if he needs 6 subjects at grade 7 and already really gets one of them it becomes more manageable than revise 9 subjects including 1 you hate.

He cant stay at school for 6th form as it doesnt offer the only subjects he wants for A level so there wont be any dispensation from school on grades. He would refuse to repeat the year as he cant wait to leave!!

I asked school to tell me what evidence they had for the key subjects that he needs 7s in so he would know where to focus his efforts as the others kids had their mock results to guide them but they refused totally so he has no idea and could be a secure 8 in some for all he knows. He couldnt retake mocks as they were the last week before xmas and then they were off school until 8th march.

He has lost 3 key teachers in last 6 months and there has been no cover for his main subject that he plans to do at A level and no lessons over lockdown. It was his favourite teacher ever and I think he fears they have covid or have died and school wont say what has happened and why there has been no handover. The other 2 subjects have cover teachers but he struggles with change and new relationships.

I have never suggested he work all holiday, just that he make a plan to do some, whether that be 2 hours each weekday and that he is in control of the plan but he wont communicate or removed the headphones.

If he is really struggling because of SEN /MH issues check about getting this formally documented as potential mitigation. Don’t hesitate to use this because they won’t make any allowance unless it is an official mitigation request. It is much better to get it documented in advance than try to argue after the event.

Would he consider online revision classes?

The plan had been to revise English plus the 3 subjects he needs a 7 in which includes maths. We had never considered revising any of the others as he hates them so much and that would be too stressful but he should get passes in them and that is all he needs.

To those who say we shouldnt need to worry, I think I would be less concerned if his teachers hadnt changed but he responds very badly to new teachers especially replacing teachers he liked. I dont think they have adequate evidence of 7s in the subjects he needs but I have no idea really. He is annoying and can be disruptive in class and cant focus properly unless in a room on his own so I feel teachers especially replacements will likely give higher grades to those kids who they can see are trying.

The school won't tell you a current grade as they are opening themselves up for any possible complaint when grades are released. However, your ds will know roughly what test scores have been over the past 2 years.

That's awful about the teacher. Have you told the school how that's affected your ds? Surely they can at least put his mind at ease (I hope). Do you have a good relationship with the senco?

He shouldn't (in my opinion) be sitting whole papers, but select questions. This whole thing doesn't have to be stressful and negative (I mean message from school not how your ds has taken it).

I still say that if he has been working at a 7+ the school would be bloody daft to out him down based on one assessment. So I would be making sure I was reassuring him of that and hopefully after a few days to relax, he will try and prepare. But I agree with you, that his mental health comes first.

What does his new sixth form say about entry on to his Alevels? Does he need certain grades?

Chaz - how do I put in mitigation and at what point? School know he is not having usual NHS psychotherapy face to face sessions due to covid and they give own room/scribe for the exams although not sure if that will still happen for these classroom exams. I can re emphasize that he has lost 3 teachers and had no teaching in one subject since November or before and had 2 weeks isolating for mocks.

user1471 - he needs 7s for new 6th form and I think that is definite.
Never spoken to the senco since the lovely one left a couple of years ago. Not sure if there is a replacement.

I told school my son thought his favourite teacher had died and was very distressed and they just said they hoped she would come back so I told him she is not dead but he knows there was no handover of work covered to other teachers within school and she didnt work in lockdown so it must be illness. He doesnt expect to see her again due to his pessimistic outlook.

I dont know if he has been working at a 7. He certainly hasnt in maths and the other 2 subjects needing 7s are ones he has lost the teachers and my son doesnt have any evidence and i dont know if school do or not. Test scores are not normally converted to grades.

You need to speak to the exams officer at the school about special consideration
www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Guide_to_spec_con_process_2021_FINAL.pdf

I am not an expert but if you have evidence that there has been a deterioration in his mental health due to the disruption in school which is directly impacting his ability to perform in the exams (which appears to be the case from what you have posted) you should be able to argue for mitigation. It’s only a couple of percent but could help if he is just on a grade boundary.
www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Guide_to_spec_con_process_2021_FINAL.pdf

No, they aren't. But the school can still use them as evidence.

I really think there needs to be more communication. Does DS know the senco? How does he feel about his tutor? I have emails constantly from my yr11 form (I am shielding atm) asking me questions. Have the school not sent letters out about how they plan to collate the evidence for exam grades?

Every school will have a different approach, but as I understand it, schools shouldn't have replaced the normal GCSE exams with their own internal ones. I would be contacting tutor or senco and explaining that ds is distressed as the message about these exams hasn't got through to him in that they are not a replacement 'exam'. I would imagine they will be used along side lots of other things to base his grade on. I'd be horrified if my yr11 groups were stressing about stuff like this. The message here is we are collecting lots of small prices of evidence. A one off test result is not going to change anything. It's the overall consistent picture.

Thanks chaz. I will find out who the exams officer is as he also has had to cope with my recovering from cancer and shielding so he was literally locked in for first lockdown as we were so careful and even since we have still had to be more careful as a family which has added lots of stress.

user - School sent an email explaining that the week of assessments is to "add to the evidence required for the Teacher Assessed Grade" so we know it is not the whole grade. However for subjects where he is not achieving a 7 it is the chance to achieve that so it seems worth trying to achieve it. I am not sure if he knows who the senco is, I dont and he wouldnt communicate with his form tutor. The only person he bonded with is the missing teacher who loved him and would ring and tell me how he had done the best in challenges in her subject, she was amazing. I have messaged school several times saying how much he is struggling and asking for any support.