To think school have to make adjustments?

[bingbangbongding]

Hi, DD11 has her SATs next week.

She is autistic. Diagnosed last year.

She's been in contact with the SENDCO over the past few weeks after advocating for a space where she can be alone as she finds it hard to understand questions unless she reads them out loud. Obviously she will disrupt other kids if she does this.

Admittedly I haven't been involved (my mistake) as she was updating me every step of the way.

Last night the class teacher emailed me that they would be unable to meet her request because (paraphrasing) they had run out of teachers/assistants/rooms to accommodate everyone who requested or needs adjustments.

I've checked the gov.uk site and it simply says 'children are entitled to adjustments' blah blah, not 'entitled to adjustments if the school can accommodate'.

DD usually scores very well on exams but is so stressed out over the SATs. It doesn't matter that we've told her that they are a measurement for the school there's a lot of self pressure. I think the schoo think 'she's doing fine, doesn't need the adjustment'

Can I push this? I have emailed the teacher to express my disagreement over this approach and suggested that we can provide an independent (my friend does exam invigilation and will sit with her).

Advice needed. Please.

With all the best will in the world, if they have run out of space and staff to supervise, what can you expect? I agree that children's needs to be accommodated but just because she has a diagnosis doesn't mean she is entitled to this. It's about her need.

I work in a school, in KS1 but I’m being used to help with Y6 SATS next week. Each class/Room/special space has to have 2 adults in there. We have 2 Y6 classes. 3/4 of them are staying in class, the rest of each class are being separated into 2 smaller classes as they are allowed extra time. On top of this there are also 4 children who need there own individual space plus another group of children not sitting SATS at all. That’s at least 14 adults being used just to do SATs plus every single available room/cupboard/cloakroom/HT office is being used. It’s a logistical nightmare which was sorted out weeks in advance. As far as I’m aware (and I don’t work in Y6 so can’t be 100% sure), special arrangements also have to be applied for so your DD school should have done this months ago. It’s just not a matter of rocking up on Tuesday morning and them giving her her own space.
For what it’s worth, my own DS did SATS last year and he was diagnosed with ASD a month before hand after a long road to diagnosis. He also prefers to read the question out. I taught him to mouth read the question so he said it without actually speaking it, not sure if it would help your daughter but it seemed to work for him.

The threshold for ASC adjustment is quite high and it’s a protected disability so so think at the very least the SENCO should have had a meeting with your child and you long before to discuss all this. It’s clear a week of testing will impact a child with autism and contingencies should have been thought of and discussed. Too often masking girls are just left to it. They will be struggling just as much as those with more visible difficulties. To get a diagnosis by the age of 10 indicates quite a level of need.

Apologies not adjustment diagnosis.

As a teacher you’ll be aware of access arrangements, how they work and how schools have to prove that it is the child’s normal way of working. You will also be aware that this has to be shown over a period of time. Leaving it until a few weeks before is not enough time to show that it is the child’s normal way of working. Her child is not automatically entitled to reasonable adjustments unless a) an echp states it or b) is her normal way of working. Also you’ll be fully aware that schools had to apply for access by April 25th with evidence. Maybe you need to take a look at the guidance below to educate yourself before you give wrong and misleading information out. Just because your dd has access arrangements does not mean everyone with asd needs it

@bingbangbongding unfortunately you have left it incredibly late for the school to apply for access arrangements. Here is the government link for KS2 access arrangements, have a read of it, it’ll help give some ideas of what you will need going forward https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1143188/2023_key_stage_2_access_arrangements_guidance.pdf

If she's in the top 10% I would threaten to pull her out of the sats. I think they will magically find a solution when it is about to affect their results

(I realised at secondary that as a "top of the top set" child i had a lot of negotiating power . )

To be fair testing for a whole week is not an every day occurrence and if op’s Dd needs to read aloud in a test she needs to read aloud. The fact this hasn’t been discussed and sorted long before is on them. Telling a child with autism so late they can’t be accommodated shows a complete lack of understanding as regards autism. Our children with autism had all the logistics sorted and explained long ago. Also girls with autism are more likely mask. All schools should be aware of this and in the case of the op’s child discussions re need and possible masking should have been discussed some time ago. Whether she has an EHCP or not she has a diagnosis of autism.

In my experience schools often say "can't".when they mean "won't".

My son was getting really upset about how his class teacher spoke to him (she was awful) and we had had a lot of tears and school refusal and the head said the "couldn't " move him to a different class. So I called their bluff and said he wouldn't be coming back to school for the rest of the year then,, and magically within about 5 minutes if turned out they "could" move him .

The child being left to sort it all with the Senco is also v poor. She is an 11 year old primary child with autism not a 17 year old. Parents should have be been involved and all this discussed and sorted long ago.

that is a formal adjustment, which in this case has not been applied for or recorded, you cant just decide to do that off your own bat, is has to be recorded as normal way of working for a child, and is nothing to do with what the teacher wants, or any diagnosis

Honestly, if they can't accommodate her needs, I'd pull her out.

Speaking as a former teacher, SATS exist largely exist as a mechanism to put schools into league tables. They are sold on the basis of providing baseline data that helps give an indication of performance at GCSE. However any good year 7 teacher worth their salt would be able to make a decent prediction of that after half a term of teaching your child anyway.

@Nimbostratus100
No, I wasn't paid. As a governor, I felt I had a responsibility to do my best for the students and staff of the school. This was just a few hours of my time.

so the "solution" in this case was find some mug to do it for free, this is not going to work in the OPs cases, hopefully, as no one will be mug enough.

This helps no-one, it just perpetuates the pressure on schools and school staff to run the school on a voluntary basis.

No school or staff should be doing anything they are not funded for. Nothing unfunded should ever be expected or demanded

But sadly it now it IS OP’s problem. It is everyone’s problem. Schools have crumbling buildings, not enough staff, a higher number of pupils with needs, no budget to recruit for these pupils….
So long as the general public keep referring to teachers as workshy, lazy, greedy (for wanting a pay rise not to come out of the budget earmarked for pupils) this will keep happening.
Time to support our schools. For everyone’s benefit.

We are running SATS next week. We have called on volunteers and retired members of staff to help administer them as we simply do not have the staff. We are utilizing every office, every corner, every changing room.

The situation in schools is so far from ideal it would be laughable if it wasn’t so utterly tragic.

Op, speak to school, keep Dd home, and ask for her to sit tests on her own in the afternoons when all others have done test. If it was my school, we would be able to find you a room and a TA in the afternoons.

On principle, I agree with this. For our school though, in reality, it would have meant several pupils not having the adjustments they are entitled to.
Long term it is not sustainable though, and I do agree it is not right.

In principle? Or on? Brain fart….

Governors have a statutory duty to ensure the whole process is carried out correctly. So unless your argument is that unpaid governors shouldn’t be running the school (which I am in total agreement with, absolutely ludicrous) then this particular argument re SATs is bobbins.

No - this comes under school-delegated adjustments. If a child has rest breaks as part of normal practice it doesn’t have to be applied for for this to take place during SATs.

schools have been run on good will and voluntary extra hours for decades. I was just as bad an offender in my youth, thinking I was doing it "for the children" but now I see how damaging it has been for all the children (and teachers) who came after