To feel upset about DD being removed from SATS?

[Risingmountains]

I don't know how to feel about this.
I'm upset about it, and I don't know if I am BU.
DD has a diagnosis of severe dyslexia. She is aged 11, in school year 6.
She is currently reading monster phonics books stage 10, which is for year 2 children.
So she is reading 4 school years behind her actual age.
It's been a long, fraught battle with the school to acknowledge her learning difficulties and a fight with them to accept she had a diagnosable condition. They point blank refused to refer her for any assessments. They all absolutely insisted she wasn't dyslexic when I kept telling all different teachers and the Senco that I thought she was. I eventually paid for private assessment at end of year 4 which diagnosed her as severely dyslexic, with very poor working memory, dysgraphia and likely dyscalculia.
Since then they've spent a year refusing to apply for an EHCP, telling me she won't meet the criteria. I've asked several times at several meetings to several different staff including 2 teachers and 2 different Sencos, and they're all refusing to apply for her.
I cant understand why.
Now she's in year 6, and her teacher and the deputy head have told me they don't want her to sit her SATS but have said they need my consent to remove her. They caught me off guard because I had actually asked for a meeting with them about something entirely different, which we discussed, and then once I thought we'd finished, right at the very end as I was putting my coat on, they suddenly said by the way they don't want her to sit her SATS. They said she won't be able to perform in them because of her reading, spelling and maths delay. The deputy head said "It would be cruel to make her sit them".
I wasn't prepared for this to be brought up at a meeting about something different, and felt like they sprung it on me.
I asked for a few days to think about it.
And now I'm full of questions.

1. How is it they refuse to apply for an EHCP for her because they say she doesn't meet the criteria, yet they want to remove her from the SATS because 'she won't be able to do them'.
2. Are they removing her because they don't want her poor results to bring down their overall results? I feel really sceptical about this, but am I right or am I wrong to be suspicious about this?
3. Is it true that it would be cruel if she sat them? Surely she would only answer what she knows? My DD is a very bright, intelligent girl. She is a brilliant learner. But her dyslexia locks her out of reading and spelling to the age she should be able to perform at.
4. Will it affect how she feels about herself being the only one in the class to not sit her SATS? Isn't this singling her out from the rest of the class? I don't want her to feel like she can't do them and everyone else is. I'm trying so hard to keep her self esteem intact. I'm really worried that this exclusion will make her feel a failure.
5. I know the school is running constant extra sessions several days a week that all the year 6 kids are going to, all for SATS practice. Extra sessions after school and at lunchtimes of Enhlish and maths. Even all the super bright/advanced kids are doing these. However, DD is not doing them. No extra sessions at all. She's completely excluded. But noone told me she wouldn't be included, I've had to figure this out for myself and have only pieced it together by hearing about these extra sessions from lots of othef parents that im friends with. Why would the school exclude my DD from these sessions and not tell me about it? I can't get my head around this. If anyone needs extra sessions, it's my DD.
6. School have spent years telling me they don't have the resources to give DD extra support to help her. Years. And yet here they are magically creating extra sessions several days a week for 40 kids. AIBU to be furious about this?
7. DD is suddenly asking me why all her friends are going to extra maths and English lessons at lunch and after school when they are already good at reading and maths. She's asking why can't she go so that she can get better. What do I say to her about this? I'm at a loss.
8. What on earth is she going to do at school during SATS week?
9. Why can't she have a 1-1 staff member supporting her in her SATS? Why are the school simply wanting to remove her?

I feel like my DD is being let down by the school. I have had to fight so hard to get them to acknowledge her learning difficulties, they failed her for years, and now I feel like they're falling her again. Like they just want to remove her from their system. Part of me wants her to sit the SATS so that it shows that the school have made no progress with her reading and maths. Which they haven't. But on the other hand, is the deputy head right - would it be cruel to make her sit them? I feel like they've given up on my DD, but I don't know if I'm BU. If you could meet my DD, you'd see that she's the brightest, cleverest, most imaginative, radiant little girl who is brilliant at learning, is interested in everything, is inquisitive, is insightful, kind, empathic, has a fantastic sense of humour, is loved by her friends, she's honestly wonderful, and she is so, so desperate to learnt to read well. She doesn't deserve to be removed from data like this. But AIBU?

That's appalling.

My question is what will her life be like between tomorrow and SATS day? SATs practice doesn't just happen in the extra sessions, it'll be embedded throughout the school day. Is she getting extra, level appropriate intervention in ALL of that time or is she working on practice papers with her peers? Because if it's cruel to make her do the actual papers then it's just as cruel to make her do weeks and months of the practice and prep. Test. days themselves shouldn't feel that different from the practice they've been doing, so if the tests are cruel then the practice is too.

I suspect they will wheel back because that's cheaper, but you may be able to use this as argument and evidence to secure better support for her.

Also apply for an EHCNA yourself and approach secondary school SENCos very soon, as you would be doing at this time if she had an EHCP already in place. They should be happy to talk to you if you say you have an EHCNA request open.

Sorry I don't understand a lot of this as we are in Scotland and don't do SATS but my DD sat her GCSE equivalent last year and got 7 A's. She has severe dyslexia I told primary since she was 5 that she was dyslexic and they argued it was too early to tell, every parents night they told me she wasnt dyslexic. Eventually I paid for an offical test which cost me around £800 but now she has all the help she needs for her exams.
Don't let them stop her doing her tests and don't think because she has dyslexia she can not do well in school, if the resources are provided she can go far, my DD is just about to sit Highers and is predicted all A's.

The government guidance is fairly clear that students working at below key stage level should not be entered.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-assessment-and-reporting-arrangements-ara/2025-key-stage-2-assessment-and-reporting-arrangements

I worked in a secondary school until recently and we usually had between 10-15 children each year who had code B in their sats - that is they had not done the tests as they were working below key stage level.

Usually these children went into a nurture group where there was a focus on developing phonics and reading as well as supporting them in maths.

Most children at that attainment level had an EHCP.

In your shoes I would not worry about the sats so much as focusing on getting support for her and looking towards secondary.
Apply for an EHCP yourself.

Why would you want to put your child in for an exam she isn't capable of?

Of course it’s about affecting their results. Jesus I would be going ballistic at them dragging their feet for YEARS. Can you seek any legal advice and approach the governors or even the LA? Honestly it sounds scandalous that they’ve denied her the help for this long. A year ok but seriously several years?? This will affect her whole life! Can you afford any private tuition or assistance in any way? You shouldn’t have to but this is going to affect her so much at this age. I’d be saying no to their request about SATS and I’d be explaining why. I’d be interested to hear what their actual reasons are for her not sitting. I wouldn’t even look at the results with DD at all. I would maybe look at them but tbh my first thought was sit them to spite the school and force action on their part; and bin the results without looking. Shame on them x

Check the council website for their local offer. It’ll be in the education section. Contact Sendiass for support, their details will be in the Local Offer information. Apply for the EHCP yourself. It’s from the EHCP that funding is allocated for support. School should also refer to the cognition support service and they can advise on adaptions like scribing software.

Who diagnosed dysgraphia? I’m having issues finding a private service to do this.

Do not remove her from sats under ANY circumstances, unless you do it the day before the test.

If she is taking sats they will have to throw resource at helping her, her results will count towards their statistics as a school

The moment you consent to her not taking them, they give up, she becomes invisible

I would not want my child doing SATS under these circumstances. The inevitable poor results would be so demoralising. But the separate issue is the lack of support she has been offered with her learning, and now it seems like they are trying to dismiss her to keep their league tables up.

I think this means the reading comprehension test . It has to be sat independently, as it tests the reading of and understanding of a text.

Why are people saying put the child into SATs when Government guidance states if working at KS1 level the child should not be entered into SATS.

Yes OP should be angry that school have let her child down, but SATS are not the thing OP should be fighting for.

Why do people comment when they don't know what they're talking about? So frustrating. If you disapply a child they still count in your data so it's not that. Look at a past KS2 reading paper online, would she be able to read it? People who have said she needs 1:1 support to sit the SATs......they can't read it for her!
Also, why haven't you applied for the EHCP yourself a long time ago?

The school sounds appallingly bad. If they've been telling you that they don't have the resources they need to help your daughter, they're admitting that she meets the criteria for an EHCP, which are basically that she needs help above and beyond what is available in normal mainstream schools. You really need to apply for an EHCP yourself immediately: there's information about how to do it here - https://www.ipsea.org.uk/asking-for-an-ehc-needs-assessment - and SOS SEN do some good webinars.

Also your daughter shouldn't be fobbed off with books for 6 year olds. There are age-appropriate books that are suitable for dyslexic children which are much more motivating to read.

It would be worth getting your daughter checked by a behavioural optometrist in case she has anything like convergence insufficiency or other conditions that may be helped by coloured lenses or overlays.

The ONLY circumstances in which a child does not count towards a schools results is if the child has recently arrived from overseas, speaks no English and the school applies to have that child taken out.

If the op's child doesn't sit the sats she still counts in their results.

explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/key-stage-2-attainment

Section 1 of this document.

I would insist she sits the SATS. I would also be easing a formal grievance with the school, governors and Ofsted over her treatment. I know from my own family you have to shout, loud, to get help

Hang on, at the school where I’m a governor all the kids, including the ones who are ‘disapplied’ (ie don’t take the test) ‘count’ in our results. As they should. They’re our kids.

At my school we usually have 2-3 children in each class for whom SATS aren’t appropriate. It might be the case that your child could be one.

BUT even if/ particularly if that’s true, your school’s total abandonment of your child is appalling and needs to be challenged.

and please please - go it alone for an EHCP. You may not get it first time, and sadly it’s not in any way the ‘golden ticket’ the papers would have you believe. But it ought to help you get your child the right education.

Because her school have spent years absolutely insisting that she won't get an EHCP.
They have point blank refused to apply. When I said I will apply myself, 5 different senior staff members have said:
"Well.....you can apply if you like, but you won't understand the process easily, it's really hard work and time consuming and incredibly complicated, and then she won't meet the criteria anyway and won't get approved because she doesn't meet the threshold even though she's 4 to 5 years behind in her reading and learning, so it's completely pointless you trying to apply in the first place because we GUARANTEE YOU she WILL NOT GET AN EHCP."
That's why.

Hi OP,

I have been a SENCO

Firstly, any child removed from SATS still counts in the school data - this isn’t the motivation. It purely is to not put them through the stress. The SATS have questions from year3+ level, so when they aren’t working at this level, it’s not fair to the child. Having an adult to work with her 1:1 in SATS wouldn’t change the situation - if it would, please believe the school would do that.

secondly, certainly in the area I am in, EHCPs aren’t accepted for cognition and learning needs only. I had a dyslexic child in year 5 reading at a reception age level. I applied for an EHCP as I desperately wanted to help this child, but it was rejected, even though we followed the full appeals process. I spent hours (days, in reality) preparing this - even though I knew it was likely to be futile - because I wanted to show I had exhausted every possibility.

You don’t need the school to help you get a EHCP. I did it with help from my very good friend and SENDIAS. If you go on your local authority site. You will find your local one and they can help you apply for a EHCP. The service is free and they helped me a lot.

I'd be going mental at them. Tell them she will be sitting her SATs and from now on they will include her in the extra study sessions. Remind them that deliberately excluding someone is a form of bullying. And I'd ask why they never bothered to support your DD but all of a sudden can offer every other Y6 child extra support.
If she wasn't in Y6 I'd suggest moving her but it's probably not worth it now, but insist she sits her SATs and make sure that she's been given the support every other child is getting.
Just so you know you can apply for an EHCP as a parent, it doesn't have to be done by the school.

OMG I could have written this post! Almost exactly the same position with my daughter except we’re still waiting for formal diagnoses!!

I have had to fight and fight for everything for her but one thing I have totally refused to do is allow them to withdraw her from the SATS because they are going to wear those results in their end of year stats!!

I will keep fighting for what she needs until she’s properly supported but I know she’ll not pass the tests and that that’s only because of the school refusing to acknowledge her SEN for so many years so there’s no way they’re getting to hide that in their league table data.

I would complain at your child’s exclusion from extra sessions, demand an exam access arrangement assessments, explain to your child that the SATs are not a test of her but a test of the school and she should just answer what she can, and absolutely not let the school manipulate their data to hide their neglect of your child’s needs!

There is no point sitting SATs. She’s already counted working below expectations (or lower) if she doesn’t sit. It’s included in the statistics already as a failure for the school. DC1 is in year 9 and in her year, only the kids who are below expected standards got extra revision. I’m surprised your school included the whole class. It’s rather pointless to study more if they are already expected to get above 100.

I would be absolutely furious about this and you are right to be. The fact that she is working 4 years behind means she absolutely needs an EHCP because it will mean that a vast amount of the curriculum is inaccessible to her. The fact that they've refused to give her any sort of help but then basically want her erased from their records is deplorable.

Just to repeat, any child that doesn’t do SATS counts in school data as having not “passed” - whether she does then or not, she will be in the school’s data.

SATS are for school results they have failed your daughter throughout her education I personally feel that that should be reflected on them. If they had put things in place for her she would be eligible for support within these exams like a reader and scribe. This is there doing I personally would refuse to withdraw her as a parent who had to fight and go private for dyslexia testing too our primary put everything in place ready for it to come out of high school budget looking like it was a late discovery but they fought it from reception I still feel like I should have done more or moved her school. They should have to get her support now for her upcoming exams and then there may be hope for every other dyslexic child that comes through their school. They failed her not you look for a secondary with a great senco department and get her ECHP in place before she leaves if there is no issue like there saying she should sit exam and if she can’t take the test they need to recognise her needs and there own failure. write to the school governors and write to ofsted if they refuse the ECHP again. They are recognising her needs by trying to get her withdrawn. Good luck I really hope you get the support she deserves. My daughter is much older now and left primary 13 years ago this should not be continuing now!

@Threelittleduck would you insist a child in Y6 sit GCSEs if they weren’t actually at that level? Unfortunately OP’s DD appears to be at KS1 level so won’t be able to access KS2 SATs. It would be demoralising for her.
Absolutely complain that the school haven’t done what they should to help your DD but please don’t push for her to sit SATS if they think she is working at KS1 level