to think mainstream schools must offer courses which suit everyone?

[Glamis]

My daughter’s school has recently declared they will only be doing GCSE. No other courses, functional stuff, BTec etc. I thought that they had to offer courses for everyone esp maths and English but school say they don’t. They are an academy.

Any ideas?

Is DD happy at school?

When is your next annual review? You could have personalised provision written in there. What provision is already in the EHCP.

I think a full timetable of GCSEs in KS4 is going to be very difficult for DD if she will struggle to pass GCSEs (do you mean get a level 2 passes or pass at all?). I would be looking at securing personalised provision at the very least. And maybe EOTAS/EOTIS if remaining in MS isn’t appropriate and there isn’t a suitable SS. What would DD think about boarding?

Which Academy chains?

@MrsSchrute it's all allegedly of course but I hear Harris and Ark really don't like students with SEN.

She’s at a single academy trust

Due in Jan, she has 1:1 by an allegedly specialist dyslexia TA in all academic lessons, alternative ways of recording and some OT.

My daughter's doing GCSE business studies!

The best thing I ever did for DS was move him to a school where he had an option to do BTec construction. One day a week they went off to a local college and learned bricklaying, plastering, joinery and decorating.
For a kid with ADHD who really struggled to sit still in class it broke the week up enough so he learned some useful skills, got a qualification and could focus better on the days he had to sit in class

My school only offers GCSE’s and then only offered a levels at sixth form?

Sounds like DD needs more provision. For example, does she have any tuition from a dyslexia specialist tutor? Does the TA pre-teach new vocabulary? Some DC with dyslexia need SALT support. I suspect this is the case for DD. Do you have any alternative provisions locally DD could attend 1 or 2 days a week?

@Glamis
That is impressive in terms of support your Dds school is doing. Its a shame it's not helping her enough to access the courses. I'm not surprised though as I have found no amount of time a TA sits next to a student is the same as a course the student can access independently.
I guess the problem is that you don't have a choice about where she can attend as the specialist provision is so far away. I'm in London so 50 miles seems insanely far from where you live.

None that will take her - I could ask for some provision to be added via a tutor but we had to appeal for what we have and it took forever. It’s such a shit system. Her review is Jan, the LA didn’t issue the last plan until June, and are likely to do the same this year. They just leave it languishing at draft level until someone threatens a JR. they really are dreadful.

I agree that Functional Skills L 1 and 2 (L2 is equivalent level to GCSE grade 4) shuld be available to some students who will benefit. A small number for sure. I had a student in my form who was making themselves ill with worry about Eng lit GCSE, which their teacher told me they would not even get a 1 in. But schools (state schools anyway) have to enter students for the GCSEs. AFAIK FS is only available once they repeatedly fail. My DS was never going to pass GCSE English but he has FS L2. So in that sense I agree @Glamis but sadly, schools have to toe the govt line that all DC must take GCSEs.

It's unusual perhaps not to offer any Btecs, but not unheard of tbh. Schools are rated on GCSE passes so Btecs are less likely to be offered. My DCs' school offered Btec in creative media and also Btec music. The school I worked in had Btec H&S care and also animal care was a Btec IIRC. But the provision varies as this thread shows. And IME plenty of secondary schools (not FE colleges) actually only offer A levels as well.

Business is a GCSE btw.

@Glamis I am sorry your DD is struggling so much. What does school say about what she might achieve? It's not all about 10 x grade 9 or even 6 x grade 5; encourage her to do the best she can – there will be a post-16 course to suit her.

She is tracking at level 1 in everything academic with the exception of maths where she is still at KS2 level yet is a really able actor and superb on the debate team. I truly have rethought my whole understanding of education, it just seems demoralising for her to feel like she’s set up to fail so we scaffold as much as possible with extra curricular stuff. She wants to go into politics and would also excel at sales so long as someone else does the maths!

@Glamis Yes your LA sound similar to mine. I've come to the decision that it's not really a system at all!
I like that you are trying to help her see that school and exams aren't everything. I've said this to parents in your position I work with. Your daughter needs to leave school at 16 with interests and a positive attitude as she will become a successful independent young adult but not at this point with exam grades.
It is so hard I hope she has some teachers who encourage her and are good role models, many of the teachers I work with really help students who are not likely to achieve high exam grades. And in answer to your original question yes schools should offer alternatives and the last two Tory governments are the reason they don't.

Its such a shit system. We say to the kids that they need a 4 in English and Maths, but then immediately say that a certain percentage aren't allowed to achieve it...

I hope the school find something suitable for your daughter.

Other issues are staffing, costs and timetabling. It's not that easy to introduce new courses

Our school system is set up to fail so many kids.

My duaghter was talking about someone in her class who knew all the history dates and could argue coherently but when it comes to an exam and having to write anything down she just can't do it. Yet in a different school system she would be acting presentations/multi choice...

We're so fixated in gcses. And the steep divide between specialist settings and mainstream when there are so many students who would suit something in between.

Blame Gove and his ridiculous 'improvements', hopefully we'll see some change under the new government

But some kids will never get that 4 and resit pass rates are awful. I do agree that if the general demographic of the school would warrant it, a broader spread would be better. Media, Food tech, the trades, health and social care are all good BTec type options but they require resources and specialist staff that are in short supply.

Y10 daughter could choose Sociology, Business Studies, Childcare and a couple of others.

What qualification was sociology? A BTEC?

Ohh not sure.

I know there was a Pathway and BTec but I didn't understand it.

I can see it makes sense for some schools to offer these extra options, but certainly not all schools - the demand would be so small when spread across different schools that it just wouldn't be feasible.

I think it must depend partly on what area of the country you live in. In my town, most schools offer BTECs or Cambridge Technicals in things like sports, music, drama, cookery, business, IT, sometimes also with the equivalent GCSE option, sometimes not. In an ideal world, most schools would offer both, but as this isn't always possible, I guess the best option would be for practical subjects to be offered as BTECs or similar, as surely no-one would be discriminated against for having a BTEC rather than a GCSE in a vocational subject.

In my area you only get A Level / GCSE alternatives in adult education colleges - so after GCSE - or private schools (IBs / BTECs).