To ask quick SEN question - SATs

[Evermore1]

Just need some knowledge about children's or parent' rights in relation to SATs.
My 10 year old child is in year 6 and is dyslexic with a 4 year reading delay. But she is very bright, engaged, extremely articulate with excellent vocabulary and understanding, and she is clever. However, she is reading at year 2 level because of her dyslexia.
School have removed her from all SATs revision classes and anything SATs related without informing me. I've found out from other mums that their children have been attending extra sessions at school for SATs practice, but my DD has not been included, but school haven't discussed it with me.
I've now found out school have decided she's not doing her SATs.
She brought home a timetable yesterday and told me she'd been given it at school and was told she would be doing it whilst the rest of her year practice their SATs. It says things like 'Go in to the nursery and play with the nursery children' (the school has a nursery attached to it), and 'Craft', etc.
DD is today stating that she wants to do her SATs, she says she wants to be included and that she doesn't want to be singled out from the rest of her year group. She has been very clear about this with me today when I discussed it with her.
What I need to know is, do I as her parent have any rights about her doing SATs? Does she as a pupil have any rights? Or does the school have the authority to remove her from performing in SATs, and the authority to remove her from all the lessons and extra sessions the other children are having in preparation for sitting their SATs?
I need to be clear about things before I approach the school about this.
I am really unhappy with the way my DD is being dealt with, but I want to be accurate about the facts and what our rights our versus what the school's rights are.
Thank you to anyone out there who knows more than me about this!

As far as I was aware school should have discussed this with you first they discussed it with me and I requested they removed him from the sats

Oh goodness OP. I pulled my children out of the SATS because they weren't coping with the workload because of SEN and they don't mean anything other than to the school records.

BUT if your DD wants to do SATS then the school shouldn't imo be preventing her from sitting them just to ensure their own results meet targets. I am sure that this amounts to discrimination.

if you are sure it is in your daughters best interests to sit them I'd put my foot down. Otherwise I'd say you are not prepared for her to attend school and be 'othered' but you can see she will struggle so she will not be attending school on those days.

I would write to the head and the governor with responsibility for special needs and complain. No idea what 'rights' you have, but it sounds awfully like the school is trying to improve their statistics.
We agreed mutually that DS2 (autistic) would not do SATS in year 2 and year 6 SATS were cancelled due to Covid.

What adjustments have they put in place for your daughter to access the reading papers? Are they putting her in for her maths?

Schools usually don’t put children into Y6 SATS if they are working at KS1 level. This doesn’t help their results so they won’t be doing it for that reason.

They should have spoken to you though

They haven't put any adjustments in place for her. They have simply removed her. Without me agreeing to it.
No they are not putting her in for maths either. She also has Dyscalculia.

I 'd suggest a meeting with the teacher, SENDCO and Head. It can't be right to exclude a child like this. Your child is entitled to an education following the curriculum, she can't just be sent off to play in nursery for the next term. The school may decide not to submit her, although this is actually quite hard to justify, but she could still be in class with her peers, possibly doing differentiated work, possibly even sitting mock SATs instead of the real thing, if it would be best for her.
Certainly a big step like this needs to be discussed with you.
If it is just her reading that is the problem, she could sit SATs with a reader or a scribe -a reader is permissible for all the papers except the reading paper.
Your first step is to discuss it with the school. If they will not offer a reasonable compromise, then take it up with the Chair of Governors.
SATs practice will be daily from now until mid- May. That is too long for your DD not to be learning.

I think I perhaps agree with her not sitting the SATs but in your shoes I would he protesting very loudly at her being excluded from the rest of the school activity. I have a dyslexic child and I would expect him to prepare for and not sit the exams in these circumstances.

That's the thing, I don't know whether it is in her best interests or not.
I know she won't be able to read the test papers fluently. But I know that if someone read questions to her she'd be able to verbally answer fluently.
She was extremely clear today that she does not want to be singled out from the rest of her peers. She spoke eloquently and with conviction about her reasons for wanting to join in with SATs and to not be removed from them. She fully understands the difficulties of her dyslexia, she is not under any illusions about this. She knows her reading age is several years behind her peers. But she says she does not want to be removed from what everyone else in her year is doing, and she is resolute about this!

Schools make the decision based on if a child is working at the key stage, so if still key stage 1, not appropriate to take the SATS. However, 5 months out from them, she shouldn't be on such an alternative curriculum they should be supporting her catch up - this is what you should be requesting, that she is being taught, a broad and balanced curriculum, with her peers, appropriate scaffolding. Otherwise she will become further behind. I would also apply for an EHCP, if she doesn't have one already as a parent and include this as the reason to apply, that she is not being included in her year group and therefore must require support beyond that normally available which the school is not providing. Fair enough the week of SATS, but should not be any other time during normal school hours.

@Evermore1 you can't have a reader for the reading exam

Has she had any reasonable adjustments put in place at all whilst at school?

Then she should not be excluded on the basis of her differences because that's only in the interests of the school.

Have you spoken to her about how she will feel if she gets lower marks or can't answer questions though? Because she may become demoralised.

How much help are you getting from school with her needs? If she is being excluded it is a real sign that she needs additional support. Putting her in the nursery and ignoring her to focus on the children who do not have additional needs is totally unacceptable.

What I would say is don't despair about SATS . They genuinely are not important. My eldest didn't sit them and got 3 As at A Level's last year and is now at university.

Whatever you do if she does sit them don't put her under any pressure.

That's really good advice, thank you.
I didn't realise SATs practice would be daily from now till May.
I can't believe they've timetabled her to play with nursery children and do craft.
I'm a mixture of appalled and really upset. This timetable just got brought home, I didn't know anything about it.

Disapplied children still count in the statistics so this wouldn't be the reason.

Children who do not sit the SATS are still included in the statistics for the school so there is no benefit to the school in doing this.

The recommendation is that children working at KS1 levels should not do them. It can cause significant psychological distress to some children if they are made to do the SATs when they are clearly not capable f accessing them in any way.

Ideally this decision is made with the parents.

My son has ASD and took his SATS but couldn’t cope with the booster classes.

School and I discussed the best way forward and agreed he was a academically able but the revision was causing burnout so we agreed no workout outside school day and what will be will be.

The school should be discussing the approach, possible benefits and/or disadvantages with you before making any decisions.

My son’s school wasn’t the best but they were caring and put in all the adjustments he needed and I trusted them to do the right thing for him.

No adjustments and no discussions are unacceptable.

Does she have an EHCP? Where is she going to senior school? Will she have proper support? I’d be concerned that a full picture of her needs hasn’t been communicated and that senior may be a shock.

@lifeturnsonadime
Have you spoken to her about how she will feel if she gets lower marks or can't answer questions though? Because she may become demoralised.
Yes, I was honest with her when we had a chat, and I did say to her that she won't be able to read some of the words in the questions, or certain words within a question, which would make it very difficult for her. She replied "I know that." So I asked her how this would make her feel, seeing everyone around her reading their questions and writing out their answers whilst she might be unable to. She replied "I would just do my best. I'd do what I can. I know I've got dyslexia and the others haven't, so I already know I won't be able to read or answer as well as they will be able to. But that doesn't mean I deserve to be excluded." Those were her words!

No EHCP.
I've been asking for one for 4 years. The school has consistently refused to apply for one. Every class teacher. Including her current class teacher. The SENDCo. The Head. The Deputy Head. Every one has refused and told me she won't meet the criteria for an EHCP.

@Evermore1 it’s not up to them - you can apply for a needs assessment yourself. If she’s on the SEND register you must have copies of her IEPs etc.

Have you sought advice from your local SENDIASS? You need to get angry and get moving. You still have time to get her an EHCP this academic year but it’s tight.

Has she at least got a learning plan in place at the school, detailing what adjustments, interventions they have in place for her?

Apply as a parent yourself for an EHCplan . ignore what they say - it’s too much hassle for them to apply - I agree - you won’t get one easily - but if you are prepared to fight and prepared to go to tribunal you may/ may not get an ehc plan but you certainly will get her on the radar and get her more help than she is currently getting.

both of mine we were told ‘weren’t bad enough’ for an EHCplan. Both of mine got plans and both ended up in specialist schools, both at various times having 1:1 support . Mainstream didn’t have a clue what to do with them and didn’t understand the depth of their needs - only the assessment process unpicked it all and highlighted how much help they did require.

Include the timetable they have provided with your parental application . Shame the school and highlight this shoddy practice. . Also make a complaint to the sen governor including the timetable - If school think ‘playing with nursery kids’ and ‘craft’ is a suitable education for a 10 year old girl they’re is something very wrong. They are not trying to teach her - they are babysitting her. This is not education . I would be livid with rage .

From what you have said she is a clever girl who has severe learning difficulties around dyslexia and dycslculia. That doesn’t mean she can’t learn- it means she learns differently - She needs teaching to support her to achieve her potential - have they offered readers, scribes, teaching her touch typing, voice to speech software , precision teaching methods? What on Earth are they doing with her to help her to learn?

both of mine have multiple needs - dyslexia being one of them - both struggled hugely to read/ write - but both now can because of targeted specialist teaching that was skilfully taught and patiently practised until they got there. Mine were years and years behind their chronological age - but special school never just ‘accepted’ this as dyslexia. They knew it was the cause of their difficulties but they put things into place to teach them and close the gap… not just accept they are 4 years behind. They can’t just throw up their hands and say she is behind. There is so much they can do to help her.

Sounds like they are just letting her drift which is awful. She has a right to a decent education that is tailored to her needs. Not to be playing and crafting instead of learning to read and write. It is frankly insulting to her intelligence and to every child with sen to do this. The days of the ‘special needs kids’ colouring in in the corner table whilst the other kids learn should be well and truly relegated to history. Get angry on her behalf - start making a lot of noise to get her the education she deserves.

I have 2 kids with sen - had they been in mainstream at the year 6 sats it would not have been appropriate for them to sit them - as just too much and work would be too far above their attainment levels. By year 6 mine were both in specialist schools who were interested in teaching them at the level they were at - not teaching to test for government sats. But I would have expected them, if in mainstream still and not doing the normal sats work to be doing targeted work to help with her dyslexia snd dyscalculia. Suitable maths and English targeted to her level - not playing in the sand with nursery.

She is being failed - they are not providing her with an education suitable to her learning difficulties and you need to complain loud and hard to fight for provision.

How is she ever going to improve if they don’t actually bother to teach her?

mine couldn’t do sats at yr6 as they were too far behind at that stage - mainstream had failed them . Getting an EHCplan and into specialist schools changed everything - because finally they were taught properly and according to their needs - both ended up passing GCSE’s and both passed level 3 courses (BTEC) at very high grades by age 19. I am so proud of how much they have overcome and what they have achieved.

Get angry and take action. read SoSsEN, ipsea websites. Read the mumsnet sen boards and education boards. Don’t give in . Educate yourself on the law and start demanding some action.

She gets one chance at education and they are currently messing it up.

Fight for her - no one else will - get her the support and the education she deserves.

If a child will negatively impact on the school's data and the school has a way of removing that child from SATs, the school will almost certainly do the. This is not a reflection on the school this is the system that schools work within.

At our school, we only pull a child out of SATS if we feel that they can't pass them and the pressure would be unfair on them. Saying that, it is always discussed with parents first! We discuss it with them before Christmas.

I think that if your child wants to sit SATS then they definitely should be able to. A reader and a scribe should be provided for everything other than the reading paper. Extra time would be allowed too. Ask for a meeting with the class teacher and Send team.

If that's what you do, your school cheats.
It makes me so angry that other schools do this!

You can not remove a child from SATs because you don't think they'll achieve the expected standard!

My understanding of this is that it doesn’t help the school’s statistics because your DD will effectively be counted as a ‘no score’ if she doesn’t take part. Therefore I would assume it’s a decision the school haven’t taken lightly and has been made on the basis that she won’t pass, and it would likely impact her self esteem.

They should have discussed this with you though!! Ask for a meeting about it- find out why. I’d also not want my DC crafting whilst others learned- perhaps she can do the study sessions with differentiated work, even if she doesn’t do the SATS.