GCSE reduced subjects advice needed

[Arizona29]

I started a different thread about this yesterday but am starting a new one here because I've got a new question and I know many readers never read OP updates on a thread!
DS year 9 had been put onto a GCSE pathway for additional support.
He has no SEN diagnosed.
He has never had any intervention classes at school.
School have never made me aware at any point since year 7 that they feel DS needs additional support.
I have not received any communication whatsoever about him being put on to an additional support GCSE pathway. It has been like a bolt out of the blue and I only found out on Monday.
Parents evening last week made no mention of it.
So I spoke to a member of staff about it today.
It is not a mistake, as suggested by posters on my other thread.
The member of staff has told me the following:
That DS has been put on a pathway for year 10 & 11 where he will study
Maths
English
Science
1 humanity OR 1 language (his choice but only 1 of these)
2 practical based subjects of his choice such as DT, art, music, cookery, dance, photography, etc.
3 extra Maths intervention sessions a fortnight
3 extra English intervention sessions a fortnight
He cannot choose 2 humanities.
He cannot choose 1 humanity & 1 language.
He cannot choose 2 humanities & 1 language.
it is 1 humanity only.
He is only 1 of 16 students who has been put on this pathway out of the whole of year 9.
The 'standard' Ebacc pathway is
English, maths, science, 1 humanity, 1 language, then 2 further options which can include a second humanity, even a third one, but DS had not been given this pathway as an option.
I was confused when I posted on my other thread yesterday, and I remain confused.
I still don't understand how DS has been put on this additional support pathway with no communication whatsoever about any learning delay or concerns whatsoever from school in the 2.5 years he's been there.
I asked this question directly today, and it wasn't answered. It was glossed over.
DS is really upset.
A. He doesn't want to do only 1 humanity and no language. He feels he's had all his choices removed from him.
B. He says nobody at school has talked to him about this.
C. He feels excluded from the standard pathway that all his friends are doing.
D. He is asking me do his school think he's stupid and incapable
E. He fears stigma about this amongst his peers, and feels he is going to get comments and 'jokes' about not being able to do what everyone else is doing.
He has never had a conversation with, or any input from, the SenCo.
I have never had a conversation with the SenCo about DS.
The SenCo has never contacted me about DS to discuss him.
Again, he has no SEN.
So.
My questions to people here who have knowledge and experience:

1. What the hell is going on here?
2. Can they enforce this? Does DS have any choice or any say in the matter??
3. What right do school have to remove his choice to do 2 humanities, or 1 humanity + 1 language? Without any prior conversation with him or with me?
4. AIBU to feel they are 'dumbing down' his options?
5. Why does DS have to choose 2 options from a list of practical subjects? This isn't the pathway he wants to follow - cookery, or DT, or dance, or drama, etc. But he's now got to pick 2 of these subjects.

The list of the 2 extra choices on the standard Ebacc pathway contains additional academic choices.
Whereas the list of 2 extra choices on the additional support pathway DS has been placed on contains no academic choice whatsoever.
If he only does Maths, English, Science + 1 humanity, plus 2 practical non academic subjects, is this going to exclude him from doing A levels and a degree??
DS most definitely wants a career that will require A levels and degree. Will this additional needs pathway block him from going on to do A levels & degree because he won't have enough GCSE subjects?
DS is an intelligent boy. I can't believe the school are restricting his GCSE choices like this and putting him on this pathway, having never once put him into any additional intervention measures since starting in year 7.
His year 9 assessment scores were all below the year group average. Not way below. But they were below. His results do not reflect his intelligence or capability. He said he knew all the answers but didn't get to complete the assessments as ran out of time. So the unanswered questions that he hadn't got to pulled his total score down, even though all the questions he did answer were correct.
Basically I feel like I've got an intelligent boy who hasn't performed well in the year 9 assessments and as a result has been placed on an intervention GCSE pathway that enforces a reduced number of GCSEs and being forced to take 2 practical subjects instead, yet with no consent from or discussion with DS or myself about this.
I have tried really hard to speak to the SenCo since Monday when I found this out, but I am not receiving any replies to the emails I have sent her requesting for her to contact me to discuss this. I've been told this has all been based on her recommendation, yet she's never even had a conversation with me or with DS.
I am really worried aboug the impact this will have on DS's options, choices, future success and I'm worried about this affecting his self esteem.
Only 16 kids out of an entire huge year 9 cohort have been assessed as unable to do the Ebacc route and my intelligent DS is one of them? He's in the bottom 10% of kids who isn't allowed to do the standard Ebacc pathway that the other 90% of kids are following and yet he has no SEN and has never been given additional interventions at school and who is really bright?
From what I know of his blunt and highly insensitive and never-endingly mocking peers, he is not wrong when he says he is going to get put downs and negative comments from peers about this.
He has such hopes for his future career and these restricted and limited GCSEs are going to block that, because his career hopes require A levels & degree.
Help😞

Schools set these kinds of deadlines but if there is an ongoing discussion about what GCSEs your DS is going to do then the final decision will have to be pushed forward.

I would also try very hard to get your son a formal assessment by an educational psychologist. I did this for my DC and it was very eye-opening.

I eas also going to mention processing speed. It is impacted by dyslexia, but also dyscalculia - which came to mind due to the lower maths grouping.

Thank you Clary, you were being helpful on previous thread and now on here too.
Honestly, please believe me, I did not know he was not finishing his tests.
His assessment scores in year 7 and 8 were average.
His assessment scores in year 9 were only given to me last week. This is the first I've received any feedback for the whole of year 9. And when I talked to DS at the weekend about his scores being below the year average, that is when he told me he didn't finish the questions in his assessments. He said he got anxious about the pressure and this slowed him down. His science teacher backed this up last week at parents evening.

Given that the problem seems to have been not finishing his exams, it sounds at least possible that he has something like a processing problem, or an executive functioning problem. If so, there are steps the school could and should be taking to help him, and in addition it is possible that they might be able to apply for extra time for him in exams.

I think you need to write to the form head, SENCo, head of year and school head to ask (1) why this wasn't raised long ago; (2) why they haven't either arranged an assessment or asked you to do so; and (3) that he be put back on the pathway he expected but with urgent arrangements being made for assessment, support and, if appropriate, exam concessions. Say that, under the circumstances, it is not acceptable to give you such a short deadline to respond to the form but that your wish is that he should do the subjects he chooses and not have to waste his time on practical subjects he has no interest in doing. Give them a list of his choices.

Why do you say of course it can be changed after that date, when the Head of the school is telling all of us parents that it cannot be changed after that date?

That's helpful. Thank you!

Surely you cannot have got to y9 without knowing if his academic performance is good/average/below average.
Right the way through primary school and secondary you will have had at least an annual (if not more frequent) report stating whether he’s well above / above / meeting / below expectations (or similar grading) in various subjects.
If he’s always been meeting or better, then you need to ask for an explanation of why he’s been put on this pathway given that his performance has always been adequate enough. If he’s generally not been performing well, then I’m surprised you’re surprised.

I agree with this. Passing English and Maths is key or it will be a roadblock to everything else. I would be arguing for him doing a reduced number of subjects but that he likes. And don't pick art. Massive time suck and if you are not fast with doing coursework it will be really stressful to try and put enough in.

Contact head, head of year,whoever you can get hold of and ask for a meeting this week.

It will change if you display enough middle class outage and entitlement when dealing with the school.

I do wonder what your plan would be should you be successful and get him reinstated on the mainstream track? Are you going to get him a lot of private tuition? Because if you're not, then you're just making his future harder. His teachers have made a list of kids most likely to fail. Your kid is on it. Getting him reinstated doesn't change his abilities.

Please keep up with updates.
It's painful when people like you only skim read the OP and then answer without reading the OP's updates.

What subjects does he want to take @Arizona29 ? And for A level and degree? It may still be more than possible with a reduced set of GCSEs as long as he still takes the ones that lead to the A levels he wants to take.

Go to the head about this. It’s a lot to take and won’t benefit his confidence at all. I’d rather him try as he’d planned and repeat if necessary than be excluded from peers without any longterm evidence of his extra needs.
Surely that’s your choice as a parent.

It sounds like he's struggling so a reduced number of GCSEs plus additional help with the crucial ones seems like a good idea to me. Why set him up to fail by taking on too much?

My son realised after 5 weeks of year 10 that music gcse was not for him ( he was grade 6 drums, but really needed to be able to read piano-style music, which he couldn’t. He liked the sound of Business Studies instead ( a friend was doing it), so we asked the school if he could swap. They made a massive fuss about it. And said they never usually let anyone switch subjects this late, but I researched which timetable slot business was in, and it was the same as music, so I asked on the parents WhatsApp for information on what they had covered so far, bought all of the revision guides, and told the head of year that I would help my son learn the missed content over half term. I was a bit of a steam roller!! And he crammed it in all well, and they gave him a trial. In his first lesson (after half term) he was putting his hand up and answering questions, and the teacher was very impressed! I think it is more usual to swap in the first couple of weeks of term, but I didn’t really give the school an option to refuse..

So all is not lost. You should go through the options and work out two scenarios. The options he would choose if he had free rein, and the options he would choose if he had to go on the reduced pathway. I would at the same time book him in for a private dyslexia diagnosis, and if the assessment shows that he has the potential to achieve, with accommodations (if he has dyslexia), then you should make a case for him to choose better options. If it were me, and if he has dyslexia, I would be tempted to reduce the number of GCSEs down a bit anyway, but on your terms if that is possible (eg 2 humanities if that’s what he wants, rather than a lot of vocational choices). Having got 2 dc (both with dyslexia and one with autism as well) through GCSEs, it can be exhausting for them, and spread them very thinly. Which is why we will try to reduce down the number of GCSEs for my youngest (also dyslexia, and pathway for autism)..

This shouldn't be something that has been sprung on you. His ability in maths and English impacting his options is something that the school should have raised with you at least once before now.

My understanding is that when it comes to exams, they can request access arrangements without a diagnosis, and that a diagnosis doesn't automatically mean extra time.

Despite knowing there was a diagnosis, and both dc and I requesting certain adjustments for gcses, the arrangements weren't put in place until part way through year 10. Even then, the school needs to do an assessment of writing speed themselves before it could be agreed.

If there is a history of him not finishing on time, and struggling with certain things, it should have been raised with you or looked into sooner.

Has anyone mentioned processing speed being slower before. I had never heard of dyscalculia until a few years ago. It is similar to dyslexia, but impacts how the brain processes numbers. May be totally irrelevant but if he has dropped that much in maths but is generally intelligent, it may be worth looking into. That combined with not finishing exams could be linked to processing speed or working memory.

Some of the subjects you have listed as being less academic aren't necessarily easy options.

Art is a lot of portfolio work, that also includes written analysis.
Product design includes elements of chemistry, and potentially other sciences, plus an element of art. Also requires practical skills and coordination.
Music they need to perform at grade 3 or above. The list of terms they need to understand for the exam is long. They need to do their own composition too.
Cookery I don't know much about- doesn't strike me as an easy option. ( wouldn't be for me anyway).
Photography assessment is similar to art, but understanding all the elements of taking a good picture, and the digital manipulation involved may be more complex than you think.

They may have more practical assessments than subjects that are all exam, but if your son isn't interested in them then it seems stupid to force him down that path. He will get more enjoyment, put in more effort and achieve more in subjects he is interested in.

I would be contacting the head of year and or tutor and asking for a meeting. Hope you can work out something ds is pleased with.

How did they grade him at the end of Year 8? They also will have done other assessments in lessons before the ‘big’ one that has been reported to you.

I think you should ask for a meeting on Friday and give them tomorrow to send a Round Robin to his teachers for info.

This will be a load of rubbish my DD was offered the chance to change 1 subject at the end of year 9. Her school start GCSE prep.in year 9. She had no idea if she had gotten onto her new course until she started back in September of year 10. Nothing is set in stone until they start taking exams.

Schools state a date and say they will.no move from it as the amount of work that would be added by some kids wanting to.swap and change would be a nightmare.

I also have twins and neither wanted to take a language. I made the request I person and then in writing and the school got them to.pick another subject.

Tbph I think the entire approach of the school clearly supporting the 'practical=a soft/easy subject' opinion is problematic.

Dc2 is very academic...accelerated maths class etc. His options were History, Geography, PE and Food&Nutrition. He chose the two 'soft' options to balance the other two.

He has told me almost since day 1 that his PE theory classes and Food written assignments are far harder than his actual double science classes, or his Geography. It's something I've heard from quite a number of teens tbph.

Reducing a timetable seems sensible in some circumstances but telling them 'you can do Food but not Geography' seems barmy.

This should never been a surprise. You either go to a really shit school or a school for ‘sporty’ people! If your son is in lowest science, that’s really basic, it’s ok he can’t cope with more. He is obviously not capable of passing top set or they would have entered him as that. I’m shocked you are not aware of your child’s abilities.

Well, I think you’re being a bit unreasonable to be getting this worked up about it without a proper conversation with the school, to find out about why they are suggesting this. If the SENCO isn’t responding to you then go over their heads until you find someone who does respond.

I think it’s important that you approach them with an open-minded “why are you suggesting this?” rather than “no I want him to do the normal
pathway.” He scored below average in his year 9 assessments and he is in the bottom set for maths so clearly he is not doing quite as well at the moment as other students, regardless of what the reasons for that are.

He will still be able to do A-levels and go to university with the course that has been suggested for him, and in fact he might do better doing the reduced course load. He is certainly much better off attempting fewer GCSEs but doing well in all of them, than if he attempts more but doesn’t pass them.

The school should have been in touch with you to say that they have concerns but it does sound like they have considered your son's ability and worked out a pathway that will give him the best chance of good grades. Reducing his workload so that he can have additional tuition in maths and English is sensible. If you want him to have the choice of a full timetable then there won't be time for the additional maths and English support so perhaps you could arrange out of school tuition instead. Is he the sort of child that would engage with it?

It really doesn't sound like you have been very involved in your son's education up to now and have just left it all to the school. You said that your son was moved down to the bottom set in maths. That is a bit of a clue that he isn't doing so well in it. You should have been checking in with DS and calling for meetings and questioning the teachers before now.

At least you have found out he needs support ahead of the GCSE year so you have time to get your DS help to catch up. You need to stop being so passive and speak to someone tomorrow morning. Why are you sitting around waiting for a call back from the SENCO? SENCOS are notoriously overstretched and can't always respond quickly to non-urgent requests. Call to speak to your son's Head of Year or Form Tutor. Can't get them, then email the HoY, SENCO, Form Tutor, copy in the Headteacher. Escalate to a formal complaint if no-one is getting back to you. You are ranting and getting all upset on Mumsnet, aim that at the school instead.

So to be clear, are you saying that if he does:
Maths
English
Science
1 humanity
2 practical subjects (non academic)
And nothing more than that, he will be able to go on to do A levels from those GCSEs?

I thought to be able to do A levels you need 2 humanities + language in addition to English/Maths/Science?

Depends on the college and what A-levels he wants to do. Generally 5 GCSE passes that include Maths and English are the basic level needed to do A-levels.

It will all depend on what a levels he wants to do, and where he wants to study them.

Some places will want higher grades than others.

I looked at the local fe college before options were picked, to see the requirements for subjects that may be of interest.

All said 5 gcses grade c or above ( we are in Wales so still use letters) to include English and Maths.
Some preferred a B in English
Some required b or c at the subject in gcse - sciences, computer science, art, geography etc

The fe college in our area didn't require history gcse to study at a level, but I have read on posts that some colleges do.

We haven't chosen any humanities or languages. Welsh is compulsory.

For those that go to Welsh medium schools, they take a different Welsh exam ( language and literature) ro those taking it as a second language, and that is accepted in place of English.

Depending on what he wanted to do, there are btech level 2 and 3 too.