AIBU to question entering my dyslexic daughter for the Kent 11+?

[Pigwig22]

My daughter is in year 4 and we are trying to decide whether to go for the Kent 11+. I don’t think we should as I’m concerned she’s unlikely to pass, my husband thinks put her in for the experience and see what happens.

She has dyslexia and I don’t feel she does that well at school, but I guess I have nothing to compare her to.

She has come on massively this year in maths, getting 90-100% in arithmetic tests but only about 50-60% in maths reasoning meaning she’s expected overall in maths. This is an improvement to previous years.

In English her compression scores are very good (80-90%), but grammar is just ok (50-60%) and spelling is where her dyslexia really shows 0-3 out of 20 is standard. She would be expected in reading and WTE in SPAG because of the spelling.

We have done some little bits of non verbal reasoning at home and this is her dyslexic super power! I’ve never really known her her one wrong and she sees it almost instantly.

Verbal reasoning is ok if she reads it and close
to full marks if I read it to her as due to the dyslexia she misreads some words. Could she have a reader for this in the 11+?

I think we’d have to work her hard to achieve a pass with the above (is it even possible with this starting point and lots of tutoring??). She already has a dyslexia tutor for the spelling so I guess we would be dropping that and focusing on the 11+ which feels counterproductive long term in what will actually benefit her.

But my biggest concern is if grammar would really be right for her anyway. She can get a bit sad about bad exam marks (ie the spelling test low scores) and they don’t even matter yet. I also feel if (and to me a big if) she scrapped in then she’d be bottom of the class and it would destroy her confidence.

But my husband says stick her in the test without tutoring and see what happens, it all builds resilience he feels.

I think it worth saying we don’t like any of the comprehensive schools near us so our alternative would be private school (I am also nervous about her passing those tests, our top choice would be Radnor Sevenoaks so I think not super selective?). Because of this my husband also argues go for it as we could save on the fees if she did get in.

So AIBU to think it’s a waste of time and potentially detrimental to put her in for it with the above considerations? Or is it all character building anyway?

Just a dyslexia tutor who just boosts her up and up. She comes out of the sessions buzzing and proud.

There’s a general sats preparation focus to the sessions but more in a learning how best to use the access arrangements. For example, building confidence to read the question aloud to herself. She’d have been too shy to do this without having been told how great it makes her. She’s tried loads with her and gives us things to go to the school with in a ‘this really helps’. School are good at accommodating.

And building stamina, she can switch off with a ‘I can’t even start it’ attitude. Lots of games and techniques.

We tried Kip McGrath tuition before which was supposedly dyslexia tailored but it’s nothing compared to this.

Y4 - I felt everything was falling to pieces. This year I have a lot of hope about her being given the tools to reach her potential.

I work at a selective private school and could probably get her through the exam. But it wouldn’t be the right choice for her.

Ah that's lovely to hear, sounds similar to our dyslexia tutor - although not sure it is that SATs focuse, but maybe because my DD is still in year 4.

Only my advice but I have a dyslexic child and private secondary was awful, we moved them to a great state school and hes supported a lot better now. I feel like we were lucky with his current school.

Your child has the spiky kind of profile my son has, I wonder if dyscalculia could be affecting your DD too. Just based on our experience I really wouldn't push her through a competitive grammar. The amazing verbal reasoning seems familiar btw!-but I'd worry she'll not have the space in a competitive place to really understand how smart (but expressed differently) she really is.

There are a lot of private schools I wouldn’t send her to as I don’t think they’d be supportive - the one I went to for example! - but I’m comfortable with the one we’ve chosen. I’ve heard from former pupils with dyslexia, spoken to the Senco and they have a tailored programme of small tutoring and 1-1 lessons for dyslexic pupils. I will do a parallel application for state schools to see where we end up but I doubt it will compare

If you intend to move to Sevenoaks, then a
school there makes sense. Your DD will need a high 11+ score for Weald of Kent, unless things have changed a lot (which obviously they might have done).

My DC with the amazing exam results is not dyslexic. My other DC is dyslexic - fairly mildly I think - and was diagnosed after finishing their A-Levels - they also did very well but not quite as amazingly as their sibling. They had lots of fairly severe problems with anxiety and were very well supported at the school and got lots
of help.

I obviously have no idea what the dyslexia support was like there and even if I did, I know their (amazing) SENCO retired. I have no idea who the new one is but I am sure you could get in touch with them to find out more if you are interested in exploring it further.

Many kids from BR6 got to Knole Academy - I have heard of everything from it’s brilliant to awful. For some reason people seem to
feel strongly about that schools But my info might be a little out of date. Nice building. The Darwin building (and those of most other state schools) is not nice. Try not to let that sway you because it is who is inside and what they do that matters tbe most. Good luck!

I‘ve also heard mixed about Knole - the reason so many from BR6 go there seems to me to be because it’s seen as the bad choice in Sevenoaks. But again this is all just based on the opinion of who you’re talking to at the time.