Can anyone help with regards to not making my Ds do sats pls?

[Purplerainbow]

Ds is due to sit year 6 sats. He has ASD but high functioning so more than able. School have said he will get special provisions e.g. A scribe, seperate room, learning breaks etc... HOWEVER its causing so so many problems. He has severe anxiety. Camhs are going to start him on fluoxetine it's that bad. I spoke to the head about withdrawing him and all she said was he had to do them and if I kept him off that week he would have to do them when he was back in.

There are a lot of other factors going on at home that are contributing to his anxiety and I really don't want him sitting them as it's making him worse. Does anyone know where I stand legally? Or if there's anyway to make sure he doesn't actually have to sit them? I know schools can take a particular child out of the equation but they are saying he has to.

I'd appreciate any help or where I can go for guidance on this?

I have been in exactly the same position with my DS and finally managed to get the HT to agree this week. It was hard work because like your DS mine is capable of getting good marks. I went into a meeting on Monday which started with the HT stating he would be doing them and with me stating he wouldn't. I had to very clearly explain how bad his mental health was at the moment, how a large part of the aniexty was due to Sats and how it would be completely pointless to get him to sit them because he was in such a state about them that they would never get him to actually complete them, thus wasting staff time and resources and still not getting a result but massively impacting on a child's well being. I had also spoken to my gp who was happy to do a doctor's note, in the end the HT said she didn't need to see one.
With regards to GCSES originally at the start of the year we wanted DS to do them to get ready for secondary testing but if he took them now we felt it was likely to make it worse not better because he would have a huge amount of aniexty around future tests.
Unfortunately the HT did act very unprofessionally on the day of our meeting, telling DS he would have to do them just before our meeting and watching him get into a total state then leaving him in a state to chair our meeting, never telling me DS was upset, when she checked on him and hour later and saw how upset he was, that's when she changed her mind. I really hope your HT has more ethical ways of making decisions.
Since the decision although DS is still upset with the HT and worried she will change her mind he has calmed down and is a different child in terms of getting ready for school, walking in on his own etc.
Good luck, don't give up, when it's your child's mental health, you have to become their champion.

Thank you, it's nice to hear a positive story. You should hear how he is at the moment. He's had an operation and meant to be resting but he's so so worked up about sats.

It's horrible isn't it, we tried everything we could to get DS to calm down and to reassure him but nothing worked until he knew he didn't have to do them. His school had mock tests mon-wed this week and he was an infants helper instead, he was a totally different child, came out of school telling me about things he had done. Can't remember the last time he wanted to talk about school.
He still isn't a child that is keen to go in the morning but we are back to our usual level of reluctance rather than the self harming and sucidial thoughts.
One thing that I think helped was we recorded DS's meltdown at home so the school could see we weren't exaggerating how distressed DS was, we just sound recorded, didn't think it would be fair to film him.

I would put it all in writing with a copy of the letter to the governors.

Be explicit in your concerns, his anxiety levels, any suicidal thoughts, medication. That sats are making him more anxious and that you're concerned it's badly affecting his mental health. Lay it on thick. That way she can't deny that she knew how severe his problems are. Then she may worry that if he self harms, etc she mig

If your child is high functioning and doing well in practice papers etc, they will obviously want him to sit these papers. If the Head teacher makes that decision, then your only option is to keep him off school the week of SATS and the week after. He cannot be in school and not sit the tests if the school have not withdrawn him from the tests.

Sorry, iPad keeps freezing.

So she might worry that she might be blamed for not allowing him to not sit them because you would have the evidence that she knew. So maybe she might change her mind?

andnoneforgretchen you've shown your real ignorance on why SATS are important. Your son was probably put in the wrong sets for his whole secondary school career. This will have had a bearing on his GCSE results. Being in the right set would have supported him. How did he do in his exams?

Would an email be ok?

IM just typing up an email. What should I NOT say? I'm trying to appeal to her... have quoted the above paragraph etc...

puckered actually I was going from a position of knowing a lot about the tests, probably more than you. The secondary school my son went to didn't use the test results to put children in sets, they did their own assessments and used teacher assessment alongside it. He was in the top set for most subjects. But if you want to call me ignorant without knowing my background you crack on.

puckered are you seriously suggesting that a child would be in the wrong sets for 5 years because they didn't take SATs?

I think the majority of schools have better assessment procedures than that. Even ones in special measures.

Any suggestions about the email before I send it? I want to appeal to her better nature and not piss her off

Iv Sent it

OP - you can get free impartial advice from your local SEND IASS (information, advice, support service for Special Educational Needs and disability). If you google you'll find a contact for your local authority. Does your son have a statement or EHC Plan?

cater no he doesn't. Another Long story. On school action plus and school will be the applyinh for one but say he probably won't get it.

I would definitely get advice from your local IASS or find the local Independent Support service. The law changed in 2014 and if school are applying, it is now called an Education Health Care Plan (they have replaced Statements). IASS can support you through the application process and also general advice on how your son can best be supported at school while on SEN Support (School Action and School Action Plus have been replaced under the new law with SEN Support). They should also be able to advise on the SATs situation and on the legal position re: non attendance.

Independent Supporters have been trained to support parents through the new EHCP process, but have not been trained to deal with general SEN issues. In my area they would refer you to IASS if the case is more complex than a straightforward new EHCP request. You have a right to make the request yourself, often Schools will do it because they feel that they have done all they can and cannot meet a childs needs without the LA providing more funding (for more support in the classroom) or getting SLT, OT etc over and above what a child on SEN Support (or School Action/Plus as it was) might be getting, but a parent can also make the request and IASS or IS are there to guide you.

School should not be telling you that he won't get one. That's not their decision. It's not a great sign for them to have that attitude before they've even requested assessment (first stage of getting an EHCP is to apply to the LA for statutory assessments of your son's needs).

Another alternative is to try IPSEA (ipsea.org.uk). You can book a slot for a telephone consultation with them. There's a booking form on their website.

I applied for it a year ago and it got refused. School are re applying for it this time but head says hardly any kids are getting them now as it's harder to get any help. Iv sent the email so I guess I will have to wait and see what she says ....

If you haven't already I would still recommend getting advice. IPSEA are highly trained in SEN law, as are IASS. Each case is very different, and it can get complex, but generally speaking the change in law was not meant to change things in terms of which children get support. In practice it is getting harder in some LAs but if you get good advice and you fully understand the duties of the school, the LA and your rights and those of your child it is easier to fight decisions. If SEN Support/School Action Plus is not making enough of a difference then that should be evidence enough of a need for more support and the SENCO / HT should be able to provide evidence of the interventions they are using and the impact they have had, and demonstrate that progress is not being made. Hope you get a good response to your email.