Help! ADHD, GCSEs and adjustments

[FrostHardy]

I am currently engaged in a battle with DS's school about his GCSEs and I'm not sure why they are pushing back, I'm hoping someone can help me understand it here.

Background: DS is in year 11, he will sit his GCSEs this school year. We moved to the UK from overseas last year. He was moved from the start of year 8 into the end of year 9, so he's had about 15 months less time in school than the other kids in his class. He was diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive), dyspraxia (fine motor, can't tie shoelaces, extremely slow and laboured handwriting etc.), generalised anxiety and major depressive disorder by a developmental paed overseas. He can't tolerate stimulants but takes intuniv. His inattention is severe and he's extremely distractible. He needs lots of help to do things like get ready to leave the house, we have frequent incidents of things left on (taps, oven, hob), losing everything, going out without keys, bus pass, phone etc etc. School work is a battle and his confidence is low. I have two neurotypical DCs who have none of these issues.

When he arrived into the UK in year 9 he was assessed by the school senco once, she said he doesn't need extra time but has applied for rest breaks and a reader. He sat mocks last school year and bombed out (most scores 2-3, some scores under 1), he kept losing focus and ran out of time.

I asked the deputy head if he could reduce the number of GCSEs he's sitting to focus on getting the grades he needs (at least a grade 4) in 5 subjects to allow him to access a place at college. The school he is in now has no sixth form.

The deputy head emailed back and said no, and basically said he needs to work harder. The email was astonishingly rude actually, so I'd obviously asked the wrong question.

I pushed back and was then offered a meeting! What do I need to ask in the meeting? I've been reading around I think I need to ask to see the results of the Senco's assessment from year 9? Should they do another assessment? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

To add …
I forgot the quotations around ‘ how’ crap ‘ they are !
of course they are not and offer so much individually.
for my child it’s empathy , intelligence , humour , kindness. Joy, resilience , and now a rapidly building sense of justice !

Extra time .( if processing speed falls within a certain bracket)

This would only be applicable if applying for extra time under the learning difficulties criteria where a Form 8 is needed. Extra time for those with ADHD do not require a Form 8.

@BaconWaffles you can see what a prompter can do here. 14.11-14.16

Oh that’s interesting … what’s the situation with autism and this rule please

Same for ASD. A Form 8 only needs completing for applications for those with learning difficulties. I linked to the rules in a pp which goes into more detail.

Oh thank you 😊

You could request a prompter and separate room in addition to rest breaks as exam access, that way he would be able to focus better and the prompter could keep him on track if he's visibly wandering. It's very hard to time out on an exam with rest breaks as they can, theoretically, run till the end of the day (ie 23:59) on the day of the exam, as long as the student has not left the exam room (unless under supervision, eg for toilet breaks), but the student can only be actually working on the paper for the alloted time. School may, however, decide that the student is too distressed or ill to complete the paper and end the exam if they deem the rest breaks too long to be appropriate.
Extra time as an access arrangement is usually 25%. Up to 100% is available but this requires substantial evidence and is often detrimental due to fatigue setting in and the knock on effects if there are two exams on the same day.

Thanks everyone for your advice, sorry it has taken me a while to reply.

I didn't appeal the EHCP refusal, I didn't know that most were refused. Their reasons for refusing seemed non-negotiable, I wish I'd taken some advice and appealed but it's too late to start again now unless he repeats year 10.

I am waiting to be given a meeting date/time so I will follow up asking for the senco to attend and ask for the details of the assessment she did. Asking for a trial of extra time in the next round of mocks is a good idea, I will also ask about a prompter. I am constantly prompting DS at home, he has zero sense of time passing, I understand this is quite common with ADD. DH is planning to come to the meeting but I have a family member who works for the council education dept, I wonder if they'd agree to come, I'll ask!

I've been contacting educational psychologists but I am struggling to find one who isn't booked up all year. I did have a chat with one lovely one who was shocked but not surprised at the pushback we're getting. I think he has been written off as lazy and disorganised, this seems to be specific to the UK? In DS's home country he had 3 hours per week of 1:1 teaching support, extra time in exams, modified assessments etc. and this was a huge state school.

@OvertakenByLego just coming back to form 8 vs form 9, if the senco has applied for DS's access arrangements under form 8, will they need to apply again using form 9?

Request another EHCNA. Appeal if refused, the vast majority of appeals are upheld. It isn’t too late. EHCPs can last until 25, or 26 in some circumstances.

Unfortunately, independent EPs have long waiting lists at the moment. If you request an EHCNA and the LA agrees to assess an EP assessment has to be undertaken during the needs assessment.

If DS has been assessed against the criteria for those with learning difficulties (for whom a Form 8 is required) he needs assessing against the criteria for other disabilities.

I just find it surprising that a school pushes back so hard on exam access arrangements. Surely it's in everyone's interest, including the School's, that students can perform to their potential. If a student has evidence of a need, why wouldn't they want them to have it met? The schools own results would be better!

yes @CasparBloomberg I don't get it either, I thought they'd be much more amenable than they are being.

thanks @OvertakenByLego that's very helpful

Just an update - I’m still waiting on a date/time for the meeting, however DS was in his year group assembly on Friday and the head of year 11 announced that no one will be allowed to drop any GCSEs under any circumstances, because they don’t have the teaching resources, and that the kids just need to focus. I find it hard to believe that anyone else has made the same request so I’m assuming his announcement to the whole year was directed at DS. I don’t know why that answer wasn’t given directly to me in reply to the email I sent. The ‘focus’ comment directed at a kid with ADD seems particularly tone deaf.

I first asked about fewer gcses last year, the senco said that some kids did do fewer GCSEs… I asked because I knew it had been allowed before! I’m a little confused at the level of backlash but feeling pretty defeated.

Don’t rule out there being other requests. Some schools have a flurry of requests to drop subjects. Also, what schools say publicly isn’t always what they agree in private for individual pupils with exceptional circumstances.

Thanks @OvertakenByLego good point, although we were given a hard no in the email we did get, just no explanation of why.

Hi OP, things are tough in UK schools especially for SEN students and parents. You sound like a lovely, trusting person. You are going to need to harden your heart and be a little less trusting (you can still be polite and constructive).

What's the Head like? If you don't get any joy from this meeting, contact them.

If you can afford GCSE at a private school, it's usually an open secret that one in most areas takes the SEN kids. You can find out which, by browsing the ISI reports (the Independent Schools Inspectorate - the Ofsted of the private sector).

Interested how your child did. I'm at a loss at the moment as my undiagnosed dyslexic / dycalculq/ audhd child has just finished his gcses with not a lot. I'm so sad that school and the lea failed him because he seems neurotypical.

Oh @HowamIgoingtocope I feel you. Ds has to fight so hard for things other kids take for granted when it comes to education, but because he’s quiet he gets written off as a time waster. He passed maths and double science but failed the rest. So hasn’t got the 5 passes he needed for the course he chose at college. He’ll have to resit English and will have the option of taking individual science gcses to bump him up to 5 passes and then in theory can do the original course he planned to do after that. So he’ll do 3 years in 6th form college rather than 2. I feel pissed off for him, the school failed him, but also he didn’t work hard enough and he knows it. We need to put better supports in place so he can study at home. He wants to go to university and I think he’ll get there, it’s just going to take longer than the usual route. If the college is anywhere near as useless as the school was it’s going to be a struggle

This ^. However, all access arrangements are based on teacher evidence of a student's normal way of working. The JCQ's view is that rest breaks are often more beneficial for students with ADHD and these should be trialled first. Does your son need extra time? I would arrange a meeting with SENCo for September

Hi OP, just popped on to say well done to you for your resilience and well done to your son for getting the exams he did. As my old dad would say life isn't fair. I hope your lad has a better go of things at college.

Thank you @Notgoodatpoetrybutgreatatlit I really appreciate it! I agree with your old Dad, it’s been a bit of a life lesson for DS, including recognising that he did really well to pass what he did. Between us we’ll get him where he wants to be