Private school pupils more likely than state school to get extra time in exams

[LattePatty]

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/lofqual-students-extra-time-exams-2024-25

Context: I have a GCSE age child in a state school who doesn’t need extra time and a younger child with SEN who probably will.

I heard this yesterday - 1 in 6 pupils get extra time in exams (which is more than I would have realised) and the proportion is HIGHER in private schools than state schools.

How can this be? I know there are some private special schools but the majority of private schools I know are academically selective. Are there really higher levels of SEN needing extra time in private schools vs state?

So what’s going on: Are private schools gaming the system? Are private school parents more able to pay for assessments privately? Something else?

We all know that private schools fees give the advantage of smaller class sizes and better facilities and maybe better teaching (moot point I think). But I certainly didn’t realise another benefit might be extra time in exams.

This 💯

All I know is that none of the dyslexic kids in our state primary got extra time with the KT. Possibly why so few get into the grammar schools meaning they don't have to bother with it. Private schools have more capacity for this than state and the parents are more likely to have had the child tested and kick up a fuss for the extra time.

yup we did the same. We knew what testing to get her, we noted her profile of strengths in some areas but random weaknesses in others, we researched the assessment, we commissioned an ed psych, we paid for the assessment, we read the findings and understood what issues she did have - and what issues she didn't. We learned the terms to describe these.

And when applying for private secondary, which are the only exams DD has ever taken, I had to :-

• look up the relevant law entitling her to extra time
• get out the ed psych/cognitive testing we did
• find the relevant bit and quote her scores and the report, using the right terminology to be certain it could not legally be turned down
• email all this as part of the application form.

The exam board then assigned her extra time, which the school then implemented.

I am a professional who knows how to do this kind of stuff and has access to a laptop and time to do it. edited to make clear - this is to demonstrate the inequity of the system, it's fair my daughter gets support but totally unfair that my privilege enables it and others lose out.

If school has dyslexic children and they are assessed to have below average reading and writing scores, the SEN at that school was negligent.

However when I talk about malpractice I am talking about senior schools who are subject to Joint Council for Qualifications jurisdiction and inspection.

Productivity is plummeting due to years of under investment.

Let’s not go back to the days when kids with autism were just labelled weird and dyslexic kids were laughed at by the teacher for their poor spelling🙄

Exactly, and a few extra minutes in an exam isn't going to cause the collapse of a country. AI is doing that to the job market for us.

That might have been what you meant, but it isn’t what you said. You said “there are more specialist independent SEN schools than state SEN schools”. Nowhere did you mention you mention in proportion to mainstream schools.

OK but I have now clarified that however it was in answer to OP saying "proportionally"

There are quite a lot of private SEN schools. There is also a sizeable % of children in private schools with SEN - particularly the academically able but can't cope with the hustle and bustle, large class sizes and huge scale of mainstream secondary school presentations. Even in academically selective there is a % of SEN children - those who are very academically able. Private schools generally have smaller class sizes and don't generally tolerate bad or disruptive behaviour so are generally calmer environments.

Private school is an investment for most parents who privately educate their children so they are more interested, invested and motivated to ensure their child is doing well at school and their needs are been met. They are more likely to have the resources and motivation to pursue diagnosis and ensure their child is getting the provision their child needs.

The state system on the other hand is firefighting at every level. Only the most "in need" (disruptive, aggressive, academically behind or have motivated parents willing and able to assertively advocate for their children) get help. When the school SENCO is spending 80% if their day dealing with disruptive/ aggressive incidents as a result of unmet needs it leaves little room for getting support for Jonny who is dyslexic but is quiet and well behaved in class and although not reaching his full potential is on track for a pass at GCSE. Paired with long waiting lists on the NHS for diagnosis many children are slipping through the cracks. There are children in the state sector who would be eligible for extra time but their parents are either: uninterested, lack the knowledge to pursue diagnosis, very time poor and pursuing diagnosis requires time, lack the funds to pursue private routes (NHS waiting lists are LONG!).

Then there are children who have a diagnosis or EHCP but their parents don't have the time/ resources/ knowledge to enforce their EHCP and advocating for the extra time they may need for exams. Enforcing EHCP's in many cases requires going to tribunals, constantly contacting and chasing up the local authority, lots of meetings with school, pushing for reviews of the EHCP, finding/ chasing professionals to write reports. In all it can be a full time job ensuring a child's needs are met. This is much easier if you a) can afford to pay for private reports and legal professionals to represent your child , b) have the time to keep on top of everything -I.e it is one parent's full time job so they don't work, c) have the education level to understand the process and who to contact for help, d) able to move your child to a different setting without it upsetting the very fine juggling act of work/life balance.

Not all children with SEN are unacademic @LattePatty, which is what your OP seems to imply.

There are SEN kids in both, but it’s a hell of a lot easier to work with the privates are they are better funded and have the capacity to amass the evidence/put in place the accommodations.

Your child has to be on the more extreme end of the SEN scale , and largely unacademic, to get support in state. The quiet and compliant SEN kids are overlooked until they break.

Whereas in private (except if the private is crap pastorally) things get spotted faster and intervention is swift. After all, reduced grades (the eventual end result of non intervention) are a big marketing and cash flow problem, so it’s in the privates school’s direct interest to sort things out.

It’s not gaming the system. It’s having time, money and parents with privilege. By which I mean parents who understand how the system works and what they are entitled to and the confidence to ask for it.

Second this. My son was in the bottom 2% of the population for writing speed, in theory he would have had 100% of extra time, in practice his school fought for it but the regulator only gave 25%.

The bar was anything but low.

This does resonate with what I see in the workplace.

My son was moved from private to state

In private - they screened every child for dyslexia in Year 7
Their entrance tests identified spiky profiles (which was confirmed by a provate Weschler test
They were able to see that an academically able child was under-achieving whereas in the state school as long as they looked like they were going to get Grade 4/5 GCSE they were happy
I could afford to see a private Ed Psych as the CAMHS waiting list was 2-3 years long

In state however, they cared enough to put reasonable adjustments in place (time out/understanding meltdowns etc.)
But they were woeful at allowing use of a laptop etc. Ds got extra time/rest breaks but only because it was already in place when he arrived there.

There were many children in his year waiting for assesment, some only got a diagnosis after they had left for uni.

On a very basic level it’s probably the fact private school parents can afford to pay for private assessments and speed up the process. My son had a dyslexia screening at his private school but we were left to sort out the full report with a private child psychologist. He wouldn’t have got any support without an official diagnosis. That cost nearly £400 ten years ago so heaven knows what it would be now. I have a friend whose daughter has just had a private autism assessment and that cost nearly £2000. Ultimately private school parents can afford are maybe more able to pay for expensive private assessments. My son then did get an extra 25% time in English and history exams ie the essay writing ones but not the others.

I have never seen a private school "funding the diagnosis" as PP said, it sounds ridiculous to me but maybe I'm missing something 🤔

A clinical diagnosis is not enough anyway, DS had a comprehensive 15 page diagnosis from GOSH but AA was a separate assessment still.

@Ubertomusic I think the PP is suggesting that private schools have a list of psychologists that pupils are signposted to.

Parents can buy a private diagnosis and get it in a few months if they have the money. Otherwise you’re waiting years (if everything runs smoothly) for a state school child

AA is a separate process, you can have a diagnosis but no AA and vice versa.

And SEN have skyrocketed because of the lockdowns.

Yes, it took us three years to go through SLT to CAMHS to finally to GOSH. That was only for the main diagnosis and before the current collapse of the system.

My DD wasn't low on grades or failing in her work or slow at reading etc etc. Rather she is a very high potential learner who was getting average results and fretting herself into an eating disorder over it. Children who are intelligent can still have SEN and it's just as unfair that they don't succeed to their potential.

And thinking about work - just imagine what an economy we could be if we were enlightened about people's skills and abilities, and pushed our high potential people to excel as well as supporting everyone across the board.

The old style of work where everyone had to meet a basic set of assumptions in the office is ok - but just because there are accommodations in place for different workers doesn't give them a free pass for being lazy neither does it condemn the organisation to going slowly or being uncompetitive. It just needs to work smarter and use people better.

We’re at a wealthy state primary and what I see matches PP - five kids out of a class of 30 appear unable to engage well with the curriculum / their peers - the kind of playing up that might be SEN, or naughtiness, or a mixture. The three from wealthier families have parents who advocate, book meetings with the SenCo and head, push back when the school isn’t being as supportive as they’d like, pay money for private assessments. The two from poorer families are now on multi-year waiting lists for assessment.

And those richer families will notice this and possibly opt to pay for private for secondary, then get clobbered with VAT because the state system is a shambols.

It's the lesser seen SEN tax for the kids whose parents can see the state system is failing them and have options.