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.

I would add lots of creative people have some type of ND - not all of them of course, but I think the proportion is higher. I studied art and have a sensory hypersensitivity and I've seen a lot of similar things among my peers.

All the way through his (state) primary school I kept telling his teachers I thought my younger son was dyslexic but they insisted he was just not very bright. In the end they gave in and conceded to allow the SEN teacher to access him. They informed me after her assessment that there was no sign of dyslexia. After a short while at his (private) secondary school I was called in and told that one of his teachers had flagged that they thought he may be dyslexic. I told them that he had been tested in his previous school and that he was not dyslexic. The school were insistent that he should be tested and I reluctantly took him as I was sure it would be a waste of time and money. He was found to be so severely dyslexic that he was awarded 35 not 25% extra time in exams and was able to use a laptop not write. He was also found to be highly intelligent. I actually cried at his assessment when the assessor gave me his results. Clearly his state school teachers and the SEN teacher were absolutely shit.
The entrance exam he took to gain a place at his secondary school measured intelligence, verbal and non verbal reasoning that sort of thing so he did extremely well in it which is how children with SEN get into independent schools.

I imagine there are many reasons. One example, which is common, is what happened to my DD. In a state primary; hugely bright and managing to do well academically but confidence shattered over the years by constantly being told off for not doing enough work.
Therefore decided to go private for secondary. Aced the 11+ to get into a very academic school. Wheels started to come off in about Yr 9, when pure intelligence was no longer enough to adequately mask her ADHD. Her consequent mental health issues were noticed not just by us but by the school. Because the school knew she was bright - she wouldn't have been there if she weren't - her struggles were taken seriously. She now has special exam arrangements.
There was no gaming the system.
What is probably the case though is that the school obviously need their students to reach their potential multiple 9s / A* because they're a business ultimately and otherwise they go down the rankings, and so they were pretty pushy about us getting a psychiatric assessment.
I wonder whether it wouldn't have been quite as all hands on deck in the state system. It certainly hadn't been at her state primary where in hindsight it was obvious that she had really struggled and no one had noticed, other than to tell her off.

I am so hoping that this doesn’t turn into a state bashing thread….

OK to bash independent schools but obviously not state schools?
Premise of the OP was "are independent schools gaming the system?" . So that's fine but identifying that actually it's state schools failing SEN kids isn't fine?
Oh and FYI saying some state schools fail children isn't "bashing", it's pretty much fact at this point.

My daughter was at state school until start of Y9

She had a diagnosis of slow processing from when she was tested by an Ed Psych in state primary school. ( tested her but offered no support afterwards)

Her state academy were supposed to provide support but didn't have capacity so she really struggled especially when Covid lockdown hit and all support for everyone disappeared even after schools re opened.
We moved her to a non selective indie and they quickly realised she needed re testing.

They confirmed her original diagnosis, arranged extra time for GCSEs and only told me about any of this once they'd sorted it all.
They also offered a reading pen but she declined out of fear of looking different.

I didn't ask for any of this and I think that's the difference for me - I fought and fought for her at state school and got nowhere.

Many many SEND dc have moved to the private sector as they were struggling in ms state.

@CurlewKate we were very committed to state but sadly our dc was poorly supported.

And due to VAT, many are moving back as the VAT also applies to any 1-2-1 support they may be getting
It's a disability tax at this point

Private schools have the staff and funding to facilitate
private schools have an incentive to keep parents happy
parents can afford private diagnoses
lots of Sen children go to private school
some Sen schools are private schools

its not that private schools are doing too much. It’s that state schools aren’t doing enough

Many posters, including me, have said they don’t think private schools are “gaming the system”.

Quite simply They ask. They demonstrate the pupil meets the criteria. That’s not gaming - It is organised and proactive.

You just say chippy little "privilege" comments!
No-one has bashed state schools so your hope stays intact and not sure why you needed to post the comment

This has always been the case. Independent schools play the system to ensure their results on paper are good. I remember going to university and meeting private school kids for the first time and a massive percentage of them had dyslexia, or so they claimed.

A friend has recently sent her kids to a local private secondary school. I asked how it was going and she said really well and that the staff had been really good at discovering her daughter’s dyslexia which, in their own words, “we had never noticed at primary school”. I laughed out loud. They will be first to admit that their daughter isn’t very academic - the perfect candidate for some extra time in exams!

Utter bollocks.

Do you know how to get AA? Exam boards are accountable and audited on these.

If a child who isn't very academic gets extra time it won't make them any cleverer. More time won't mean they can answer the questions any better.

It will mean they answer more if the questions and therefore stand a greater chance of a higher score.

If they are able to answer more of the questions with extra time then it pretty much confirms that they have some SEN that prevents them from doing so under normal conditions and so the extra time is valid.

I absolutely know private school parents who have paid privately to have their DC diagnosed as dyslexic when they didn't make criteria for the diagnosis via the non private route. Private schools knows this will give the kids more time and improve their results.

There's also been BBC investigations into, for example, private ADHD clinics where they have diagnosed every single person assessed as having ADHD.

People can't really argue with the results with 100% of people getting a diagnosis! It's obviously wrong

My comments on privilege are not “chippy”. I explained carefully what I meant. The same would apply to privileged families in state schools too. Having more money to pay for testing. Having more confidence and understanding to navigate the system and to push for what your child needs. School staff having more time. Simply that.

Exactly

I'd expect diagnosis rate at a private clinic to be very high as by the time most parents get to that point they are pretty desperate and are pretty sure that their child has ADHD/autism etc

It won’t make them any cleverer, no. But there are plenty of children who will do better with a little extra thinking time.

If they need extra thinking time then it is likely they have something like slow speed of information processing so they legitimately need the extra time.

Even with a diagnosis etc extra time isn't a given. Exam boards look to other things first such as rest breaks

If they need extra thinking time then it's because they have a processing issue and therefore process information at a slower speed than a NT child.
Do you know the process for granting AA?