Has ds been treated unfairly? Entrance exam for school

[Penguinpairs]

Ds sat the 11+ entrance exam in Sep 2022. He didn't quite reach the pass mark. The school allow anyone who is within 10 marks of the pass grade to submit work along with a statement from their primary school teacher for review. Some children are then offered a place at the school. Ds is very capable at maths so this would not have been an issue, however his written work isn't as good as it might be due to his diagnosed dyslexia. His primary school teachers felt he was working to grammar school standards though. I have recently discovered that while the review panel were told he is dyslexic, there was no Senco or similar person there to explain the impact dyslexia can have on written work. I am concerned that ds has been measured unfairly against his peers. I have spoken to the school at his subsequent Sats and they have said that he will need to re take the exam this year. I don't think he was treated fairly though when they did his review.

Could anyone tell me if they think he was discriminated against? Thank you in advance

I can’t say if he was at standard. But do you think he could cope in a Grammar school environment? It’s hard work.

Agree with poster above. I thought they took things like dyslexia into account when marking and that they make additional adjustments. Extra time a person reading the questions that sort of thing.

Is he in high school now?
Is he happy?
Does the school meet his needs?

If yes to all, I can't see any point in pursuing this.

Surely it depends on the individual school and their policy. In your opinion, is the primary school at fault or yourself for not ensuring his special needs were accommodated?
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have to redo the exam later and then be on an occasional spot wait list.

Would they not already know the potential impact of dyslexia on written work as a matter of course? Is that not widely known in education?

Had there already been adjustments for dyslexia in the exam (eg extra time)?

This ^

Is dyslexia the same for everyone or different? I don’t really know anything about it but I know that in my area some primary schools won’t help in our 11+ appeal process because it’s a lot of work for them and others do help. I would say that dyslexia is different for everyone then it might be laziness on the part or the school or discrimination or just inexperience in filling out the paperwork.

Is this a state or private school? It sounds as if you are too late to appeal on that basis again and presumably he has started year 7elsewhere. Is there a process for later occasional entry?

I assume he’s not happy where he is otherwise there would be no point pursuing this. If he/you are still keen for him to go there, find out if they have a year 8 or 9 intake probably with exam. He can sit that and if he passes great he’ll get a place, if not move on and accept that grammar school isn’t for him.

My DD is dyslexic, she’s on Y9, she has special arrangements for all her secondary school exams so far, as all the other kids that need special arrangements
however she did had to sit the entrance exam with no special arrangements
she was waitlisted in a lot of schools - not because she’s not bright enough to make the cut, just because selective schools do take the top students, the ones that will easily have the A+ marks and will make the school look better - that’s just a well know fact
if special arrangements were needed for the 11+ exams or the entrance exam, they should have been arranged then, you should have asked for them there
just now is too late to think about it
and as a last point, a high percentage of kids on both my DD’s primary and secondary school are dyslexic (to some extent) so I would say the schools know and consider this

I invigilate 11+ outside catchment area, and our LA does agree to some concessions for some students. Eg extra time for dyslexic students. It is arranged months in advance and I assume the primary school must be heavily involved in the request.

If you applied for the school and didn't get a place when offers were made last year, you could have appealed and argued that the review was unfair. If you didn't appeal at the time, you can still do that now, although it may be harder to win an appeal than it would have been last year. If you still want your son to go to this school, that is the way to go.

The school should really have been told about the dyslexia before your son took the exam, so that they could make appropriate adjustments and take it into account on marking the exam.

The exam was done fairly. Ds just didn't hit the pass mark. As I said in my post everyone who is within 10 marks of the pass mark is invited to send examples of their work to the school along with a letter from primary school teachers and from this some children are then offered a place at the grammar school. I already have DC there and I am confident that ds can 'keep up' and so we're his primary school teachers. We submitted work for review and said that he is dyslexic but ds wasn't offered a place. I have now discovered that there was no one on the panel to explain the impact of dyslexia on written work, it is not just a struggle with reading as many people think. Ds would prefer to be at this school which is why I'm asking if he has been treated unfairly. I didn't appeal after the review as I just presumed it would have been conducted fairly.

I'm an English teacher. We have a LOT of training relating to additional learning needs, including dyslexia. I'm quite surprised that you think teachers don't.

I don't need a SENCo to tell me the impact of dyslexia on written work - knowing that, and having an in depth understanding of a range of additional learning needs and differentiating accordingly is a fundamental part of my job.

The people who assessed his submission are also teaching professionals. Dyslexia is common, they will have training, knowledge and experience of it.

Your son didn't reach their required standard for someone with dyslexia. It's unfortunate, but it's not discrimination based on dyslexia.

As for "...it's not just trouble with reading as many people would think." - many people DO think that, but trained professional educators are not in that "many". 🤦🏼‍♀️

Dyslexia typically gives extra time not extra marks. My dd is dyslexic and to get her A's she had to get the same as anyone else

Doesn't sound like discrimination to me.
This was 1+years ago, so presume he's in a different school now. Is he happy there?

He wasn't up to scratch OP. Sorry but there you are.

there was no one on the panel to explain the impact of dyslexia on written work

Every single person working in education should know this. I'm surprised you think they don't

I would expect the statement from school to support the review to cover how it impacts him.

Review body know what they are doing and don’t need a senco to explain anything
he was not treated unfairly and he did not pass the entrance exam. He will do well wherever he goes because he is bright and you advocate for him. Hope it hasn’t knocked his confidence

I do worry about the impact on kids when parents are still questioning decisions over a year later. It’s really imparting he doesn’t feel like a failure in where he is now as it’s likely that will be his school for some
years and feeling he’s second best will be really detrimental.

There may have been very few of those extra places and perhaps they feel his dyslexia would make it hard for him
to work at the required standard or his work even with a professional eye judging in context just wasn’t enough on this occasion and other candidates were stronger . I’m quite sure the teachers on the panel are well aware of dyslexia.

I really feel with the time that has passed that you would be better letting it go and reminding him he’s done brilliantly and you are happy with where he is.

Azandme I have a great relationship with the primary school, where I still have DC and while training has accelerated over the last couple of years I can assure you that many teachers have said to me that they feel out of their depth when it comes to any sen. It is good to know that you feel that you have been given the training you need but not everyone who teaches feels that way.

Mitogoshi I wasn't suggesting ds should have extra marks. I was only asking if people thought that his written work had been assessed fairly. There was no marking involved.

Bathtime we haven't discussed this with ds at all. Before he even sat the exam we have been very careful to talk about both the grammar and the comp in equally positive lights. He has said to his sibling that while he is getting a good education and doing ok he wishes he had passed the 11+. To give more details would be outing but I can assure you the only reason I was questioning this was to provide him with an alternative school should he want to move I changed secondary schools myself and it was not a great experience and would actually be reluctant for ds so do the same, unless it could be done very soon. I certainly wouldn't want to when he's half way through Y8

i fully agree that he will do fine where he is because he is bright. People seem to think I am unhappy with the exam outcome, I am not, it was done fairly, ds didn't meet the grade. The only thing I was asking was if his local review was conducted fairly. I don't expect him to have been given a place but I want to know that he was treated fairly. That surely is not unreasonable?

Honestly op. Most people on the panel would be teachers: it in incredibly insulting that you feel they would need someone in the room to explain potential implications to them.