Not sure why DS is getting extra time in SATS.

[MitziKinsky]

DS told me yesterday he will be taking his SATS in a different room to the other children (with three other children) he will have 12 extra minutes and can have the maths paper read to him.

Today he told me today this did happen, although as it wasn't the maths paper they wouldn't read to him.

DS does use tinted lenses, along with a tinted overlay which helps with his reading, prescribed by a behaviour optometrist, but he isn't diagnosed with anything (he was tested for dyslexia, but apparently he isn't dyslexic) school don't recognise him as SN, he has never been on school action, as far as I'm aware (although he has had extra support from TA's)

I'm not quite sure how the school have managed to get this extra time, and surprised I was never told this would happen. Surely if he is recognised as having SN this should be mentioned when he goes to high school?

You would think so, yes.

I suspect they are highly motivated to ensure he gets the best possible mark in his SATS but not that bothered about supporting him the rest of the time. Which I'm pretty sure isn't allowed but heigh ho!

If you feel that he would generally benefit from getting this type of support then you could, I suppose, expect the school to back you up after this.

But he shouldnt be getting extra time unless he has a specific need identified. Mine have to have an IEP and be assessed by the educational psychologist who measures processing and writing speeds, The application for access arrangements is very specific on this, you can't just give a child extra time because you think they would benefit from it, every child probably would!!

my kids are younger but one does have a few splds. I don't think that sounds right. They presumably aren't reading the paper for all children who wear glasses? my eldest has coloured glasses (although she has other issues with her eyes too but without the colour finds reading hard because of the way the print looks) and I wouldn't expect her to get any extra time or a reader in anything. I don't think the school would even consider it. I thought like Spanieleyes that they have to have something diagnosed. whether they have an IEP I think depends on how the school choose to handle it as I don't think IEPs are compulsory (could be wrong though) but they definitely have to have an assessment of some sort officially saying they need extra time or a reader.

Any child may have a question read to them if they ask. But to have a reader for the whole paper - that's only permitted if it's normal day to day practice in the classroom for that particular child.

There are schools who break the rules - we had a reader on my own personal here a couple of years ago talking all kinds of bollocks about her school's special circumstances. It was a load of rubbish.

That should have read 'we had a reader on here who'

I don't have the link but if you have a search on the GOV/EDU/SATS webpages it does list the criteria for special assistance and adjustments during exams

www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessment-and-reporting-arrangements-2014-key-stage-2 Section 4.4 page 20!

I know it by heart!!

Dd has a statement but the school asked for clarification as to whether she was entitled to extra time (even though her statement does specify that she will need extra time due to slow processing) because she should get 5's even without extra time. It seems that some schools interpret the rules very loosely whereas others don't seem to.

Has he been diagnosed with Irlens syndrome? This is generally people who have difficultly with reading which is helped by coloured glasses/reading overlays.
If so, the LEA may have indicated this group of children extra time for exams. It is a SN.

Yes the rules get bent and DD1 is jolly glad they do.

Ensured she got to see the senior school senco and means she now, absolutely legitimately gets extra time.

Thanks for the link spanieleyes.... I'm on phone so struggling a bit, but will read properly later.

I'm sure ds does have Irelens, but the behaviour optometrist never actually said so, and I've never said he has to school- I've just insisted he wear his glasses and use the overlay as the make a huge difference.
He has been tested by an ed psych who concluded he isn't dyslexic, but his writing is slow (it was very, very slow) and he doesn't properly understand what he's just read - so he would have difficulty with written maths problems but not the maths, so yes a reader in maths will help him, but tbh it's not the SATs I'm bothered about, it's receiving appropriate help at high school.

Karoleann - Irlen/scotopic sensitivity/eye stress are an spld but I haven't heard of them getting extra time and readers before. I will have to keep that in mind for my daughter.

Writing speed when doing free writing is one of the criteria - he will have probably done something like the Heddersley sentence completion task in school (maybe whole class did) and if his writing speed is under 10wpm the school could apply online for extra time before 14th April. There are other criteria to do with reading/processing etc.

You may have to fight for him to be tested at sec school - my ds is very bright but writes incredibly slowly (dyslexic) so he has always qualified for extra time.

if the Ed Psych said his writing was slow then that is probably why. Whatever the reason for it being slow it is slow.

Do school Ed Psychs produce any sort of report that you could get a copy of? you could then ask to meet with the SENCo at the secondary school and give them a copy.

we had to go private for all our tests but they showed up completely different things to what we had assumed and now I have reports. Had to rely on grandparents to pay though. School might ignore reports but it gives us something to work from.

Schools had to apply online for additional time this year (except for children who have a statement of SEN), the deadline for which was 14th April i.e. plenty of time for you to have been informed.

My class contains a handful of pupils who write so slowly it's painful to watch - they qualified for additional time but I spoke to their parents about applying for the extra time back in January.

So that the school does better in their SATS than they would otherwise.

Or am I just ridiculously cynical?

My son has Irlens so wears coloured lenses, but that in itself doesn't qualify for extra time as the lenses usually correct the problem sufficiently. I find it weird that you haven't been told a reason. That seems like bad practice to me. We're yr5 and have already been told DS will have a scribe/ extra time for his SATs next year. He happens to be dyslexic too and is on the SN register. Even with that though extra time/ scribe/ reader isn't automatic as it's based on evidence collected by the school. It should be being carefully tracked.

Just as others on here might know, what's the difference between being on the SN register and having a Statement of Educational Need. I think SEN warrants far more help, but not sure how/ why.

Just a parent - and perhaps Universities treat this differently but ...

SEN = Statement of Educational Need

If you have such a statement you are put on the 'register' so that those inspecting the school can judge whether adequate support/ provision has been made for that pupil.

however, it is my understanding that the government is changing how special education is organised - more info here: www.gov.uk/government/news/special-educational-needs-support-families-to-be-given-personal-budgets

Certainly our school has been posting information about these changes and how they will affect parents on school notice boards.

HTH

Thanks PastSellby. Nice of you to reply. I'm still a teeny bit confused. Is there a distinction between having an SEN and being on the Special Needs Register? I think there is as just being on the SN register doesn't seem to get you much help, whereas having a statement does. If anyone has a simple explanation I'd appreciate it!

Having a statement means that a parent has the legal right to ensure that their child's needs are met. A statement is issued (not always) following a statutory assessment which is where an assortment of professionals assess a child's difficulties and how they impact upon their learning in school. A statement is a legal document that describes the child's needs and what support the school must provide. In our LA they are funded independently of school's SEN budgets but other LA's give school's extra and they fund it from theirs. Statemented children are welcomed in our LA's school because they bring their own funding for support I suspect they may not be quite as welcome elsewhere as the statement is sometimes only part funded or not at all and it's a drain on resources. For dd it means that she has a TA who provides 20 hours of support per week so that she isn't disadvantaged by her SEN.
As Past says it is all change from September as statements are replaced by EHC.

SEN does NOT = statement of educational needs

SEN = Special Educational Need a child does not need a statement to be granted extra time in the SATs and a child with a statement will not automatically require extra time.

Maintained schools have a statutory duty to ensure that provision is made to meet the special educational needs of their children.

"A small number of children may need additional arrangements so they can take part in the key stage 2 tests. Headteachers and teachers must consider access arrangements before they administer the tests.

Access arrangements should be based primarily on normal classroom practice for children with particular needs. They must never provide an unfair advantage; the support given must not change the test questions and the answers must be the child’s own.

If schools use access arrangements for a child inappropriately, the child’s results may be anulled."

Access arrangements may be appropriate for a child:
•
with a statement of SEN as described in the SEN code of practice or a local
equivalent such as an Individual Pupil Resourcing Agreement (IPRA);
•
for whom provision is being made in school using the School Action or School
Action Plus aspect of the SEN code of practice and whose learning difficulty or
disability significantly affects their ability to access the tests;
•
who requires alternative access arrangements because of a disability (which may or
may not give rise to a special educational need);
•
who is unable to sit and work for a long period because of a disability or because of
behavioural, emotional or social difficulties; or
•
with EAL and who has limited fluency in English.

When making a decision about using access arrangements, schools should consider:
•
the child’s assessment needs; and
•
the type and amount of support the child receives as part of normal classroom practice.

Some examples of access arrangements are below. A full list of access arrangements and information about each one is available on the DfE’s website.
•
Opening test materials more than one hour early to allow schools to make
adaptations to the text or to prepare apparatus
•
Allowing a child additional time to complete the test
•
Granting a child compensatory marks if he or she has a profound hearing
impairment and does not use lip-reading or a signing system
•
Allowing a child to use a scribe, for example if he or she is unable to write or finds writing very difficult or uncomfortable
•
Making a transcript if a child’s writing is very difficult for a marker to read
•
Delivering a translated version of the mental mathematics test to a child with limited fluency in English

Ah that's brilliant. Thanks as ever mrz. Explains why he's getting extra time/ help already too.