year 6 SATS and dyslexia

[lovelymama]

I’m posting here as well as the SEN section as wasn’t sure where I would get the best response....
Is anyone able to confirm what help a child with dyslexia is allowed in year 6 SATS? I’m supporting a child I tutor with SATS but there’s no way she is going to cope with reading the paper. Is she allowed a reader? A dictionary? I can’t get her school to answer the questions and to be honest I don’t fully trust them! I just want to know what rights she has

I’m aware of the extra time she gets and they have given her this but that’s the only support and it really isn’t enough.

No reader for the reading paper is my understanding.

official guidance

There are access arrangement tests that the school needs to use, but any benefit that comes from them must also be normal school practice. So if the tests show she is eligible for a scribe, there needs to be evidence that using a scribe is normal classroom practice, similarly for a reader or extra time. These tests will determine whether she is eligible for extra time, a reader, a scribe or a combination of these.
She will not be allowed a reader for the reading paper, no one is! If she isn't eligible for a dedicated reader, for the other papers, she can put her hand up and ask for every question to be read, this is perfectly within the rules!

Thanks for the quick responses, really appreciate them. The guidance paper was very helpful. Can I ask what severely dyslexic pupils are supposed to do? I mean the girl I work with can read but these year 6 papers are so complex, with language she has never heard before and she can’t read it in context. She’s getting 5 or 6 marks out of the entire paper and feels so awful. When I read the text to her she can answer so many more questions

Unfortunately the reality is that a child with dyslexia won't necessarily meet the standard for reading. We get our children who really struggle just to focus on the non fiction piece, it is usually written in more straightforward language and is ( often) more accessible. If non fiction is a no go, then just the first extract!

It’s such a depressing part of education. I’m training to be a dyslexia tutor at the moment and it’s staggering how uneven the playing field is. I can imagine we will look back in 15 years time and say ‘I can’t believe we treated dyslexic students like that’

It's awful. My six year old is dyslexic. I asked if there'd be any way he would get help with year 2 SATs as he can barley read and they said no. I'm dreading the year six ones.

The curriculum was not designed with children with learning difficulties in mind. GCSE is awful too, two year course assessed by terminal exams, you're not even allowed to take the books or anthology into English Literature.
You are allowed a reader in all tests that aren't assessing reading. In gcse you are also allowed a computer reader in English Language. But the memory required is a huge barrier.

First time on here. Quick question. Has the child got a recognised diagnosis of dyslexia? Children with dyslexic difficulties but no formal diagnosis will not necessarily get extra time. It has to be proved that they can read to a good standard but are perhaps slower readers. It is heartbreaking to see these children sit through the reading test. If the child is not working at the year 6 standard then they do not have to take the test. However, this can do more harm than good with regards to self esteem. If she has got a formal diagnosis at primary school, then she is 'fortunate' in terms of the support she can access.

If the child is not working at the year 6 standard then they do not have to take the test

This isn't accurate, although the rest of the post is - they are end of KS2 tests and a child working anywhere between Y3 and Y6 is deemed to be working at the standard of the tests. Only if the child is working pre key stage are they judged as working below and therefore exempt.

Children with dyslexic difficulties but no formal diagnosis will not necessarily get extra time

A formal diagnosis does not in itself guarantee extra time either - I've had children with one score 120. They did not qualify for extra time (and didn't actually need it).