school policies on extra time in exams/access arrangements for dyslexia

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My DD was diagnosed with dyslexia a couple of years ago. In the report it was recommended that she be given 25% extra time in exams. My DD is in year 5 so coming up to a time when she will potentially be sitting exams from the start of year 6 either for private schools or state schools where there is banding and some selectivity. It doesn't look like the school is currently giving extra time in exams and doesn't have a policy of doing so. Unfortunately it looks like DD can't qualify for extra time in exams unless her current school gives it to her. Her form teacher says she never gives extra time in exams or tests and wouldn't know how to administer it. I wondered, therefore, if this is the norm in state primary schools? It is odd because even the local council states they will grant access arrangements for extra time in year 6 exams provided the child is currently getting this in their current school.

I am not sure if I should be taking this further or if her school is doing what all primary schools would do (i.e. nothing). Also DD doesn't get any support for dyslexia even though various recommendations were made in the dyslexia diagnosis report. I do the best I can with her at home but there is no input from the school. Yesterday I asked if the school could possibly provide any relevant vocabulary they would be using for curriculum topics so we could practice it and consolidate at home. The teacher said she would look into it as it hadn't occurred to her so I don't think they think about dyslexia. DD says she is asked to read out in class and finds it embarrassing as she can't pronounce some of the words whereas the others don't have this problem so she is a bit self-conscious about her limitations.

Any thoughts or experiences to share?

No experience at primary level.

However the impression I have is that dyslexia reports often recommend 25% extra time almost as standard but really there are clear tests that schools should use to know whether this is needed or not. Certainly at GCSE level there are specific tests that have to be done to show working speed / whatever are below usual standards, plus then usual way of working and showing it benefits.

(Both mine qualified for extra time.)

Also as a side comment, if extra time is needed in non test situations I would personally be wary of selective schools in case the general pace and homework work load is too much. (eg My DDs needed longer than normal to do homework, and needed more time than I would anticipate for revising things etc.) Note this isn't an issue for fair banding tests, but would be for academically selective schools.

It's a bit feeble a teacher saying they wouldn't know how to give extra time in tests though. It is hardly rocket science. In secondary mine used to come early and start in break or stay late into break to get their extra time if needed.

Do you have any evidence that extra time is needed? eg If they do timed work in class does your DD fail to finish or produce less work or regularly say she has to rush?

I’ve recently gone through this, and I will say it depends on the school you apply to as to whether they will allow the 25% extra time and not always dependent on current school practices.

We had to submit our Ed psych report to each school, and then only one school asked for a letter from our current school re extra time. The rest of them made an assessment based on the Ed Psych report we provided as part of the application process and declaration of dyslexia. Three of the schools based whether they would grant extra time on the basis of the JCQ guidance (which is prescriptive in respect of scoring thresholds against the different areas that are assessed for a diagnosis) and one seemingly on their own reading of the report. All schools granted the extra time based on the independent Ed Psych info provided.

If the Ed Psych report recommends extra time then regardless of whether your school gives it then it’s possible that it will be granted despite your school not giving it. I recommend speaking directly to the SEN teams at each of the schools you are interested in to discuss with them directly.

Agree with the PP - if it’s a CAT4 / Banding type test there will usually not be extra time granted in our experience.

Thank you. The dyslexia assessor's report included lots of details on tests done on processing speed etc. I actually get the impression the school haven't assessed her at all in two years! We had a private dyslexia assessment done but with the support of her school teacher who had recommended her for dyslexia screening and she was on a waiting list in the school for it. As I was given some vague comments that they didn't know how long it would be before she was assessed by the school I proposed getting it done privately so we would know the outcome sooner and the school teacher provided the input required, answering the questionnaire etc. However, the process for the local authority test is that they need to be getting some SEND support and current access arrangements by the looks of things. I get the impression our school SENCO is somewhat swamped. She was asked by a paediatrician to put in place some support for my DD's dyslexia at the start of this academic year but an email I got from her just before Easter (when I chased up) was to say she was going to get their literacy person to assess her and would come back to me. That seems to be a stalling tactic for basically nothing having happened yet!

This is why there is such a discrepancy between the proportion of private vs state school children qualifying for extra time in exams - state schools can’t or won’t provide the resourcing for all the children who should qualify.

i would fight for more time. I am no expert and haven’t hit exam years yet, But was told that in order to qualify for accommodations for GCSEs you need to be able to show a documented history of needing the accommodation. I would worry that a middling score is deemed ‘good enough’ even if dc could have done much much better with appropriate adjustments.

It isn’t difficult to allocate extra time in practical terms. It may mean that a pupil takes the test in a different room, with an invigilator. Of course, that requires extra staffing.

The guidelines for access arrangements mean that evidence must be shown that the arrangement is the pupil’s normal way of working.

Some pupils find extra time very useful and benefit from it. Not all welcome it and don’t want to be different from their peers. If hasn't been documented over time that your daughter has slow processing speed, slower reading and/or writing speed, it will be more difficult to show that is what she needs.

Dyslexia reports do often recommend 25% extra time.

Things schools do to show extra time makes a difference is to get the student to switch to a different colour at the end of full time, or just draw a line of where they have got to.

A bright child may find at primary they don't need extra time because the work isn't stretching enough, but by the time GCSEs hit the need becomes more apparent and then it gets granted.

Where my daughter is falling down most is in timed tests! At a parents evening with her teacher this came out as an issue. I asked my daughter about it and she said she gets a bit overwhelmed at the test and forgets everything she knows. Hence, she can answer the questions in class when there is no time pressure and no particular pressure to get them right (but she does get questions 'right' when there is a clear right or wrong answer (e.g. in maths) but then falls apart in tests! She then ends up guessing all the answers and scores badly! So part of the problem here is that she guesses the answers to get through the test in time and hence finishes (but has got most of it wrong)! Hence, it takes a teacher with some awareness to realise what is going on as I suspect looking at simplistically at teacher asked if she needs extra time or struggles to finish a test would say no because she finishes! However, she has only finished by randomly guessing answers to get through the paper.

And just to add to this, I think when this type of thing happens it is no use just giving a child extra time for a one-off external exam because they have already developed their coping strategies to work with the time available previously. In my daughter's case a coping strategy seems to be to guess the answers and just put anything down to get through it.

This shows the EAA for KS2 SATS 2025

https://www.google.com/search?q=Exam+access+arrangements+SATS+2025&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=

For private school applications you will need to contact the SENCOs of the schools you wish to apply to.

My DD has a visual processing disorder and this was a common thing in primary. At around year 4/5 we talked about moving her emphasis to doing her best on the questions rather than focusing on finishing.
This helped school to see that she needed more time/support. In particular in year 5 reading comprehension she started the year answering all the questions, but brief 1 word answers and scoring poor marks. To only answering about a third of the questions, but proper answers that got her better marks
School then did an intervention that showed her how to identify the key words etc that she needed for answers.
Eventually in year 9 she had her access arrangement assessment and had 25% extra time and use if a lap top. She taught herself to touch type which really helped.
But getting help at any stage at school is hard, what I can say is when they make it to Uni help is thrown at them.

Any additional time is based on the child's needs and what they require on a daily basis in the classroom.
School need to apply for and provide evidence of the need. It is not automatic..

One child with dyslexia may sail through an exam while another may need support. The difference between two children with dyslexia is like chalk and cheese. There is no set provision for 25% or 20% depending on the exam board

A diagnosis of dyslexia doesn’t necessarily mean any extra support or time.
Extra support or time is given on the basis of heed.
If a child is behind in reading they will get extra support in reading (doesn’t have to be anything to do with the dyslexia, just the reading ability).
If a child is behind in spelling, they will get extra support in spelling: dyslexic or not.
If a child has slow processing, they will get extra time if it’s needed: dyslexic or not. You need to show that they receive extra time normally and that it benefits them.