What can I realistically expect the school to do?

[DyslexicNotThick]

Please can someone advise me in what support I can realistically expect from school for dyslexic DD?

Background: DD is in yr 11 and due to take GCSE's in 2019. She was a high achiever in primary school, although in yr 4 teachers her teacher started telling me that her written work does not reflect her knowledge and ability. Struggled to write stories or anything longer than a a couple of paragraphs. All parent teacher meetings at secondary school have said the same thing, and it seems to be having more of a negative impact as time goes by although they always said how good her work ethic and attitude to learning is. Promised to provide strategies to help her improve her writing but they have not appeared despite DD repeatedly asking.

I could see a lot of similarities in the way DD and I learn, so when I was diagnosed as dyslexic last year as a mature student, I started to wonder if DD is dyslexic too. School reluctantly did the screening but deemed her to fall within normal limits despite big variances in her scores. During the summer holidays I paid to have a private ED psych assess her who stated she is dyslexic. I emailed the school with the report including the recommendations of extra time in exams, a reader or laptop with optical character recognition and voice recognition, and help from a dyslexia tutor. I received an email that basically said because her grades are not awful they have to gather evidence that she needs the extra time in exams. No mention of the other recommendations.

One teacher (English) has been fantastic and allows DD to mark on her work where she has got to at the normal allocated time, but then to carry on which DD states shows that she can achieve as much again in the 25% extra time as in the normal allocated time.

DD has been very strongly self directed and 2 weeks ago emailed the SENDCo to enquire what the plan is for the upcoming mock exams. SendCo replied that she is still gathering evidence and will let her know in due course. We have heard nothing since and mocks starts in 2 weeks time.

DD is now very despondent and said yesterday she feels there is no point revising because it wont have any impact on her grades. She doesn't feel school is supporting her (apart from her English teacher).

Time is marching on and I don't know how to approach the school. I am well aware of the ever decreasing budgets for schools and cynically feel that the fact that DD's grades won't be horrific means the school won't prioritise putting the support in place to help DD reach her full potential. The mother lion in me asks what evidence can they possibly need over and above an ed psychs report? I am so frustrated as DD has a clear idea what she wants to do for a career, and has the intelligence and attitude to achieve it, but needs the support now as the GCSE's are so close. I'm torn between emailing and asking politely what the plan is, and writing an email releasing all this pent up frustration on the school. I think a polite email will only be fobbed off, and an honest one will only put a wall between me and the school. But then its the squeaky wheel that get the oil etc. The fact that I am dyslexic too means that emails such as this cause me huge stress in making sure I've used the right tone and words, don't let my emotions distract from the required outcome, don't put someones back up etc.

Is it realistic to expect that school would put the recommendations in place on the back of an ed psychs report? I am a lone parent so accessing a dyslexic tutor privately would have a big impact on family finances but I would make the necessary budget adjustments if that is the best thing to do. Part of me feels that with the limited time between now and GCSE's its the path of least resistance, and I just want the best possible outcome for DD, while the other part questions why should I also pay for the tutor after I had to pay for the assessment, which clearly states what school should put in place.

Sorry its so long but I didn't want to drip feed, and apologies for any typos or grammar/spelling errors, as I said I too am dyslexic. If anyone fancies helping me draft an email, that would be hugely appreciated.

Sorry OP to hear about your daughter, in my experience the type of support really depends on the school. If you are in the state sector, I have been warned that the only ed psych report they will follow is one completed by the school's approved ed psych. Also regarding extra time, JQA has specific guidelines as to who can qualify, this is not a judgement call by an ed psych. From what I recall, you need at least one score at 80 or below from memory, so simply having a very spiky profile would not entitle that student to extra time.

If your daughter is dyslexic, she should be getting support but in what form that is really depends on your school. My daughter is in year 6 and spends 30min a week learning proof reading techniques for instance, but this is in the private sector. Friends daughters who are also dyslexic do not get support in a different school, so it really hit and miss. I'm not sure if this helps but my experience is that there is no set scheme which is provided whether your in state or private.

They have to request the extra 25% per exam board - there will be a January deadline

Also the 25% extra time should be alongside training on how to use that time effectively and not just 'given'
Same with any laptop or software - she can't just take a laptop into exams they have to use set programs etc and school ones at that without internet access etc

You need to push this side of Christmas otherwise it's too late

AND school assessments put weight EP accessments on exam arrangement she

The rules on getting extra time are quite strict now. Unfortunately, it is not enough to just say a candidate would benefit from it, as a lot of candidates would! There has to be a "substantial impairment"- this would usually either be a score of 84 or less relating to speed of reading/speed of writing/cognitive processing measure, or two scores of 85-89 in these areas.

Exam boards can also award 25% extra time at their discretion if a candidate has several scores in the 90-94 range and a diagnosed "substantial" learning difficulty.

The JCQ say "The vast majority of candidates awarded 25% extra time will have an assessment of speed of working showing at least one standardised score of 84 or less. Rare and exceptional cases may however exist".

The SENCO also needs to show it is her normal way of working. It may unfortunately be too late to do this.

Do any of these apply to your DD? If they don't, then the SENCO may be trying to investigate what access arrangements your DD may be able to access- as it won't help her much to get 25% extra time in her mocks but not for her actual exams.

You can find more information here: www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance/access-arrangements-and-reasonable-adjustments-booklet

Yes I was going to say it needs to be her normal way of working. So how it works with English would be helpful. Could you push for a similar way of working in other lessons op, this would give you a better chance of the extra time.

Tbh I doubt if any state school will give you a dyslexia tutor. None that I have come across anyway.

Btw op your post is both articulate and free from major errors (that I can see) so please don't do yourself down.

DislexisNotThick,

I understand your feelings and sorry to hear that school does not want to help your DD.

I transferred DC1( ADHD, bad memory, aggression) to another school and problem was solved but that school gave us a lot of home work and support. He studied in Russia and attended a correction school there, The difference was in number of pupils in the class only, 12 instead of 30.

Unfortunately here, it is not possible. Only if transfer into a private school.

DC2 ( hyperactivity and dislexia) changed nursery and primary school, he was sent to a behavior specialist and studied well below than average. Non of them tried to put some efforts to help. All I could and can do is sit to learn together. Now, he is ok: attends an art class and I found a small not expensive learning centre (£10 per hour) where there is a teacher in creative writing. Our new school is better. I see constant communication parents-child-school.

So, every thing in your hands. If you want the best future to the daughter - sit and learn. Do not rely on the school only.

You are the best mum and I am absolutely sure that you would find a right delicious. 😊

Thank you all for your informative replies.

They have helped me to realise it isn't as simple as handing in an Ed psych report and everything falling into place. I have tried to wrap my head around all the scores but some are high and some are low. The report states that this is because of her IQ and developing coping strategies. I still feel confused and have no idea what the schools plan is.

DD and I are further confused and frustrated as she has been told that she has to resit the screening test this week. She already sat this in January and it feels like all those months have been wasted. I have had no communication from school about why or what they plan to do then. DD was in tears about this and it was very hard to calm her down as I don't know what schools plan or rationale is. I have now booked an appointment to speak to the SendCo to try an figure out what is/isn't going to happen.

I think I'm just going to try and get a dyslexia tutor despite the school's ongoing testing as time is running out and DD needs some support.

You need to find her deficiency - the low score

DS for example has a low memory recall - so needs extra time to re read questions
He has slow handwriting skills and processing problems.

So he's getting memory challenges to see if that helps - he gets touch typing lessons so he can use a laptop in exams

He panics in exam conditions - so he has exam practice sessions

Every dyslexic has a ceiling so you find the weakness and work on that

Some aren't discovered until university because they have found coping mechanisms

Example you may find X is very organised not because its natural but because if they don't write it down or do it straight away then it gets forgotten - it's a coping statagy

What LadyLance said. The most important thing is to establish the candidate's normal way of working in school.

Many access arrangements can now be granted at the school's discretion (rest breaks for example). Some, such as 25% extra time, will also need to be supported by low (

Push the school as much as you can. Sadly the limited resources mean that the parent that pushes the most gets what they need!

Your daughter sounds just like mine, who is now in Year 12.
Very bright at Primary but this dwindled at Secondary. Have always been told since Year 1 that what she wrote was lovely, but there was never enough quantity. So eloquent verbally, but never transferred to paper. School just said she was lazy, and tbh we thought that too (plus a perfectionist, so too scared to start writing).
Got good GCSE results but still not what we thought she was capable of. On starting 6th form she was screened and she's dyslexic (vey low processing and working memory, but very high IQ, so massively compensated) Explains so much. Her confidence was at an all time low during Years 10 & 11. She's on the right track now with extra time and laptop, but she is so sad that she never got that extra time for her GCSEs.
I never had any inkling that she could have been dyslexic, as she was v early to read v fluently and her spelling has always been excellent.
Sorry I've rambled, but just keep pushing - arrange a meeting with the SEN department and push, push, push for the extra time she deserves. The school will benefit after all, as they'll get better results.

Surely sitting the screening test again is good news?

I would take it to mean something like: She didn't meet the threshold for extra time last time she was screened, but now you have supplied extra info they are going to rescreen to double check.

(They can't just take private Ed Psych reports as evidence. He who pays the piper calls the tune and all that. i.e. There would be concerns that people would pay for a negative report.)

Rescreening is standard I think anyway even if they say you qualify for concessions. When she entered the school in y7 they tested my DD and said extra time, and as it happens today she was retested (y9).

An Ed Psych report requested by the school, following support, strategies and reviews, is likely to bear weight with exam boards. A private one requested by a parent probably won’t.

I feel other posters have said much what I was going to.

A private ed psych can be great or not worth the paper it's written on.

There are rules on extra time and having a spikey profile wouldn't automatically qualify, not would having dyslexia.

There needs to be evidence that the candidate's access arrangement is their normal way of working.

I'm not saying this is true in your case OP, but you'd be amazed how often students get to year 11 and then suddenly we get lots requests for extra time, lots of screenings based on 'someone said once in primary...', whole rafts of people saying 'but they know it in class and then struggle in the exam' (commonly known as 'year 11 student needs to revise and develop exam technique over the coming months). It's astounding if you teach in a leafy area. Parents who've never so much entertained their idea of their child having a SEND need suddenly spring up out of nowhere when they think it'll give their child the edge and make it easier for their child (And with it the willingness to pay someone lots of money to write a suitably vague ed psych statement saying not a lot e.g. child may have dyslexic tendencies as they have slight weaknesses in 2 areas).

Most of the things students need to work on in year 11 is exam technique in my experience and that's a suck it up and revise thing.

@dyslexicnotthick Was there anything in her standardised scores in her profile which was below 85? E.g. working memory or processing speed? Was her writing speed assessed as part of the Ed Psych assessment? As LadyLance says, there are quite specific criteria for extra time in exams and if she fits the category there will also be a need to provide evidence of ways of working. These need to be put in place now.

If she doesn't fit that category, she will find it difficult to get the extra time and needs to work on her exam technique and building speed.

My son is dyslexic and we only got a private Ed psych report as neither primary nor secondary had recognised what he had. - just terrible handwriting and spelling. He has a scribe in his Y6 SATs though.

We paid for a report in Y7 or 8 and he’s had a laptop since Y8 and extra time in end of year exams and mocks. It been his usual way of working for some time though.

School needs to provide evidence that the access arrangements she needs are her normal way of working.

For example, if she gets 25% extra time, she will need evidence from each subject that she gets 25% extra in assessments. A typical way to show this is to change pen colour at the end of normal time.

If she needs a reader, she may have to be taken out of lessons for assessments and be read to by an LSA, who will annotate her test paper.

It is very late for this to be a normal way of working, but the school should get everything lined up for the mocks. They will need to apply for extra time and get this approved.

She would not be allowed a reader on any paper where reading is being assessed.