Exam arrangements

[RollingRivers]

What type of exam arrangements are available and do you have to have SEN?. If your child has suspected SEN can they get exam arrangements?

Should have said dd1 has always had special arrangements, school sorted everything but wrote to her cahms team for extra evidence. Dd2 had special testing when she changed schools because her dyslexia diagnosis wasn't enough on its own, we had to pay for it. University has been easier as they accepted the arrangements from school without questioning it and have arranged for her to take exams in the additional needs department meeting room.

I guess you need to contact the senco with your concerns about her self control in the exam. Busholive is right in that the senco may not be particularly helpful initially. At my son's school they were quite dismissive of our concerns until they looked into it a bit more thoroughly and the evidence started to build up. It definitely is something you need to think about whilst she is still in year 10.

What support has she had in working on focus and concentration? Might it be worth following up an assessment to identify any problems and suggest strategies.

I’m not sure if I’m honest on what support she’s had. But upon speaking to a member of staff she spoke to when being told off they determined that she wouldn’t make eye contact, fiddled with her pen and bracelet when they spoke and was looking round the room. which made her seem like she couldn’t be more arsed This was told to me at parents evening

But that could also be typical of a spld. Kids with such issues often give off an air of disinterest to mask it.

She told me she is interested and she does care what they say though?? Anyway any idea how I ask to get her sat at the back for tests

Dear SENCO,

I am writing to you concerning exam arrangements for RollingStreams.

At the recent parents evening, MrsTeacher raised with me how easily distracted RollingStreams is, and how she sometimes acts inappropriately in tests (e.g. winking, calling out etc). Mrsteacher was concerned this could lead to RollingStreams being disqualified from exams.

I have discussed this with RollingStreams and she says she really doesn't mean to, and is trying hard not to, but sometimes she just can't help it.

I would like to take a 3 pronged approach:

1. For the upcoming exams, please could RollingStreams be placed at the back of the hall/class where she is thus less able to distract/be distracted by others. If at all possible I would like you to consider placing her in one of the smaller rooms.
2. It has been mentioned to me, that this inability to control herself could be some form of so far undiagnosed SEN. e.g. ADHD or Autism. Would it be possible for you to poll her current teachers, or do some form of screening to see whether you think there is any likelihood of this.
3. Can you suggest any strategies that can be used to help RollingStreams, as obviously disturbing others and herself in tests is unacceptable and being disqualified from exams would be a waste of all of everyone's hard work.

I can make myself available for a phone call or face to face meeting to discuss this. I can normally do any day except Thursdays.

I look forward to hearing from you soon into next term

Kind regards

Rolling Rivers

Great email Teen. That is exactly what you need to send Rolling. You really do have to contact the senco about your concerns. They are the person in the school that will deal with organising any assessments that may mean your daughter will be entitled to special arrangements in her exams.

My Ds was referred to the child development centre by his school last July because of his difficulties. He is still waiting for a speech and language assessment with no date for an appointment yet. If your daughter did need any kind of assessment then the waiting lists can be very long. She may not need any of that though and a place at the back of the hall could work well for her.

That’s a great email thank you!

Also what is a child development centre?

A child development centre is an outpatients clinic that sees children and young people that may have developmental disorders. Ours also has physios, speech therapists and OTs. My son is being assessed for autism and that is where he was referred to but in some areas he would have been referred to camhs instead. Unfortunately the waiting times are very long!

My child has a separate room but with other SEN children. She's taps and fidgets so it gives her last chance of getting her paper voided.
She has coloured paper, a reading pen and a reader (I think she has a choice) and extra time.

This has been in place since year 9 and they need a LOT of evidence to qualify. I had to provide all her reports and diagnosis from before that school.
There are children with no diagnosis with arrangements as far as I've been told by parents but it's based on a lot of submitted evidence and they are in the diagnostic process.

That’s unnerving that they need a lot of evidence considering diagnosis and things can take years

They don't need lots of evidence to place in a smaller room.

I think a school could in theory put all 200 pupils in individual rooms if they had enough rooms and ££££ to pay for all the extra invigilators needed.

But yes, they do need evidence for things like extra time or a prompt.

So if I enquire about it before mocks start , despite no SEN, would she be able to do it in a different room?

would she be able to do it in a different room?

Nobody here can tell you one way or another. Your school will make that decision.

would she be able to do it in a different room

As titchy says. The school can do it, if persuaded it is a good idea, and if they have the resources to do so.
Which is why I would get on and write an email, quoting any teachers who have already talked to you about issues.

Nobody can tell you here. It depends on your school Procedures etc.

Ah right ok , was just looking for some input that’s all

Definitely worth having a word with your Senco rolling.
Whether they will allow a separate room without evidence is depending how much money they have to spare I suppose.

I've recently had battles with them trying to persuade my child who has a reader and various other arrangements including a separate room to do her exam in the big room with others. Comes down to £££s I suppose.

Most SEN will have been diagnosed before year 10, so it’s surprising that they are only now mentioning it to you at school.

External exam special arrangements must be applied for well in advance of the exams and the testing must be undertaken by a qualified person, usually with written evidence from other professionals, such as an Educational Psychologist. It must be demonstrated that any arrangement is the student’s normal way of working in the classroom.

For administrative purposes, schools seat students in alphabetical order, although there may be exceptions. You could try asking the school whether your daughter could try taking the exams in a different room to see if it makes any difference to the distractibility. Each school will make its own decision about internal exam arrangements.

Foxy I think there can be quite a lot of undiagnosed children even in year 10. My Ds is being assessed for asd and if I'm honest it would only take a minute or two after meeting him for someone to realise he has commication difficulties. He has gone undiagnosed all through school and is only on the Autism pathway now because we pushed for it.

He also has handwriting issues which again have been ignored and has only found out in year 10. It is late for a diagnosis of SEN but there are definitely some children that have struggled all the way through school without any support.

We've just had a conversation with the SENCo at my daughter's school, regarding arrangements for an upcoming GCSE exam.
She has diagnosed ADHD, which qualifies her for extra time. She also needs rest breaks.
SENCo has said that it's " not school policy" to put SEN children in a separate room, and that DD will have to tell any invigilator that she requires rest breaks.
We're not happy, because DD finds the exam environment hard enough, without having to make herself responsible for the reasonable adjustments she's entitled to. The JEC even use ADHD students as an example of access arrangements, saying something along the lines of, " Because pupil X has ADHD, he'll be in a separate room".
I should perhaps point out that DD's school is a private school, so financial considerations maybe not the same as state school.

I would say that any child who requires alternative arrangements, should be in a separate room. Having said that, I know how difficult it can be to make these arrangements, because I was responsible for testing, liaising with the exams officer and completing the necessary forms for a long time.

We had students who needed a reader, students who needed a scribe, students who were entitled to extra time and some who found it really diffucult to manage in the exam hall. The latter group would usually be in a classroom in my SEN department with a couple of invigilators and we had to find places for the readers and scribes, so they wouldn’t dusturb others. It’s a logistical minefield and very heavy on staff because you need invigilators as well as those actually doing the reading and writing.

I would have allowed a student without an SEN diagnosis to be in o e of my rooms, with a few other students, but each school is different and they may not all permit it. I hope the OP can get some support from the school.