Dyslexia identified year 9 and gcse choices

[Tilly0209]

Help please. I had some concerns about my daughter as she takes a long time to do her work but school had no concerns and wanted to her to do a language gcse. However having now screened her for dyslexia they have given her extra time for exams (covers gcse and a level) and agreed she can drop a language. She wants to do media studies instead but suddenly the school is saying she should do study skills despite no concerns before
She is going into year 10 and has well above average scores for all her subjects ( apart from languages and geography. Going to be in set 2 (of 7) for maths and science and looking at doing PE/ history and religion/ philosophy ( Likes tje philosophy part) and media studies. School which is private say can only guarantee support if drops a subject and given v short notice. There is an issue that in years 7 and 8 she was ill and missed exams and teachers despite being asked didn't give her many of the exams to do. Any experience and advice? Waiting to get a full dyslexia assessment. Has anyone had this done and was it useful? Many thanks

My eldest was assessed with dyspraxia in y11, my youngest, y9, has various SpLD. Both qualified for extra time.

One thing would say is that the 'demands' of GCSE years are noticeably bigger than the demands of KS3. This is when my DD1 really started to struggle (and where I am worried for DD2).

If they are slower over their work, then this impacts homework time, revision time and exam time - they all take longer. If you think of things taking 25% longer (as that is the extra time allowance), then a workload of 8 GCSEs for them is the equivalent of 10 for anyone else.

I would go for full assessment as it will help you understand her strengths and weaknesses and what kind of support / intervention she might benefit from.
Then if you still want to, maybe ask if she can start with a full load, but drop something if she starts to struggle.

Yes - identical. DD dropped all languages before year 10 which the school normally doesn't allow. I actually pushed for this to happen. If she had directed all her attention into a language she could have probably scrapped a 4 but that would have involved reducing the time she could spend on other subjects. It seemed like a total wast of time.

The majority of Unis only look at your top 8 gcse grades regardless of whether you did 8 or 11 GCSEs so unless she falls below 8 subjects it really doesn't matter. Her time might be better spent improving her other subjects than doing media studies.....so I agree with the school here.

You cant go back over what happened in yr7/8 you need to focus on yr10/11
Could she drop something else to take media studies? DS has dropped languages (dyspraxic/dyslexic) may also drop Eng lit due the struggle with essays...
we focused his gcse choices on least essay - however he picked one he did for enjoyment - which has been great for his confidence....

So I would talk to them about what study skills they will be doing with her to make it worth it...

There is a huge jump from KS3 to KS4 and the new GCSEs have a massive amount of content. So I would be tempted to go with study skills but check what it involves. I would like to see it involve study skills, creating revision notes, pre learning new vocab, revision techniques, time to do additional exam questions for her teachers to mark. I would expect individual teachers to give her a pack of tasks to work through in this time to support her learning. It is far better to do well in 8 GCSEs rather than OK in 9 GCSEs.

Media studies maybe time tabled at a difference time to languages so may not be a possibility for her to do it.

BTW there is not any philosophy in GCSE RS so she should check the specification to make sure it matches her expectations.

(From a dyslexic ex RS teacher)

Hi,
Thank you all for your advice. I'm going to get a full assessment, the screening she had was for processing speed so she has 25% extra time. She's dropped a language but adamant that she wants to do media studies and not study skills and had initially been told that she should do a language and wasn't on any radar for having any problems. It was my concern that doing hours of work, but grades good all round including English, history.
The religion and philosophy is 50% each and the religion part is Buddhism and Christianity.
I agree no-one needs more than 8 gcse's but not convinced what study skills involves. She will still have some 1.1 time with the learning support teacher, sit near the front, and have hand outs - none of which she had before. I've also found a 5 day course 9.30 3.30 over the summer for dyslexia/neuro diverse study skills for GCSE through the local dyslexia association which my DD is happy to go to. I hope this means she'll start Year 10 confident and with some good skills. If she gives up RP she can do study skills but she is adamant she won't do this so we will see. Fingers crossed. Thanks again

Hi,
Another query. Assessment by Ed Pysch or Dyslexia specialist teacher?
I hear mixed things. I've found a specialist teacher (with 20 years experience) who lives round the corner , and also a Ed Pysch whose based in centre London (not too difficult for us). The request for a full assessment is from my daughter so trying to work out which will help her the most. The specialist teacher is less expensive and round the corner should DD need additional help.
Help please, thanks

I'm presuming your daughter has just finished Year 9 - is that correct?

Tell us your aim in getting a dyslexia assessment as it doesn't sound as if your daughter has reading difficulties.

If school only discovered slow processing in the course of the last school year, AND her subject teachers said that her work in class was slow, that would be enough to justify extra time in GCSE exams, providing the person who carried out the tests had the correct qualifications and your daughter was in Y9 at the time of the test.

No Ed Psych or Specialist Teacher can force the school to offer Media Studies. Your objection to study skills sessions is strange, as a slow worker needs all the techniques available to get good answers prepared in the time available.

Hi Bluebonnie,
Thanks for the message. Yes, my daughter has finished year 9. The school has raised no concerns at all and at easter said she had to do a language which I'd asked if she could give up as she finds it hard. I had asked for a dyslexia screening - more because I was concerned that there was something (Possibly high functioning autism) as she doesn't like change which I now can understand can apply to dyslexia. There is dyslexia in our family, with my cousin adamant that I'm dyslexic and she's been diagnosed in her 40s after doing medicine. The school said they'd do this before xmas and I didn't hear anything. In May I checked if the teacher had talked to my daughter and she said no so I chased. The teacher did a screening and immediately told my daughter she thought she would be dyslexic and the results would give her 25% extra time in GCSE and A level.
They said we don't need an assessment but my daughter is the one asking for it. I think she's trying to work out what is going on as no concerns raised.
The senco teacher asked DD what subject she wanted to do instead of a language and told her she didn't think she needed study skills. Then, I think because the school have found a number of pupils have given up a GCSE they said she should do study skills.
My daughter feels v strongly she should be allowed to start with media studies instead of a language. My main concern is not knock her self esteem - she thinks being told to do less CGSEs that her peers is saying she's not bright. I know this isn't true but given 2 out of the 3 study skill sessions are time to catch up on work she is conscientious and will do this outside of school, and instead of the 1.1 in lesson time it would be in breaks/before school which my daughter is happy to do. She had been doing IT as an extra subject, early and late and missed school for sports commitments playing in the U14 and U15 teams. Next year she won't have this.
She will be sitting at the front, and should be able to have notes of lessons, and some 1.1 time so with a study skills course this summer for ND and dyslexics I'm hoping she will be in a good position for Year 10. I think my daughter finds reading some words aloud more difficult but has done drama outside of school which has boosted her confidence.
As she wants the assessment I want to go with whichever will help her understand areas of difficulty, /strengths etc.
I would have chased up school assessment but coping with her older sister (early 20s) who has mental health difficulties. I have spend time with my daughter discussing the additional requirements of GCSEs and how much longer things may take her. In exams she didn't use the extra time except a little in english but she knows she needs to read the question properly and check work etc and use the time. There was one RP question she read wrong! Thanks for help and advice.
I asked the school what subjects people were dropping before GCSEs and they said mainly languages. Apparently they have 10 pupils signed up to study skills, there were 19 in her extra time group, and another exam room for those using computers. A concern is that the school's focus is school league table. They've confirmed they don't think DD doing the full set of GCSEs will affect her ability to choose A levels. DD keeps asking if I've booked the assessment! I only want to do something if it will help my daughter's understanding and insight into implications, and this may impact on her view of fewer GCSEs!

My DD had the Dash/ ERT (hand writing and reading) screening done in yr8 and it came back as "average" with scores around 90 (70 being the very bottom). She had been struggling with the amount of work, getting very frustrated and angry, and we were convinced she had dyslexia. We paid the £300 for the full assessment with SCUDA and it lasted 3hrs. She was shown to def have dyslexia in areas that schools don't even test for including short term memory processing where her score was so low it was below 57.
She got 25% extra time, overlays and the use of a laptop in her GCSE's which she would not have done if we hadn't done the test.
If they don't use the extra time in internal exams, however, they will lose it for GCSE's. The JCQ are very strict on this and any exam access arrangements have to be their "normal working needs".
My other DD managed to get 12 GCSE's at A and A* , including French Spanish and Latin, before we realised in Yr12 that she was also dyslexic.
Just because your DD might be dyslexic should not stop her from studying anything and pretty sure that the school putting conditions on the support they will give her is morally and ethically wrong.
If you can afford it, and you are pretty sure it warrants it, I would do the test.

Hi Le5ley2001,
Many thanks for getting back to me, and glad to hear your girls are goind well, fabulous GCSE results. I've booked an Ed psych assessment for August which my daughter is really keen to have and she's doing the study skills cours in August as well. I have to say her organisation andn time keeping aren't great - I spend my life tiding and it still looks messy so def some traits.
I am going to put in writing the support I expect and I the level of 1.1 she should have. I met another mum from the same school whose child has some difficulties (not dyslexia) but she says she really has chase them so first week of term I will ask my DD where she is sitting and to show me handouts! Good to hear from you.

Once you have the assessment, the end results include the level of support she will need. You very rarely get 1:1 for dyslexia though, unless it picked up another SEN. The reason I got it done was to know what we were dealing with.