Extra time granted for GCSE's

[CheesyBobs]

Dd has been granted an extra 25% for her GCSEs next year.
Would that normally mean that for classroom assessments she should be getting extra time too?

Yes, she should get 25% extra time for classroom assessments as any access arrangements used in exams should be the students normal way of working.

She/you/senco/learning support coordinator may need to remind some teachers that she is entitled to extra time as not all will remember everytime.

Yes. Although in reality if the lesson is only a certain length your DD may not get the full 25% extra time.

DD did get extra time for in class assessments.
Sometimes they were 'come back at lunch for your extra 10 mins' which wasn't really satisfactory.
Much better was when DD arranged with the teacher to arrive early for the lesson to get started (lessons after a break) or stay later straight away (lessons with a break after). However it was distracting having other pupils coming in / leaving / chatting. But it was better than nothing.

Another however.
DD needed the extra time due to slow processing & slow handwriting.
So the extra time on top of 5 full lessons added to her burden as she got reduced breaks that day. So she ended up extra tired.

Yes.

It can be tricky to manage but we use a range of strategies including:

Extra time in the lesson - works better if there are multiple children who need it, rest of the class read in silence.

I personally tend to be quite generous with time allocations for end-of-topic tests, so often they pupils who are allocated extra time don't need it anyway (I always ask them, rather than assume)

Completing the test in tutor time/break/lunch, first preferable as they need their break times (location variable but we have a good student support centre who will often help out).

Finishing off next lesson (this one is tricky because they then miss other things but can be a last resort).

In the classroom and for homework she may need to highlight or change colour pens or asterix when she starts using her extra time.
Yes, students often complain that it’s disturbing when others leave at the usual time scraping chairs and chatting. It’s also distracting when some students are using laptops and tapping away.

Do prepare her for comments from other children and how she will counter the comments. My dc doesn't get extra time but does use a laptop due to physical disabilities. Especially if she does not seem to otherwise struggle academically. Teenagers seem to think that only those who appear to clearly struggle in class should get adaptations.

@Cattitudes That's a good point as dd isn't someone that others in her class will think needs extra time so I'm sure there are going to be comments. I will have a talk with her about it

She doesn't know anyone that has has extra time in her class for her lessons so I'm not sure if anyone else is entitled to it. She is in top set so they work very quickly and most assessments are done in the one lessons and in some marked too so I'm not sure how that is going to work. Hopefully there will be a way they can accommodate some extra time for her

I have found that these days pupils are much more comfortable with each other's differences that's when I was at school (I'm 36), none of mine have been funny about a classmate getting extra time or other accommodations.

Do make sure all her teachers are aware though, communication from the SENCO can be abysmal in my school.

My dd likewise is in top sets and some children have said, 'I can see why X gets a laptop because they have but it isn't fair that you get one because you are really clever anyway'. The school did offer to deal with it but dd decided to manage it themselves.

We just made her aware that she was just getting something to mean that she was not disadvantaged and if she was capable of getting an 8 but the disability means she would only get a 6 then that wouldn't be fair on her either. I think she did a mixture of suggesting that they wouldn't want the rest of her disability and suggesting that they talk to the SENCO if they think that they have a disability which would qualify for extra time.

She says it is better in yr11 as more people have been assessed and there are more with adaptations. It was not necessarily outright bullying more of the nature of 'We've noticed that you are using a laptop and were wondering why because we think that we would all write more with a laptop too' but said in a tone that conveyed they thought it was not fair.

Hopefully your dd will not encounter that at all, but convincing her that it is fair and just that she needs the extra time will equip her to see off any comments. Oh and they have to accommodate her. The teachers will be used to it in teaching lower sets. Some teachers made comments on another of my dc's that it was very unusual for someone in yr7 to have a laptop in top set, then they saw their handwriting and no more comments were made!

All my yr11 DDs friends think it’s unfair that she gets extra time for dyslexia - she’s likely to get mostly 7’s. She mentioned that she’s working really hard and would like to get an 8 in a subject and her friend said that shouldn’t be allowed as she gets extra time. The friend is likely to get a string of 8/9’s. She had a long chat with them all but they really didn’t see her point of view. They think they should all get extra time regardless of any educational need. They weren’t being mean it was just their opinion and a lack of understanding of how levelling works.

To be fair to an extent I do think that exams should be more open ended in terms of timing anyway. I know they can't due to timetabling but it isn't really a skill you will generally use again in your life, being able to write as much as you know in a couple of hours. If they gave everyone more time than they needed then those who haven't done the revision still won't be able to answer the questions, or would write loads of waffle so the answer isn't clear. I think the same about laptop use, but I do appreciate that it is a cost issue.

I can usually tell from coursework (which is not timed) how well most students will do in an exam (which does have a time limit). All the time there is a time limit then those who need extra time should get it.