Can anybody advise re the exact rules re extenuating circumstances with GCSEs, hearing schools handling things in different ways and it doesn’t seem fair

[W1llowGreen]

My dd has had a shitty couple of years. In and out of hospital( latest 4 weeks ago)missed lots of school and assessments and now on new heavy duty medication.

I’m on other forums re the same condition. My dd has been told by her school she has to do all the assessments unless a consultant writes a letter( only got told that yesterday so not much time to sort), we can’t invigilate at home, she has to write out the extenuating circumstances herself for every exam( ASC in mix too so will be very hard).

Others are being allowed to invigilate at home with a long lunch break in between, have been told the grades they’ll be given by teachers so they can pick and choose which they sit, have just had to send in letters from CAMHs saying what they are capable of doing.Details of extenuating circumstances sent in by CAMHs, gp and therapists. Some are saying class work will be used others only formal assessments.

-What are the exact rules?
-Can these assessments drag grades down?
-Why can’t parents write and send in the extenuating circumstances particularly if SEN is involved?

Who do I contact at school for clarification and how do I check all teachers have all the relevant information re my DD’s circumstances.

Examinations officer. The regulations are set by JCQ. I would be cautious about listening to others' accounts and demanding on that basis alone,

In the school's defence, exam boards are changing the rules weekly, so they may not have had much notice to decide on needing a consultant's letter.

As a teacher, we have been told we should take extenuating circumstances into account, but there are no real standardised rules from school to school, and each school is doing their best to cover their own gaps, as it were.

Are the other students within the same school? Schools have to be internally consistent, but there is not consistency between schools.

I would discuss with the school whether your DD could write out the circumstances once, photocopy it, and provide a signed copy to each teacher.

We are asking students to sign each time in class to prove access arrangements have been provided (or they've chosen not to do them) a parent couldn't sign because they are not present in class. But we would not expect the student to write this themselves.

So could these assessments drag her marks down?

Can all kids with extenuating circumstances get approximate grades for now and pick/ choose which to sit?

Don’t want to demand anything we shouldn’t have. Just want to know what the official line is.

My DD has extenuating circumstances.

We have been told fallback grades but they are mainly very low compared with where she was performing at before the first lockdown.

School will be providing us with an invigilator at home for some assessments.

We too are trying to work out what assessments to sit and the fallback grades aren't helping much because we don't know to what extent assessments now can impact things. She can't do everything each subject wants.

I feel your pain.

Yes, if she performs badly in these assessments, they can bring her grade down. Just as performing badly in an exam would do the same.

There are no allowances for special consideration this year as that pertains to on the day issues, not long term issues.

The JCQ guidance can be found here if it helps

www.jcq.org.uk/summer-2021-arrangements/

Also, the teachers have to be very careful what grades they can share. There are rules pertaining to that and they are certainly NOT permitted to share the final grade awarded.

Also, if you’re able to find the ‘exact rules’ asked for in your title, please share with us exams officers as I’m yet to find them myself

@W1llowGreen

So could these assessments drag her marks down?

Can all kids with extenuating circumstances get approximate grades for now and pick/ choose which to sit?

Don’t want to demand anything we shouldn’t have. Just want to know what the official line is.

Yes.

Not in the school where I work, but maybe in other schools.

We feel we cannot allow students to pick/choose, as this could disadvantage them. We will allow students to resit these mini assessments if needed.

The official line is it is down to the schools, but it must be consistent within a school. If your daughter is allowed to pick and choose then this must be offered to others at the school as well.

DustCentral. Dd only has 1 in each subject left. She’s still not great. Do you think she should just suck it up?The ones she’s done will have dragged grades down I suspect. Don’t feel we’ve been fully informed and would have got a doctors letter if I’d known in the run up to admission and her last stint in hospital. Doing them straight after getting out when exhausted, on new meds and having missed loads seems foolish.

Don’t know what to do.😩

Honestly, health always trumps exams. I always tell DD that GCSE’s are just ‘keys’. Keys to the next door you want to go through. If you don’t get the right key this time, there’s always another way to get it or another way to open the door.

There are no set rules this year. At least none that can make all schools work exactly the same. So my advice would be to talk to the Head of Curriculum at your DD’s school and see what can be done for her. They will have a centre policy on how grades will be awarded so ask to see it. All schools must have one as per the JCQ rules for this year.

But ultimately, her health comes first and there’s always a way even if her grades end up low.

Not sure I want to see it. Wondering if there is any point if they’ve got their own rules. Would parents be allowed to see the centre policy anyway?It’s all such a mess for her.😩