Not keeping up at school....

[LoisLanyard]

My DD (year 8) is struggling to keep up at school. We've have various meetings with the head of year and with individual subject teachers. There isn't any obvious reason ie no dyslexia, but she is can't always follow what is happening in class and ends up missing a lot of the extra bits and pieces a teacher says, so her work is very basic. I don't quite know how else to describe it. During lockdown I took time off work to help her with the lessons - my DD isn't stupid, she just needs more time to 'get' stuff. The school don't seem to think there is any problem, but her exam results are always way below the year average, and I just don't believe it is because she isn't capable (I dare say most parents say this, but I honestly don't think it reflects her ability).
I could make her study every waking hour (which I wont - childhood needs to be rich with other things too). So I have ben thinking maybe a tutor over summer or something? Has anyone used Kumon? Are they good? Has anyone got any advice or been in a similar situation?

Are you thinking she maybe has difficulty with processing?

I agree. DD has a very slow processing speed plus poor working memory. I had her tested by an Ed-psyche and got a full report. On the back of this she gets adjustments at school plus extra exam times.

She was clearly bright but struggling with processing all the information

Have you had her hearing and sight tested?

You say she is below average - 50% of the students will be below average. How did she do in primary school? Is she meeting her predicted grades/levels?

Well I guess it is difficulty in processing - how would you assess for this? She has a good memory, once she understands things.
How did you get an Ed-pych test? I know the schools have no resources for this, unless there is a very clear and significant problem. My trouble is, I dont know what I am looking for so i dont know where to start.

She did have to wear glasses when she was younger, but last time she went to the optician (admittedly pre Covid), her eyesight was borderline in terms of whether she needed glasses. I will get her tested again. Id never thought about hearing.

I appreciate that half the students are below average - a couple of subjects are close to average and I can live with that, but some marks are way below, around 20%, including core subjects. School make me feel like I'm just an annoying parent who thinks their kid is brighter than she is, but i dont think I am. At primary school she was probably somewhere around the middle, but not struggling at all.

They haven't given us any predicted or expected grades - I know some schools do this, but hers hasn't so far. It was one of the questions I had for them but which they didnt really give me any answer for.

I booked it privately on a recommendation from the school. It wasn't cheap.

DD was absolutely fine at primary, it was only when there was far more information being thrown at her at secondary it became noticeable (end of Y7 for her)

The school tested for dyslexia and, although not dyslexic, it became apparent that she was very slow through that.

You could work out gcse grades from ks2 sats results. Were any other those not meeting expectations.

@LoisLanyard

Well I guess it is difficulty in processing - how would you assess for this? She has a good memory, once she understands things. How did you get an Ed-pych test? I know the schools have no resources for this, unless there is a very clear and significant problem. My trouble is, I dont know what I am looking for so i dont know where to start.

She did have to wear glasses when she was younger, but last time she went to the optician (admittedly pre Covid), her eyesight was borderline in terms of whether she needed glasses. I will get her tested again. Id never thought about hearing.

I appreciate that half the students are below average - a couple of subjects are close to average and I can live with that, but some marks are way below, around 20%, including core subjects. School make me feel like I'm just an annoying parent who thinks their kid is brighter than she is, but i dont think I am. At primary school she was probably somewhere around the middle, but not struggling at all.

They haven't given us any predicted or expected grades - I know some schools do this, but hers hasn't so far. It was one of the questions I had for them but which they didnt really give me any answer for.

Which subjects is she very low in? I’m wondering if there is a pattern in the skills age needs.

I would pay for a comprehensive Educational psychologist assessment rather than tutor at this point.

Then you will have a much clearer picture of the actual issues you are dealing with and can tailor the support to match.

Thanks Soup Dragon - I'll look in to it. It just seems a bit like wading through mud to work it all out!

Thanks everyone else too. The Ed pych seems the way to go for the moment.
What are the "skills age needs" FitforForty?

Sorry that was a typo it should have read “skill types”. If she was struggling in Englis, RE and History it would suggest she struggles with analysis and longer written answers.

Ask the SENCO at the school to run their standard screening tests for dyslexia and slow processing. School discovered slow processing and poor aural processing for DD2.

In class she could be helped by being given printed notes to annotate so she can concentrate on what is being said rather than writing things down.
Alternatively do not rely on notes made in class for revision. Either ask teacher for notes, or find appropriate CGP guides and use them. Harder for KS3 than for GCSEs though.
Neither of my DDs used much in the way of class notes for revision of sciences, we just used the guides, which were more comprehensive and clearer. Engl Lit & humanities may be more of a problem though.

Processing issues may also mean more time is needed for exams, but also for revision and homework.

If bad enough you may want to consider reducing subject load in KS4. better to do 1 fewer GCSE and do the others well than be overloaded.

With maths, I taught my DDs to ask me for help as soon as they had a lesson where they didn't understand something. That way I could set them straight before the next lesson. DD2 took more persuading to do this than DD1, but when she did ask, she found it beneficial. (I am very confident with maths though, so realise that may not work well for many people).

Thanks again everyone, lots of really good advice.
The subjects she does particularly poorly in are anything which need written answers - English, history, geog, etc. Maths is ok, Art is great.

Just to check

• are her motor skills OK?
• if you talk with her, is she able to expand verbally easily on points, but not write them down,
• or can she not even expand verbally
• if you took something she knew well (e.g. Harry Potter?), how would she get on answering 'Who is the better wizard, Harry or Hermione? Discuss'. Would she be able to give verbal expansive answers, or only if prompted? Would she be able to give well structured written answers?

She has good motor skills. She can expand verbally, but needs prompting if it isn’t something she is familiar with. If it is something she knows well she can do it ok - less than her cousins of a similar age, but she can still give some reasoning. Written has improved after we spent a lot of time with her but still is different to how she would verbally explain something. It takes her quite a long time to write down what she wants to say and she gets very stressed by it - but her writing and spelling are good once she starts.

Dyslexia is not the only condition. Dyspraxia, processing disorders even adhd can all affect working memory, self management and organisation. These conditions may overlap, with traits in common. It might be worth asking for her to sit up front, have handouts giving an overview of what is being taught, and prompts to keep her on track, visual or written. Presumably her vision and hearing is ok?

You need to speak to SENCO and ask for an educational educational psychology assessment. It can be issues with processing speed, working memory, receptive language, etc. Until she has a proper assessment you won't know what she needs help with and won't get the support required. Also, if you can get her a tutor for maths and English that should help her too.

Really interesting to read through this. I would agree with the assessment from an Ed Pysc however be aware that if you go privately the schools no longer have to 'recognise' them and put things in place - most of course will, but I think it's worth noting that an assessment doesn't mean she will get all the right support. They are very helpful to pass onto tutors though, I am an English tutor and DYS specialist, so they're useful for us but generally they tend to get 'lost' in a school.
Sarah x