Support thread for parents of Y11 GCSE kids with SEN - no judgement just lots of handholding!

[yawnanotherone]

From another thread, it seems that there are quite a few of us who have to approach this revision period a bit differently! I'd love to share what is and isn't working and just have somewhere we can offload any stresses in the coming weeks. I have a DS with ASD and ADD who is trying his best, but struggling with the amount of content to get through.

GS got two GCSEs yesterday. The real achievement was that he actually went into school to sit the exams. We are all high achievers academically in our family and we are really proud of him. Puts into perspective all the worries from other people about grades achieved.

Dd got a 4 in lit. 2's in the others. We were gobsmacked at the 4. So pleased.

They have let her sign up to level 2 Criminology which has time built in for Maths and English lang resits.
So hopefully this will be a fresh start. I am worried her attendance will all go wrong again. Will see. 🤦‍♀️

Thank you all for this thread.

We've just (re-)enrolled DD at college to do Animal Care Level 2 work based, having had a year out after 2 years at level 1.
The early starts will be a shock to the system, she is taking the bus this year hopefully, we drove her before.

My DC has been accepted onto their level 1 course with one resit. Phew.

I'm so relieved!

Super. I hope it goes well. We have just timed the walk to the bus stop in order to back calculate waking up time. DD needs time to wake up and look after her animals before setting off. She needs about 1hr without stressing.

My DC has been accepted onto their level 1 course with one resit. Phew.

I'm so relieved!

Same we have to work out bus timetable in minute detail to reassure my kid they won't be late as they find lateness so stressful!

Also the stress of now finding a work placement 😔
Especially one who will take on a SEN kid, I don't think it's going to be easy.

My son and I have been to enroll him on his vocational course at college today. I think with grade 2 in English and maths he might have been allowed on the Level 2 course if they felt he'd cope. But after chatting to him they decided he'd be better on Level 1, which I was pleased about as I think he'll enjoy college a lot more if it's not too academically challenging for him.

It struck me today, GCSE is a level 2 qualification if you can get the magic 4. But a lot of kids don't and so feel like failures. Why is it that they are allowed to then at college go back to level 1 work, when they were made to aim for level 2 at a younger age?

I think it would be better to give all kids a general test, a bit like an IQ test, in year 9 and if kids get over a certain mark they're put into the GCSE stream and if below a certain mark they're put into a 'Level 1 diploma of General Education' stream. Then they could have lessons in all the usual subjects but at a lower level and assessed by class work. Then most of them would be ready to start a Level 2 course at college at 16, or another level 1 course if they felt more confident sticking at that level. Any kids on the borderline of the levels after the test it could be decided after discussions between teachers, kids and parents as to which stream would be better suited for them to go into.

I certainly feel kids should be allowed to do functional skills English & Maths instead of gcse at school. FS English L2 is more 'straightforward ' and useful. Get a 3 for GCSE and they have to keep resitting even at college so can end up leaving with neither the GCSE at grade 4, nor the FSkill at Level2.

By way of update my DS got into his college course, we grovelled and emphasised the SEN, and they let him in even though he had 3 GCSE passes and not 4 as required. Was a very tense morning waiting to find out and I am now shattered on the sofa recovering from the last 48 hours.

He's got to retake English language (he passed English Lit) but the college does a different exam board than his secondary school so he's basically got to start from scratch again!

It isn't quite from scratch, DD had that.
Same skills just cut differently across the questions. Also college were very focused on getting across the 4 line. No time spent teaching how to get a 6.

(That DD didn't pass was more to do with her stamina and MH than any lack in the teaching.)

Hi, just found this lovely thread. My DS got his results, not great but we were hoping he would still be able to do the course he wanted a college.
We went to enrol him today and they basically laughed in our faces and said no chance.
It makes me so sad when I know he tried his best with little support from school. I feel like I’ve failed him.
Now he has to go to a completely different campus we’ve never even see to do a course we know nothing about. 🙁

Am so sorry to hear that. We wrote to the college my son wanted to attend last night, before he enrolled today, and emphasised his autism diagnosis and that he is on the waiting list for ADHD assessment. We also referred back to the portfolio of work he submitted with his application and got details from his school that he was only 2 marks short of getting his 4th GCSE. So by the time he went into college today, the college had read this and gave him a place anyway. Just wonder if you could try again with this approach. If your child has SEN they certainly not be laughing at you, that's just terrible

And please never think you have failed him. I felt the same yesterday when all my friends and contacts were boasting about their child's grade 9s etc and I thought where did I go so wrong. But having a SEN child is a different path we have been put on and we can't think like is for like. By even posting on this, you demonstrate you haven't failed him, you are still fighting his corner and you are a great mum x

Thanks for your lovely reply, I think I am going to try and speak with someone at the college on Tuesday to see if there is any way at all he can do the course he wants, the requirements were 2 GCSE’s and he got 2 grade 3’s not the fours he needed.
Today I feel like we were railroaded into enrolling him on to the only option I thought we had but I’m not happy about it.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/5149288-vocational-courses-2425

I have made the above thread, in case anyone here feels like joining me?

We could talk vocational issues and resits without losing ourselves amongst A levels and uni applications.

Well, we had a stressful morning at DS's college enrollment. Because of his score in English literature they also wouldn't take him on to any T-levels courses, and the level 2 transition courses are all fully booked. Trades were fully open but he is definitely not keen and he has to resit English anyway. So, the long and the short of it is he has signed on for a GCSE resit and 2 new GCSEs with an eye on getting onto a Level 3 course next September

Never in a million years did I think we'd be revisiting GCSEs for another year, but here we are. In his head, he was going to stay at his school with his friends, and do A levels. Now he's in a FE college, new place, new people, feeling lost. I feel like we've ALL failed him. 😞

@MrsMariaReynolds so sorry to hear about your experience. I saw you previously posted he was a mark off in English - can he join the t level if that comes back a pass?
I do agree that it’s the kids who need the most support who are ejected from the environment they probably need more than anyone - familiarity, understanding, particularly when they are more immature. My ds certainly was. We did manage to keep him in his school sixth form after substantial begging but he was doing subjects he was totally unsuited for and it didn’t last. I actually wish there was more focus on education for education’s sake - for instance my ds would have really enjoyed history a level - he might not have done very well and wouldn’t have gone to uni, but so what. The assumption that all kids who aren’t classically academic should be doing something vocational at 16 is also a problem.
But that said college many kids have a great experience of college and find it a liberating experience. Are the new GCSEs areas he is interested in? It might end up being a great opportunity, you never know - but really empathise with the uncertainty.

@Runplestiltz yes both of the new GCSEs are in subjects he was going to try at A-level anyway, so they should be interesting to him, or if not, bullet dodged, I suppose.
He has been encouraged to apply for the T-levels course once applications reopen in a few weeks time. He'll have to wait until next September to begin, no matter the result of his remark though.

Hope everyone is doing well and settled into a new sense of normal after the GCSE stress. My DS has started college and seems to be doing okay at the moment, he's enjoying it being less regimented and strict like school and sixth form would have been not a great option for him at all

Morning All, I hope everyone's doing OK. DD is into week 2 of college already. After a dodgy half day with no friends to hang out with, she's managed to make a group of friends. They do seem to be the naughty kids though so I'm keeping a close eye. She's enjoying the course. I'm hoping she can keep up the momentum. She's autistic and I've noticed she's becoming increasing less tolerant of annoyances at home eg sibling, Dad etc. Its because she's using all her masking capabilities at school and there's none left for home. I think those dark winter mornings to come are going to be a test of her commitment to the course. Trying to remain positive!

Hey everyone..

We've had a rollercoaster of a few weeks... think she's going to settle but still very up and down.

She is beginning to enjoy the courses I think- the bit she's struggling with as ever is friends and the other stuff..

She's definitely more spiky at home which is coinciding with massive work pressures for me and my DS struggling with his relationship and settling back into college ( he's also autistic and has adhd)

It's never quiet here...

Looking forward to the weekend!

We are doing ok.

DD is going to College so that's a big improvement from hardly attending school.

There's a few delays with the expected support through her EHCP but that should be sorted soon.

She's very tired but seems to be enjoying the course and the non school environment. I'm keeping everything crossed that this is a positive turning point in her life for her.

DS is settling in to college life. We had his English language exam remarked but it still sits at a 3--which is unfortunate for him.

He needs to choose a new course to apply to for next September and doesn't know what to do. His self esteem post-results is still on the floor so he doesn't feel he is up to the challenge for A levels (and his GCSE results won't get him onto many courses anyway), and the work placement aspect of T-levels does not appeal to his autistic sensitivities.

Ideally he wants to go to uni down the line and would like to try out a few different courses, but there's nothing like that in a level 3 apart from A levels.

@MrsMariaReynolds have you looked at Foundation years at unis? My DC is currently doing one in Art and Design as they want to
do an Art degree. They have both GCSEs and A levels, BUT a lot of the students they’re studying with do not. Foundation years are available in many different subjects, and you can often do GCSE retakes at the same time and place. Worth looking at.