Extra time in assessments

[TickingAlongNicely]

To be as brief as possible

• DD is Year 9. No formal diagnosis of any SEN, but has been screened for dyslexia several times throughout Primary school... always come back as borderline, but really struggled to learn to read and write. Never got phonics- she finally learnt through Nessy. Basically they acted if she did have dyslexia.

• in Yr6 SATs she got a combination of extra time, scribe and reader depending on test.

• no help so far at Secondary.

• she is increasingly struggling to finish tests and assessments. However is still doing exceeding well... apparently one of the top in the year.

My question is... where do we go from here? I'm presuming she will need another assessment. Who is best to talk to... form tutor, English teacher, straight to SEN department?

Normally SEN department (copy in English teacher, head of year and tutor - and anyone else you think is 'in charge')

The hoops to jump through for extra time for dyslexia are a lot tougher than they used to be.

You will need test scores that show a score under 84 in TWO separate areas (used to be one) which is really annoying as something like very weak working memory can on its own be enough to really impact.

It also needs to be child's normal way of working - so having extra time through secondary exams/tests.

I would speak to the SENCo in January and get the ball rolling. I would also follow up every call or meeting with an email setting out what they have agreed as their next steps, what are your next steps, and then email for a follow-up to any dates agreed, or just after say 2 weeks. Having a paper trail can be extremely useful, and sadly with over-stretched SEN and in the absence of EHCPs or other paperwork, being a squeaky wheel is generally the way to get progress.

Good luck!

It's the "sendco" (SEND coordinator) you need to speak to but I'd also copy in the head of year.

Before you ask for a dyslexia assessment again it's worth finding out if this is a problem in English only or in all/most subjects? Also is it the act of reading/writing that's slower or is it that she need additional processing time (ie thinking time). Assessment for slow processing is distinct from dyslexia.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow please could you tell me what the test you mention is? Dd has similar problems to op's

Op my dd is the same sort of age and has similar issues, I'm planning to speak to the senco for her year

Schools should have a standard procedure for Form 8 Assessments to identify those students who need extra time for GCSEs. Ask the SENCO about it, it is likely they something in place for this and just haven't informed parents at this stage.

She needs a formal assessment- school schools be able to arrange it for you - and as some one above said, needs scores that fall below a certain point. Think it's about £700 now so pretty steep. If you get it done now, and she qualifies, it will count all the way through gcse and a level (not sure if it needs redoing at uni level). Then you identify access arrangements and figure out what she needs (eg lap top) then that needs to be the students 'usual way of working'

She says its all written assessments except Maths. It takes her longer to read the questions than the others.

Her report is due this week, but we've already had a phone call saying its one of the top in the year.

Talk to the Sendco as others have said, form teacher and English will just forward any communication on to them.

Point out that although she is doing well, she isn't reaching her potential as she is running out of time in her longer essay based questions.

DD is autistic, she qualifies for extra time despite being predicted to (on a good day) get a clean sweep of 9s, so potential ability won't necessarily stand in her way. Alongside her autism assessment she had a WISC V assessment which tests different academic skills including Processing Speed, her PS was above average but significantly lower than her other skills (107 vs 147). PS problems are common with dyslexics too. In order to fully meet her potential she needs the extra time for processing. This was supported by school assessments where in longer essay based test she wasn't finishing or didn't have enough time to go back and check her work. She also has panic attacks and can have tic attacks when stressed although these begun after the granting of extra time.

Assessment and granting of extra time is done mainly in year 10 in preparation for mocks and the real thing so getting in now and on the SENDCOs register is perfect timing.

Exam pens are a good option - check with Sendco if the school allow it and if they'll fund it, if not they are about £250. It scans the question and the student can hear the readout through a headphone. It's quite likely your DD will fall through the cracks as she is bright so you really do need to pick it up otherwise staff that need to know won't know there is a problem.

These are the forms that schools use. I have never heard of parents paying and believe that having a formal dyslexia assessment that you pay for is not required or even recommended.

As far as I understand the school can complete a Form 8 following an assessment by a SENCO for students for which they have evidence that they will need it. These students are usually identified by teachers as needing extra time and can be given a text processing test by the SENCO.

Evidence can be things like mock exams taken with extra time and the part completed in the extra time in a different coloured pen.
www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/forms/

DD had a full Ed Psych report done in Y3 and Y6 by her Primary.

The Y6 one covered the following tests:

• The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children V (WISC V),
• The Wechsler Individual Attainment Test (WIAT III)
• The Grey Oral Reading Test V (GORT).
• The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing

The Y3 one had a few more I think, but would need to find it to check which.

School have since done a load more, but I don't know exactly what as I don't get a report. I think it's mainly on spelling accuracy, reading speed, writing speed etc.

DD is also ADHD so that meant we didn't need the two scores.

You do not need a formal assessment from outside school for extra time. The rules state schools are not allowed to use outside assessments and must do their own. Most schools assess at the end of year 9. The application lasts 26 months so you can't apply earlier as you need to application to last until the end of year 11. Don't panic and speak to the senco.

since she had been screened many times with "borderline" results skip the school senco (let them know, maybe ask for suggestions as to who they work with) but ultimately go straight to an educational psych for the full testing.

@Eurovision where do you get this idea that schools can't use outside assessments by professionals?

This is inaccurate @Eurovision (exception of EHC plans and I'm unsure about diagnosis)

The tests need to be done by a level 7 qualified spld teacher.

I am a level 7 assessor. I do private assessments and assess for exam arrangements in schools. The rules about private assessments are in the JCQ guidance available on their website.

This - although schools can definitely use outside reports, but will do their own assessments too. School haven't assessed DD at all for ADHD!

The reports can be useful if you are wanting to get an idea of where the problems are in order to try and help long-term or for the child's own self-esteem.

I know for my DD it helped a lot to realise why she struggled with things others found easy (and having a formal diagnosis and pieces of paper has definitely helped her psychologically when other kids question why she has a laptop and other tech, or why she can't spell in text messages), and it was definitely helpful for me to understand why so much was 'can't' rather than 'won't'.

I think this is especially helpful when they have very spiky profiles. DD didn't learn to read till end of Y3, but had a very extensive vocabulary and verbally was well ahead but massively underachieved when she had to put things on paper.

It's still a big struggle now, but she's in a school who can separate her SEN from her cognitive abilities and so while she's unlikely to get the GCSE grades she would without the SEN, she's doing well enough for what she wants to do next.

I did not say assessments are not useful only that they can not be used by schools to apply for extra time.

Apologies - at my school all parents have to pay for assessments but it is an independent school.

This is different as the school has a relationship with the assessment. However the JCQ training makes it clear parents should not be charged as this is disability discrimination.

Agree, this is how I understand the process works.

She's top of year? What are you worrying about?

I'm sorry but this kind of takes the piss when our kids are struggling and they are at the bottom.

That's unfair.

OP's DD may well be having to work a lot harder to maintain those grades due to her SEN and that can start to have a lot of knock on effects especially as you go higher up a school.

If there are deficits then it's only right and fair that things are put in place to make things easier for her to achieve her full potential.

Otherwise where do you draw the line?

Is support for SEN only for children who are failing or bottom of the class?

My DD isn't failing, but she is nowhere near her target grades - far too often I find there is a shrug of the shoulders and 'well, she is SEN' and we're fobbed off with access arrangements rather than any real attempt to help with the root causes.

If I could start over, I'd have fought for an EHCP and every possible intervention I could possibly get for her back in Y5/6 rather than having to find out post-Covid and when it was all too late that she was actually going to need far more help and support than we can access without one.

Top in effort grades. Her English is far below her Maths for example. Not top in exams.

Your attitude is revolting. All children have the right to achieve their potential.

High IQ children can have learning difficulties and should have the playing field levelled so they can achieve the same as any other child. They can end up working much harder than other people have to stay afloat, it can affect self esteem and self perception, they can’t have the same space to coast which I personally think is very healthy (results more likely to be all or nothing). If you have processing issues and you need to concentrate harder if you are in lower sets with more issues around behaviour management can make it really difficult to learn. Schools are failing children that require ECHPs at the moment but it’s not a race to the bottom. If OPs child is entitled to help they should get it.

My little DB is a Cambridge graduate and research scientist but didn’t get proper support for his dyslexia until university. It had real consequences for his mental health growing up so I feel very strongly about this.

I agree with you about this. DS1 is dyslexic but very bright and wouldn't currently be doing his degree at Durham if he hadn't had extra time in his exams. He needs the extra time to read, understand and process the questions as well as to write and check his answers.