GCSE and SEN

[Isabella40]

DC is in year 11 with the gcse exams around the corner. With lots of changes at the school over the last few years and the school saying they no longer meet needs!!! Just got latest mock results getting mainly 1’s a u and a 2. Luckily through the EHCP has a place on a course at college so plans are in place no matter the results. However it’s heartbreaking seeing DC frustrated especially when trying so hard but additional needs are holding them back and they are surrounded by others who are getting higher grades. Results day will be tricky I don’t know anyone in this situation. Can anyone relate to this?
Im proud DC is sitting the exams and trying their hardest but very frustrated the education system has let DC down!!!

Didn’t want to read and run. My son is year 10 and we have decided to pull him out of mainstream because he has gone from predicted 8/9 to U. The school have tried everything they can but are on their knees in terms of what they can actually provide. We have applied for him to start college in September where he will be doing a btec and taking GCSE’s alongside. The programme he’s applied for is specifically for kids like my son - smaller class sizes and the course running alongside the Sen department. When we met with the school to discuss our plans I thought it was very telling when the head of year replied that he felt alot more kids will be taking the route my son will be taking. It’s been heartbreaking to watch and I have spent many years advocating for him. It’s felt like I’ve always known what he needs and communicated this but the school system have to go through the hoops before they can finally say, we can’t meet his needs. By that time, my son, like alot of kids are already at the gcse stage. It is absolutely obscene that the UKs education system is failing so many.

Thank you for replying. I just feel quite alone with this however I know I’m not. I don’t know anyone locally in same position. The problem we have DC doesn’t need a specialist school but mainstream has failed. There have been some good educators but we’ve also experienced some very bad educators. There is nothing in between in terms of schools but mainstream hasn’t worked!!! Luckily I work in education and we have a plan for the future with the EHCP to 25 we will make sure we get the correct education in college to help with a career. Just fed up with having to keep fighting for DC.
Good luck for your son sounds a great option for him.

Just want to say college has been fab for my DD. She has finally been asked to do things she is interested in and can do, rather than a whole load of stuff that she can't understand.

DS (Adhd, autism) is doing a reset (and resit) year at college after suffering massive burnout post Y11. He got a few passes but still needs to pass English and is sitting that alongside two completely new GCSE subjects of his choice. It is mathematically impossible for him to be able to take A levels so he is (hopefully) on track to start a T level course next year.

College is a completely different world and we've found that the support is so much better than at secondary school. My advice is to get him through exams, see where the chips fall and then go from there. We were fortunate in that his results came via email, so we were spared the experience of managing feelings in a public forum.

My son who has adhd and a learning disability was made to do gcses. He mainly got 1s and 2s, 1 U and a 3 for photography. He was so stressed for year 10 and 11 and it feels like it was for nothing. He is at college now and is doing a foundation course and next year will do level 1 catering. He is looking for jobs but nowhere will even give him an interview. 18+ though there is services like mind which helps people with LD and autism get employed.

My DS is Yr10. ASD, in a specialist unit. On paper, he's regarded as being quite academically able but I can easily see him falling apart under the stress of GCSEs and either writing nothing/walking out.

Neuro diverse or not, in order for a graded exam system to work, there always has to be a percentage of DCs who will get 1's and 2's in order for the sliding scale to work. So there will always be DC who are going to be in this boat. It is so hard. When you're in Yr10/11 at school everything is about GCSEs. Schools go on and on about them - both for the DCs sake but also their own (league tables, progress 8 etc).

We've also found a setting that will take DS without any GCSEs. We're talking about it already in a very positive way. We've visited several times so DS is familiar with it and it helps him 'picture' what his next steps will be. We've also told him that once he finishes school, there will be more time for him to be able to focus on his specialist interests.

Could you speak to the school about results day? Might it be possible for something to be put in place to pick them up in a separate room? Or as another poster suggested, getting them emailed?

I really do know how you feel though. It's so hard to see our DC struggle. What resilience he is showing by ploughing on. No wonder you're proud of him. It sounds like you're doing brilliantly by your DS and hopefully he will go on to be happy and find his niche - that's really 'all' we want for our DC isn't it?

After the complete lack of support for DD on her GCSE results day (and they absolutely knew how vulnerable she was) I wrote to the school suggesting that they have some internal system to indicate to staff giving out envelopes that a pupil may need support when collecting results so an appropriate member of staff could be on hand.

No idea whether they took up that suggestion.