Gcse's

[Sezza123123]

Hi can I just ask if anyone has had similar my daughter will be starting in year 10 in September and school has it's challenges for her academically and physically just being in school, but her level of reading etc is really low so prob more like year 7 level and the same for Maths will she just have to do the GCSE's the same as everyone I know school would prob put in extra revision etc but I just fear that she would be trying as much as she could for 2 years and really struggling with school environment and then not pass anyway? I know all schools are different just wondered if anyone had been through similar?

Most schools will enter all students for GCSEs.

some students who aren’t expected to do well can also be entered for Entry Level qualifications - these are easier than GCSEs. You can do them in maths, English, history and probably others.

some schools also offer BTECs instead of some GCSEs.

Presumably she has already chosen her GCSE options, and therefore you know if they have 'lighter' pathways for those that struggle etc.

They will want a full timetable to start with, but there may be flexibility if it is all too much. My DD1 was allowed to drop History March y11, and DD2 was allowed to drop Geography March y10 (then Covid hit and DD2 ended up missing all y11 anyway.)

Most secondary schools don't offer functional skills unfortunately, the kids have to basically fail their GCSE's before they get the chance to do functional skills which are mostly aimed at 16+ and are often done alongside other more vocational qualifications.
There may be some colleges around though that offer functional skills to kids 14+, it would definitely be worth looking into IMO if she is really struggling. Putting kids through all their GCSE's when they know they're just going to fail them has got to have a negative impact on their self esteem.

Yeah I've checked collages etc near us an none of them offer this option, I was thinking of maybe home educating to get functional skills at home level 2 and then at least she has some qualifications but unsure if this is the right pathway it's hard decisions to make

My DD has taken a slow route through college following missing y11 and no GCSE passes. She got an EHCP in y12, and has done 2 years at level 1, then a year out where we did FS L2 English, and now just finishing up a year at level 2.
Trying to find somewhere to sit FS L2 Maths but I don't think it will work to our timescales.

If you are willing to do FS via online teaching and exams it may be easier. However they aren't funded until Post 19.

As @Chloe793 and others say, she will probably have to at least take one sitting of the core GCSEs. My DS1 has LD and he dropped a GCSE so he only took eight. There were more foundation tiers then which he took. He ended up with a mix of Cs Ds Es (old exam specs) and took FS L2 English at college post 16. He did get a C in maths at 16 which he was very pleased about (mean the didn’t have to retake it).

Make sure you ask about access arrangements for your DD – things like a laptop, a reader, a scribe, extra time, rest breaks are all possible and can help. DS had a reader for most of his exams and thus also took them in a small room which helped a lot. Such things need to be the student’s normal way of working tho so make sure you flag it asap.