How do extra time and rest breaks work in GCSEs?

[Greenlandscape]

DC is in year 10.

I received an email yesterday from English Teacher with mock result; he also said he has send a form requesting an extra 25 percent additional time and rest break for all assessments going forward; and suggested I speak to other teachers to do the same.

I have enquired about this before with school before but didn’t get a response. I have been in touch with all teachers recently as I was leaving it to school and DC until I realised I couldn’t. I am very pleased the English teacher has requested this.

DC got a 3 for the English Literature Mock, a 3 for Maths and a double 5 for science. Last English Language mock which was last year was a 4. He said. DC target for English Language and English Literature according to SATS is 5.

How do rest breaks and additional time work in GCSE? I guess they just use it if they need to or don’t if they don’t need to; but how you do rest breaks?

I've just done some invigilating for GCSE exams and the extra time is there to be used if they want it. It's not compulsory and the student can leave with everyone else if they feel they've finished.

With rest breaks, they would put their hand up, ask for their break and then an invigilator would take them out of the hall for a walk around the school, usually 5-10 minutes, until they felt able to go back in and focus again.

The time they leave and come back would be recorded and given as extra time at the end, so they didn't miss out. So for example, if a child had 15 minutes extra as standard and also took a 10 minute rest break, they would be allowed 25 minutes extra at the end. They could also take as many rest breaks as they needed.

Both extra time and rest breaks are there for the student to use if they want , but they don't have to . In my school they would be added to every exam once agreed , not subject by subject .

Rest break time can be taken either inside the exam room, paper turned over or outside, eg a walk around or standing outside the room . However long the student takes is added on the the exam time allowance ( after extra time if applicable) .

Remember since September this arrangement must be subject specific with evidence for each subjects with statements from teachers.

At the school I worked in the extra time students were usually in a different hall/room (so they weren’t disturbed by the main body of student leaving)

However very few students took all of their extra time - parents would complain to us about this but the student is allowed to leave once the formal exam time is up. We used to get students to sign a piece of paper saying what time they’d chosen to leave.

Rest breaks were always taken outside at our school (unless it was pouring with rain!)

I didn’t realise it was subject specific now, my dd had extra time for each subject (Wales, so maybe different). A lot of kids seem to have 25% extra time now. My DD did hers in the main hall out of choice, she could have gone into a smaller room. For her she didn’t want the rest breaks as she felt she would lose focus. They normally put a sticker on your exam card so they know which kids have extra time. Can you speak to your schools ALN lead? It all needs to be in place / agreed months before actual exams.

You need to talk to the Senco - the English teacher can’t put this in place on their own; the jcq regs changed recently and evidence is required by subject including trialling rest breaks before extra time.
if you don’t get timely response from
senco go to their line manager, head then governor and don’t wait - if he’s finishing y10 he only has a limited time to be able to gather the appropriate evidence for y11 adjustment application. Not to frighten you but it’s too easy to wait a couple of weeks then chase, then another week, and time slips by quickly.

My dd had rest breaks. She couldn’t stop for the first half hour I think but then could put her hand up and an invigilator stepped out with her. She was in a smaller room with a few people who had other different access arrangements (she also used a laptop to type)

Unless for medical conditions. Then it applies to all subjects.

Assuming your DC doesn’t have a diagnosed disability / EHCP, the SENCo needs to arrange an assessment for eligibility for extra time (which is most often 25%). I’d ask the English teacher if they’ve requested this. Rest breaks might be given if they are needed, e.g. if DC gets distracted easily and needs to get up and move around (or for medical reasons etc). As a PP said, rest breaks can also break focus so some students don’t want them even if allowed.

It's not correct that rest breaks add time. Rest breaks stop the clock.

So if a student with ET and RB did a one hour exam starting at 8.45am.and finishing at 9.45am, it would finish at 10.00am (25% of 60 is 15). Say they took a rest break of 10 minutes half way though, they'd finish at 10.10am but they wouldn't receive 10 more minutes (same as a toilet break). Although of course no-one can stop you thinking in 10 minutes, just writing!

The evidence required is usually scans of papers showing that they didn't finish in the regular time and scans of assessments, tests or papers showing what they did when extra time is trialled (e.g. by changing pen colour).

It is a bad idea not to use extra time if granted as it reduces the evidence that it's needed.

Rest breaks are destabilising for some students and with the best will in the world, there can be mistakes made with exam length as it gets very fiddly if multiple students have them.

Fiddly for invigilators.

I teach a quantitative subject and I've certainly walked into exam rooms and thought "oh lordy that sum on that flip chart is wrong!'

https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-reasonable-adjustments/

Can I just pick up on this. DD2 is getting extra time for A levels and uses it all (she's very capable and the evidence that college has gathered this year shows she just runs out of time normally and goes up 2 grades if she gets the extra time). She didn't get extra time when she was doing her GCSEs, when we asked her she did say she regularly ran out of time but school never suggested she was eligble for it (she doesn't have a diagnosis). College were surprised she didn't get it for GCSEs, they said her need for it was very clear, I think school weren't watching for it because she was a high performing student. I think some schools don't push for their more capable students to get extra time and if they did there might be more students taking full advantage of it because they know the curriculum and so can answer the later questions when given time. Isn't one of the reason private schools get good marks is because they are very on the ball about gathering the evidence for extra time? But for students who are less academic and struggle to access the full curriculum they don't have the knowledge to be able to make full use of the extra time.

Thank you all. I have emailed the rest of the teachers and will email SENCO and head of year

You can read the rules on JCQ’s website.

Extra time does not require evidence from every subject, but neither is evidence for one subject enough for the full range of subjects. See the JCQ’s supplementary guidance from earlier this year. One example within that guidance is a GCSE student sitting 9 subjects. The example says evidence from one subject requiring extended writing e.g. English or history, one numerical subject such as maths or science and one short answer subject such as MFL is sufficient.

Some DC will need extra time for every subject. Some won’t.

While candidates don’t have to use their extra time and rest breaks, if they never use them, then it isn’t their normal way of working, and as per JCQ’s guidance, the centre can consider removing them.

Extra time rules will also depend on the school. At one I work at if they start the extra time they have to stay for all of it.
Rest breaks - they can only leave the room if the have a ‘movement’ rest break- otherwise they just sit at their desk with the paper shut. There are guidelines as to how much time they should be taking.

All schools must follow the JCQ rules for public examinations. They were linked up thread.

For some, a Form 9 is still the way to go even if they don’t have an EHCP or diagnosis.

There has to be a reason why your child needs extra time or rest breaks, and not doing well in the mocks is not a reason.
My DD was diagnosed with MS just before her A levels (likely had it before her GCSEs too but the symptoms were not so acute). The (private) school had to jump through hoops to get all the tests done with her before the deadline. Plus she needed a letter from her consultant with the diagnosis and how it affected her writing ability. She had lost 80% of the use of her writing arm which was returning but it severely affected her and she did two essay subjects and art. Her first exam (art) she did not use the breaks nor the extra time. But the other two she used the breaks. The students with these adjustments were in a separate room. I imagine the invigilator kept track of the rest breaks.
She has regained 95% use of her arm now and has just finished her second year at Durham.

Yes. Apologies if misleading. It’s based on need and ‘normal way of working,’ not diagnosis.

May I ask, what is the 'need' identified by the subject teachers? I'm assuming a 'processing' issue? I ask because, kindly, if an academically gifted A Level student is applying for Access Arrangements based on an inability to complete a paper based merely on time constraints, I would suggest the whole cohort has a case to put forward, as it suggests a lack of focus on academic writing/how to answer the questions/the demands of the qualifications and its AOs?

In addition, when you say 'getting' I would be very wary unless your DD has done AS exams and was awarded 25% extra time? The 'normal way of working' paper work for May/June series will not be due to be submitted for JCQ until well into the next academic year. It's not a given the JCQ will accept what the school are promising - just a well intentioned 'heads up' 🙏🏼

We once had a student with severe absence seizures. He could have as many rest breaks as he needed. Plus extra time.
He went onto 6pm during one exam.
We had another pupil undergoing chemo and he took nearly all day to finish some papers. He did them at home.