Exams - advice please

[frazzledbutcalm]

Dd1 is sitting GCSE's in a couple of months. She's already sat GCSE maths last year as she was in fast track maths set, and part of GCSE science. She has sensory processing disorder, visual stress is a huge part of it. As she's bothered by noise (papers rattling etc) she sits her exams in a different room with other SN pupils. I've asked if dd is entitled to extra time for her exams but have been told she doesn't 'meet the criteria'. Explained to me in lamens terms 'because minifrazzleds grades are good and because she's not had this problem previously to set a precedent she's not entitled'.

So basically, because dd wasn't dx until age 14 she hasn't been sn long enough to qualify for extra help!

Anyone have any advice? Do I just leave it or push it?

Well I've had the meeting with 2 Sencos ... they still don't think dd qualifies for extra time but are going to speak with other sencos and get some advice from exams officer to see if there's a way around it.
If not, they've said they can give her rest breaks during her exams ... that way she can use this as 'thinking time', which may help her or give her a better chance. They're going to let us know asap.
On a separate note, some teachers have noticed dd talking abruptly, seemingly rude. We had a very good chat with them about dd, how she is at home, some of her quirks etc. They seem to have a much better understanding of dd now and have recommended we get her tested for ASD. It's been on our minds since going through the process with dd2 but we thought that since she's now 15 we're not sure it's worth it. Now we think maybe it is worth going through the assessment.

I'd agree with ASD assessment. Far better do it now, while she'd be under children's services, than wait till she's older as it's not easy to get an adult dx (it's hard enough as it is for a child). It does sound as though there are some issues there that would benefit from a proper description, even if it's not ASD. At least you'd have a better idea of what support she needs, and be able to pursue it.

Sorry you're still not getting extra time for exams but hopefully the SENCos will make some progress. Keep at them though - if you leave them to it there's a danger they might 'forget' so a helpful prod won't hurt.

My thoughts exactly about the 'prod' streaky ... I went to the meeting with a view of making sure they had all the facts about dd, all my thoughts about circumstances etc, that's all I can do. I just wanted them to know everything so they can then build her case if possible. If she doesn't get the extra time then so be it. At least I tried my best. I came away happy and thinking I'd give them a day or two then email with the gentle prod
I've phoned the school nurse with the extra information from school regarding dd and assessment, so that's ticked off my list also. I hadn't thought of the dx in terms of children's services or adult services tbh. It's all in the pipeline now so that's good.

Email them today, confirming what you've discussed and what they've agreed to do. Then they can't deny the conversation took place . Also send any documents that might be relevant to support the request. It's all evidence.

ds 16 has extra time as one of his problems is understanding language - so it take him a lot longer to process what the actual question is.
the extra time he gets still isnt enough in certain subjects -english and history and he cant finish the paper.
but he is getting extra help, going over and over past papers ,just working on "what is the question telling you to do ? what is the question asking?"

wfran ... dd also has to read the question several times to work out what it actually means. But because she's never mentioned it, it's never been picked up on as a problem. It's so frustrating as dd keeps her emotions/feelings very much to herself, and her processing problems she never realised were actually a problem as it's all she's ever known and assumed everyone sees things like she does :-(

Is your ds taking his GCSE's this year? Wishing him all the best if he is

hi frazzle , yes he is ,although he sat a few last year.
so has already got a c in maths , working to get a b this year.
english is the worst ,as he doesnt get it!but he needs a c - he has a few already marked at c , so its fingers crossed hell pass.
hes better at french and welsh
is you daughter on an iap ?
have you spoken to education psychologist? every school has one .
we realised something was wrong with ds straight away so have had input from day 1 really.
ds also gets to take the exams by himself.

Dd also did her maths last year! She got a B so school recommended not re-doing it this year. English literature is her worst .. she got a G in her mock :-( She doesn't understand inference based questions and reading between the lines ... just can't do it/get it.
She has sensory processing disorder, only dx last year following a chance comment she made about words moving all around the page .. she got the the age of 14 thinking everyone saw this, it was normal!
She gets to sit the exam in a separate room with other SN pupils, and has her papers with enlarged text, hopefully on cream paper.
She doesn't 'qualify' for extra time for the reasons in my pp.
We saw school nurse last week who has put in a referral to OT and primary mental health .. but it'll all come too late to help with her exams
Hope your ds can get the grades he needs

Just a thought. Would it be possible to establish 'normal way of working' in the next year and resit GCSEs next summer? Would school agree to that?

I've not thought of that streaky .. but dd doesn't want to go to school at all. She leaves this year, is adamant she's not staying on in 6th form at existing school. She'll go to college if needs be. She's hoping to get an apprenticeship. She wants to be cabin crew but the age restriction is 18. As she's only 16 this July it's ages away. She's hoping to get an apprenticeship in a travel agents. I'm not even sure what we should be doing at all!
Ds1 (NT) just did A levels, went to uni, got a job. I just assumed dd would stay on at school, but no way. I think because of her silent struggles she's put off for life!

It's something else to consider. You could make enquiries at local colleges about resits to improve grades. Most have programmes that allow students to do that, and by that time she'd be re-assessed by their Learner Support team and could have normal way of working access arrangements in place. It's another angle to look at, to be sure she gets the grades she deserves and is capable of. Would make it easier for her to access apprenticeship too.

What you need to do is to write to the local council, ask for a assessment with a member of the specialist teaching team where they will put your daughter through a series of tests to see if she has specific requirements. Remember this is your daughter and you will always be there thinking about how to get the best for her, but most students do not have any access arangements for there examinations but do all right. The problem is that many people see exams as lots of writing which intact is a load of bullshit as what your daughter needs to be practising is creating concise detailed points that answer the question because otherwise if you ramble on writing lots of stuff you will waste your time as essentially your marked for knowledge no if you can show that straight away you have already gained those marks and so can move on quickly and efficiently. You also have to remember that not everyone will be as kind hearted as yourself, for example in my GCSE's students who were given a special advantage such as extra time were heavily noticed by other students as they sit the exam in the same hall, and so tensions can arise resulting a violence and bulling if your daughter were to gain higher marks than other individuals they would see it as unfair as given the opportunity your daughter has they would also get better grades. What you need to remember is that generally people with special educational needs are the ones who struggle in class and result in low grades and the concept of extra time is to give these children a better chance of getting a passing grade, getting your daughter to A* standards is something learnt with practice and technique .

Resits are only given for English and Mathematics thanks to Michael Goves reforms to GCSEs as of 2014

I can completely sympathise with you Frazzled. My DS with dyspraxia was diagnosed at 5 and still doesn't qualify for extra time despite plenty of evidence of his poor (but just about legible) handwriting and his lack of organisational ability in his work. His writing is sufficiently fast that he is deemed not to need it. This strikes me as too basic an assessment. The effort of writing fast enough to complete the exam and the impact it has on what he is capable of writing is not taken into account. Unfortunately, I suspect he is just bright enough to mean he does well enough but I really feel he is not meeting his potential - with the right support he could do better. i think the situation is the same for your DD. If you do OK you can't be struggling therefore you don't get any extra time yet that doesn't reflect potential, does it?

I shall have a look at the advice and see if anything further can be done for my DS who is in Yr10. Unfortunately, I won't hold my breath if it needs to be initiated by the school because the SENCO is awful - obstructive, rude and by her own admission, not interested in anybody who doesn't have a statement which DS doesn't.

I wish you luck, Frazzled

Bertha any chance of a re-assessment? my ds is dyslexic/dyspraxic and got extra time. The whole difficulty of producing writing and the way it puts you off thinking needs to be taken into account. Does dc touch type? The amount of writing in exam season is such an extra strain compared with normal school days, I think you should move fast on this.

We were lucky and got hold of a good (London based) OT and EP and they found stuff we didn't know was there. With dd the same. We are still trying to get all the teachers to do what they are meant to do, but the exams are sorted.

Good Luck

silver ... What you need to remember is that generally people with special educational needs are the ones who struggle in class and result in low grades ... Many, many special educational needs children achieve extremely high results, it's wrong to assume SN means under achievers.
Dd is currently working to grades B's and C's .. staff all say (and I've always said) she's far more capable than she can achieve on paper due to her needs. Senco and other professionals are of the opinion "she achieves very well, imagine how high she could achieve given the correct help/support/time". She can't read the questions properly due to all her words moving around the page. She can't understand/process immediately what the question actually means. She can't filter out distracting lighting and noise like other children do without even realising. I'm asking for her to be given the best chance possible and IF she meets any allowance criteria then she should be able to access that.
Bertha ... We seem to be in the exact same position and thoughts with our dc! I hope you can sort something for your ds. It may be too late for my dd, but I recommend you fight your way now while your ds is still in year 10. Good luck!

I've had an email from school through the holidays to say they're trying to find someone to test dd to get some official scores for whether she'll qualify for extra time. I'm really not holding out much hope, school have been pretty crap.

Thanks Frazzled and senvet

I don't know if you have found this but unfortunately, if you voice the concerns that your child is not meeting his or her potential you tend to get this face and you can practically see them updating their notes with the comment 'over bearing and pushy mother'. People tell me he is bright, I feel he is bright but I don't have any measure of how bright he really is to back this up. Gut feeling isn't enough is it? DS doesn't do himself any favours by refusing admit there is a problem which is both admirable, because he is just getting on with it but also a bit silly because he could, perhaps, do better with less effort. It also means the cow of a SENCO (I don't use the term lightly and I generally have the greatest of respect for teachers) doesn't take his difficulties seriously.

senvet - I have asked for a reassessment a few times but again, he is not struggling enough and the system, especially since the SEN policy changes can't cope with the volume of new cases and more severe cases, let alone reassessing children who appear to be doing OK so I have been refused.

I actually feel like weeping if I think about it. I am so immensely proud of how well he is doing without any help whatsoever. He is bloody brilliant and gets top marks for effort every time he gets a report. He can be a monumental teenage pain in the butt at times but I can't fault his attitude to school. Imagine what he could do if somebody actually bothered to help him with his specific difficulties! I am sure you feel the same Frazzled. I think in your shoes, I would be wishing away the next 3 months and thinking about starting afresh with the college but I hope you can get something sorted before the exams start.

My feelings exactly bertha ... when I see dd own personal struggles, how much harder she finds things than others, how much harder her brain has to work to make sense of basic things I feel so upset for her. She doesn't realise her struggles though as this is how she's always had to do things so doesn't know any other way.
I'm hoping something can be sorted before her exams but I doubt it. We've already spoken briefly to college and they sound great. We'll have a more in depth interview later in the year.

An update for anyone who's posted on this thread or sees it new

Dd was finally assessed on Tuesday (her first GCSE exam was also on Tuesday) ... results today ... SHE'S ENTITLED TO 25% EXTRA TIME !!!!

I'm happy for her BUT also sad that it highlights her struggles. I didn't think for 1 minute that school would sort this but they have. JCQ have awarded the extra time.

I'm annoyed and upset that school have not recognised dd struggles especially given the amount of times I've highlighted the situation to them. So to anyone else who thinks all is lost, GIVE IT A GO, DON'T GIVE UP.

OP - delighted to see this. Talk about leaving it close to the wire!

By the way, did you know there is a BTEC in Travel and Tourism? Our local vocational college does this and includes the options for Travel Shop working and also Cabin Crew.

Thanks teen
Very close to the wire
Dd has a place on the BTEC travel and aviation course. She's also on the shortlist for an apprenticeship with a large travel agency. We feel VERY VERY lucky and proud for her. After the 2 years in either college or apprenticeship, she's doing the cabin crew course at college which will lead to, hopefully, a job as cabin crew.

Oh good, glad she's sorted.

I swing from thinking I've failed DD by not getting her dyspraxia diagnosis before y11, to thinking thank god I kept pushing because the school didn't notice.

Good luck for her GCSEs - (DD starts next Tuesday).

Me too teen ... I feel terrible that I didn't see dd problems till year 9/10! She (excellently) blagged her way through school. But every time an alarm bell rang I emailed/phoned/parents evening to let them know ... and was fobbed off each time. So I feel I did everything I could but that school let me down. Then I feel actually I should have done more! I'm pushing now for her to be assessed for asd/or whatever they find. I'm understanding asd more now that dd2 has been dx, and I strongly feel dd1 and ds2 are on the spectrum. I feel bad for not realising sooner. Good luck to your dd with exams .. and life beyond.
Thanks bb ... I'm so pleased I stuck to my guns and kept emailing senco with 'reminders'.
We shouldn't have to fight for our children. I'm fighting for 3 of them and it's damned exhausting! Come on government, GIVE US ALL A BREAK!