Psychiatrist to sit gcses at home

[Sillybanana]

Hi there just after some advice. Has anybody here managed to get permission from a consultant for their teen to sit their gcses in a seperate room or even at home? Dd was home schooled but is now on roll at a school just to sit her gcses. She suffers from panic disorder and very bad anxiety, also autistic. Our gp wrote a letter requesting this but the school said it has to be a consultant and we could see a psychiatrist to get a letter as they are consultants. Any experiences? Thank you

Sorry I should have said suspected autistic, by school staff and ourselves. We have no diagnosis yet as on cahms never ending waiting list

A separate room in school will be a lot easier to achieve than home. School can give a separate room at their discretion I believe.

The school says no unless we have a letter from a consultant

We have loads of kids who need separate access arrangements. Individual rooms for those who have loud, disruptive tics, small groups for those who have extreme anxiety and who can't sit in the exam hall, small groups for those who need a reader, individual rooms for those who need a scribe etc etc etc. But yes, all those kids have to have formal assessments to justify their access arrangements.

Is your daughter already year 11? If so, are you in a position to pay for a private consultant?

How long has she been at school?

she needs to have been at the school long enough for them to have evidence to submit to the exam board about her "normal way of working" in the school.

Unfortunately exams regs have tightened and a GP letter is no longer sufficient for a child to be allowed access arrangements.

If the school is advising a consultants letter then that's what you need to get.

Normally children are at the school long enough for 'normal ways of working' - separate rooms, rest breaks during exams etc to be established in evidence, but from the sounds of it your child is already Y11. Good luck with sorting it.

Unless things have changed I don't think this is correct. I don't have a child doing public exams this year but in previous years there was a strict process for any special arrangements

I do know of someone who did their GSCEs at home but it was due to the effacts of a serious illness

Is she taking them this year? By separate room do you mean one to one invigilation? There may be a quieter room for a number of students with access arrangements which she could join without such evidence but on her own would require an extra invigilator . Also JCQ access arrangements deadline will have passed so it might be requested as a medical need at this stage, hence the letter. Are any other professionals involved in her care? Unlikely to be allowed to sit at home,

Ah that must be why, she hasn’t been at the school long enough for them to know her normal way of working.

Get a private child psychiatrist to asses, Chams are useless and u will wait forever, or sit exams at a private centre where they can be on their own, but either way access arrangements need to be shown, it’s a bloody pain trying to sort out
what area do u live as I can pm u with a great psychiatrist x

Thank you I’m in south west London x

Hi, she lives in Lee, south east London, she is amazing, i honestly think she saved my DD life

Thank you could you please DM me her details?

My DS is autistic and didn’t attend school for most of year 11. He had core subject tutors at home and sat his GCSEs in a separate room at school just with one other girl in similar circumstances, for the papers they were both doing. The others he sat alone.

Separate room shouldn’t require any special conversation with the exam board and all the requirement are fulfilled the same as any other student. The school will have to find and fund an additional invigilator which will be difficult and expensive.