Examination Arrangments for GCSE

[RussW]

My son L has been diagnosed Aspergers for 10 years and has had a good level of support from the LEA and elsewhere. He has full access to the GCSE curriculum and 27 hours of teaching support a week.

 

We are now approaching GCSE's. Mocks in a few weeks and then in 16/20 weeks the main event. As he is 'Special Needs' he is allowed to take his exams in a room away from the main hall. He will also have a 'prompter'. One of his problems is that if he can't finish (or begin) a question then he will sit there. Equally if there are analogies (i.e. "the rule was set in concrete") then he will fret about the concrete and not answer the question.

 

I have recently been asked to sign a form to say that we are happy with the arrangements for support during the exam. I am most certainly NOT happy! Firstly the JCQ have not as yet published the guidelines for arrangements for Special Needs for GCSE's in 2008 and secondly I am not convinced that what they are proposing for my son is any good!

 

Just wondering if anyone else has had similar 'debates' with their LEA's or in fact had dealings with the JCQ (a rather annonymous Government body) about Aspergers, public examinations and the level and type of support during exams.

[mum23]

Hi RussW,

My daughter is also in year 11 due to sit GCSE exams at the same time as your son, she is NT! but has visual and auditory proccessing problems and a number of medical conditions that mean she is physicaly unable to write by hand without pain. I was told by the school in year 10 that daughter would NOT be able to have access arangments as she does not have this support in class! don't ask! school said they could not supply lap top etc. as it was out of their bugget!! anyway I phoned a very nice lady at the JCQ access arrangements department for advice; she told me the school had to apply for arrangments and that all cases are juged as individual and she told me it was the duty of the school under the disability act to make sure my daughter could access the exams on the same level as her peers and that I must contact the DDC if school was not willing to apply for access arrangments.

After I relayed the facts to the school they put a number of measures into place and applied for Access arrangments.

So to my point could you contact the JCQ yourself and ask for their advice list the difficulties your son has and see what they say, you need to do this quickly as all requests for arrangments have to be in at set dates for set requirments.

 

Anna

[Kazzen161]

I am just starting to chase this again for July 2009 GCSEs.

 

www.jcq.org.uk/access_arrangements/

 

gives a final version for 07/08. It lists the possible arrangements and what evidence is required.

 

I hadn't really thought about the module exams - my son has one next week and I am not sure if they will let him do it in a separate room (as he did for his SATs).

 

What aspect are you unhappy about, Russ?

[pearl]

We didnt even get asked to sign a form! Didnt even know that was supposed to happen. JP got 25% extra time, went in a separate room with another kid with additional needs, his TA and an invigilator. And he did pretty well.

 

Getting the same kind of reasonable adjustments for the first of his apprenticeship tests though, was a VERY different matter. Theres a long thread about it in the bowels of the forum somewhere. Suffice to say I had to get my claws out.

 

What sort of arrangements did you have in mind?

[RussW]

Thanks! Those access arrangements must have literally been published on the 16th November as they weren't there the day before!

 

I need to read through the document and ensure my son is getting everything he's entitled to. Our concern is SENCO at the school has a 'one size fits all' attitude towards special needs and in not 'sympathetic' towards kids with Aspergers.

 

On a completely different area and I am livid at the system of ALPS and feel that this measurement system is discriminatory towards children with special needs. SATS too. Watch this space!

[Mad_Kangaroo]

The thing that you have missed off is that you probably could blag your son some extra time while you are at it, 25% extra time should give him a significantly better chance.

[Karen A]

Thanks! Those access arrangements must have literally been published on the 16th November as they weren't there the day before!

 

I need to read through the document and ensure my son is getting everything he's entitled to. Our concern is SENCO at the school has a 'one size fits all' attitude towards special needs and in not 'sympathetic' towards kids with Aspergers.

 

On a completely different area and I am livid at the system of ALPS and feel that this measurement system is discriminatory towards children with special needs. SATS too. Watch this space!

 

 

Hi Russ.If you think that the SENCO will not be suppotive and will not ensure that your DS get's the best provision possible then contact your LEA.GCSEs are to important to leave to the SENCO if you do not have confidence in them.Karen.