Sunshine1976 wrote:
Etienne, thank you so much for your responses. I wanted to clarify point 3 re the dyslexia and having to explain performance on the day. Do I not need to demonstrate how his dyslexia impacted his performance on the day or at least how the lack of additional time impacted performance?
No, I don't think so.
Quote:
I am presuming without this, the panel will ask how I think he will cope at a grammar school?
You - or preferably the headteacher - should point out that it has now been established what measures need to be in place to enable him to flourish and achieve his full potential.
If I were you I would arrange a meeting with the grammar school Senco to discuss how they could help if he were to get a place.
See C2 (viii) - the paragraph on SEN:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... -school#c2Then - by quoting the school's own Senco - I hope you'd be in a good position to explain that he could cope at grammar school.
Another point you could make is that you now realise that bright children with dyslexia risk being overlooked, and have been at a disadvantage as a result of late diagnosis.
Quote:
Also on point 4 re mocks. In our area the school will not do mocks, the only option is to do them privately and most mocks are run by tutoring exams. They are in exam conditions and we do get a summary on how your child did relative to the cohort.
But surely the cohort wasn't exactly the same as the cohort that sat the real test.
Quote:
Are you saying private mocks are not a good source of evidence?
That would be my opinion - and I think it is likely to be the view of the appeal panel. I certainly never sat on a panel that was interested in - or gave any weight to - the result of a private 'mock'.
It ought to give you some idea of your son's ability, but I cannot see why an appeal panel would accept the result as a valid alternative score when it has no official status.
In my view a 'mock' could be useful in replicating 11+ test conditions, so that the real experience is then less daunting.
However, I would keep very quiet about tutoring and mocks at an appeal. You don't want the panel thinking "
He had all that extra help and preparation, and still didn't qualify?"
Quote:
What do you mean by official mocks?
I assume this mock was in no way recognised or endorsed by the grammar school or Local Authority.
Even
official 11+ scores from other grammar schools might carry no weight with an appeal panel because the non-identical cohorts would result in different standardisation.
Quote:
I am meeting my headteacher to discuss the support letter on Wednesday. She is aware of my appeal and has verbally stated she is willing to support but has not written an appeal support letter before. I couldn't find a Q&A question on what to include/ exclude in the headteacher support letter. Can anyone point me in the right direction or offer any tips?
The Q&As:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b48