Learning Support (SEND)

Rushcliffe Spencer Academy screens for dyslexia using the GL Assessment Dyslexia screener test; click here for details. The short test is a quick initial assessment to see how far a pupil’s abilities and skills match those of people who have been found to have dyslexia and enables strategies to be put in place for pupils as appropriate. Please note the test does not lead to an official diagnosis as only qualified assessors can do this.

However, if you would like your child to be screened, please fill in the parent referral form. On receipt of your referral your child will be allocated an appointment for the next available screener testing time and an appointment card will be sent to you and your child with the date and time of the test and where this will take place in school. Please can you remind your child of their appointment time and day and reassure them that the test is not like an exam. It simply measures how we think and solve problems. The test is completed online and takes 40-60 minutes to complete.

What happens next?

Your child will get a result.

The test results will state:

A – No signs

B – few signs

C- Mild

D – Moderate

E – Severe

The actions we will take are as follows:

• For categories B, C and D – your child will be recognised in school as ‘dyslexic’ and this will be communicated to all teachers. Your child will be added to the SEND Dyslexia Register. All teachers are aware of dyslexia-friendly strategies and will support identified pupils in class.
• For category E – Severe – a ‘pupil postcard’ will be issued. This is a personalised document which identifies specific strategies for the individual pupil using GL Assessment recommendations and the pupil’s own reflections on their needs. Teachers use the pupil postcard to adapt teaching and give targeted support in the classroom.

JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) will not accept any exam access arrangements recommended in the diagnosis report and the school must carry out our own EAA testing – see FAQ 4 below. For pupils with test results in categories B-E, pupils automatically qualify for exam access arrangement testing at the appropriate time.

The GL Assessment screener test does not lead to a formal diagnosis and post-18 organisations, such as universities, will ask for a formal diagnosis. If you wish to pursue a formal diagnosis, please refer to the Dyslexia Association Dyslexia Diagnostic Assessment – British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk).

Parental meetings are not held in reference to GL Assessment screener test results. Please be assured that the information will be sent to staff, support strategies will be put in place and the progress of all pupils is closely monitored.

Formal Diagnosis for Dyslexia

If your child has had a dyslexia test with a qualified assessor, please can you send the report to the SEND email address sendco@rushcliffespencer.org.uk

It is important to understand that the school cannot diagnose a SEND need. However, if you feel your child may have an undiagnosed SEND need, such as ADHD, ASD or any other learning difference, please follow the process outlined below:

1. Email sendco@rushcliffespencer.org.uk and state your child’s name, form, and your concerns. The SEND department will gather information from your child’s teachers about your child’s progress and any challenges identified in class.
2. While the school is collecting teacher/support staff views, you will need to go to your GP with your concern. The GP will give you a form called ‘Getting to Know Me’ (G2KM).
3. You will need to complete the parent view section of this document. Please then email this form to: sendco@rushcliffespencer.org.uk. If necessary, you can bring a printed form to the school reception, clearly labelled FAO SENDCO.
4. The school section of the G2KM form will be completed by the SEND department using feedback from the teachers within 4 weeks of receipt of the form.
5. The SEND department will then return the form to you to check to ensure a clear and detailed understanding of the child has been communicated and confirm you are happy for the form to be submitted.
6. The form will be sent by school to the Neuro-Development Support Team (NST), part of the Nottinghamshire Family Service team. See here for further information about the form and NST.
7. Please note the process leading to a formal SEND diagnosis can take up to 36 months (around 3 years).

Based on the information gathered on the G2KM form (see Q2 above), the SEND team will add your child to our SEND register under a category called ‘Monitoring’. This alerts teachers that pupils may have an undiagnosed SEND need, and the type of need being investigated. They will then adapt teaching to support your child.

Other interventions may include issuing a ‘pupil postcard’ – a personalised document which identifies specific strategies for the individual pupil, including the pupil’s own reflections on their needs. Some pupils may be allocated a key worker for a period of time and/or the SEND department may contact you for further discussion.

Pupils will then go onto the SEN register as interventions are now in place; this will be done in consultation with you.

Exam Access Arrangements (EAA)

The EAA policy can be found here: EAA Policy

Exam Access Arrangements may include the following:

• 25% Extra Time
• Scribe
• Reader / reader pen
• Laptop
• Small room (classroom-based exam)
• Supervised rest breaks
• Coloured paper

Exam access arrangements can only be given when a pupil is disadvantaged because of a need and should not be used to give an advantage. Please read the JCQ guidelines attached here. PLMR JCQ1799 Parent EAA JCQ Info sheet A4 1pp PDF v2.indd

1. All pupils with a diagnosed SEND need will be automatically assessed for exam access arrangements.
2. Any pupils undergoing SEND diagnosis will be assessed for exam access arrangements, this includes those for whom a G2KM form has been completed (see Q2).

The process for any other pupil is as follows:

• Teacher referral
• Pupil self-referral – form
• Parent referral – form

What happens after a referral is submitted to school?

1. Evidence from teachers and key workers will be requested, as one referral is not sufficient.
2. The pupil may be asked to complete the GL Assessment screener (for dyslexia) based on the information received (see Q1).
3. The pupil will be placed on the waiting list for testing by a qualified Exams Assessor.

Please be aware that we buy-in this service and have allocated days when testing is completed.

What happens after the testing?

You will receive a letter telling you the outcome.

If exam access arrangements are granted, the information will be shared with staff. For mock and public exams, the exam access arrangements will be in place and teachers will adapt in class assessments in line with the granted EAA.

Timelines

All pupils need to be tested in a timeframe mandated by the JCQ (Joint Council of Qualifications). This is to allow the EAA to be a normal way of working and for pupils to have had the opportunity to practice using their EAA.

The final deadline for the school’s application to JCQ to award exam access arrangements is February of the year of public exams. We will have an in-school deadline for EAA testing referrals in December of that academic year to be able to administer the tests and process applications. However, to support a child, it is important that they can use the EAA, so we try to ensure that testing is completed as early as possible.

Some pupils may not have the EAA in place before sitting their mock exams (Year 10 in July; Year 11 in November; Year 13 in January). Please do not worry. The outcomes of mock exams are often used as evidence of a need, and we ask teachers to consider this when predicting grades.

EAA is only valid for 2 years from the date of being granted. School will automatically renew EAA before the pupil takes their summer exams if granted in Year 9 and Year 11.  You do not need to do anything if your child has already received exam access arrangements as the re-application process will be automatic.

• Year 10 – pupils will be tested based on referrals (teachers/parents) and SEND need.
• Year 11 – pupils in this year group will be tested before the school’s December deadline which is usually 2 weeks before the term ends. Following the November mock exams, some pupils may be referred to us and will be tested by the end of January.
• Year 12 – pupils sitting exams in January will be a priority for testing. Pupils who already had exam access arrangements in Year 11 do not require another referral.
• Year 13 – additional referrals are tested by Christmas ready for the January mock exams. Any further pupils referred after the mock exams will be assessed by the end of February.

The school is not able to test pupils after the end of March for EAA for public exams that same year.  This is JCQ requirement.

PLMR JCQ1799 Parent EAA JCQ Info sheet A4 1pp PDF v2.indd

Regulations and Guidance – JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications