[senco-forum] Inclusion and league tables (points)

Hi again Lorraine
  I am interested that you say pupils are being entered for GCSEs which are unsuitable.
  Loads of courses qualify for points these days.  All our Vocational courses gain points.  Music exams, Arts Awards, accreditation for work experience, computer exams all count towards the total.  This is how we try to enhance the education of the pupils with SEN, though the extra points do tend to be gained by pupils who also do well in GCSEs.  
  Also, last year we pulled a pupil with ASD out of English lit two weeks before the exam as it was really stressing him.  For someone with ASD it was just a leap too far.  There was no argument about it.  
  I looked at all the data last year for my pupils and spent some time writing things like 'How can this be called 'below the expected level' when he got an NVQ and passed five GCSEs?  

  Amanda
  Secondary SENCO
  Cornwall

Bill Graham <williamgraham at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
  I've just read the article mentioned in a recent posting. How true it is! 
I was upset yesterday because I really think that our kids get a raw deal especially in secondary where KS4 courses are concerned. It seems that it's not every child who matters but every school! I thought the spirit of inclusion was built around making kids feel valued it seems not - they are forced into unsuitable/ inappropriate exam choices because the data counts - the numbers of GCSEs they get is vital. 

I feel particularly aggrieved over English because they have to do this and get a GCSE without the help of a reader. It's not only the course content (shakespeare etc) which is bad enough but it's being faced with an examination they just can't access. It must be totally demoralising doing this and I don't see how a grade G does them any good - except for the school. Yes we do entry level but they still have to be entered for GCSE. What makes it worse is data predictions - I have a kid who has great difficulties in reading and writing and the data suggests he should be getting grade Es jiust because it's based on KS2 levels in ma and science where he had a reader.

I feel torn between the devil and the deep blue sea - I have outside agencies saying these kids shouldn't be entered and the school saying they have to be. When will government realise if they want inclusion in mainstream schools then something has to give - otherwise inclusion becomes exclusion.

Incidentally - if there are any secondary sencos out there - what do your schools to do to overcome this problem (esp in Eng) or are we all in the same boat? Suggestions welcome.

Lorraine

Amanda
Secondary SENCO
Cornwall