I have been reading some of the information on this site and trying to take it all in so I can give my best at an appeal I understand will be in March. My concerns I have are how to address the reasons we feel have impacted my daughters results. My daughter was under a tremendous amount of stress in the weeks leading up to her test due to being bullied that it all came to a head days before sitting her test. Aside from this my daughter has always done very well in her schoolwork and tests. My concerns are in the next few weeks they have more tests in school taking place which I would need to use as evidence I’m not sure she will show the best of her ability with how this is affecting her.

Should I mention this in an appeal or keep this aside and explain her test results from years 5/6. We have noticed around the time of the bullying taken place it has affected her work after discussing some of her test results. My daughter has ASD and other health conditions I requested for her to be able to do her test in a room on her own with nearby access to a toilet due to her medical condition. I found out the day before the test she would be sharing a room with another child. I let the person know who had agreed this arrangement I was unhappy and he said leave it with me I will sort something. I assumed they would go back to the original agreement. The child unfortunately had some breaks leaving the room, smacking the space bar loudly and snoring towards the end of the test.

Any advice would be appreciated on how I approach this difficult situation.

Welcome!

Could you give us a rough idea of which area you are in, as it might possibly affect any advice we offer.

You would normally submit an appeal in March, but it's unlikely to take place until May/June.

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Etienne

Hi,

Thank you, we are in Kent

To be honest, it's not what you write that matters, so much as the evidence that you provide. Let the evidence speak for itself.

Can you provide evidence?
Any emails from you complaining about the bullying?
Or a letter from the school to confirm that they knew about the bullying and that she looked upset?

Are we talking about consistently well-above average in reading, maths and writing?
And is there going to be evidence that she is on target for 111-120 in reading and maths, and GDS in writing, at the end of Y6?

Let's wait and see what the results are. We have until the end of March to decide what to do.

Did you let the person know in writing, so that there is evidence?
Or would he put something in writing now to confirm what happened?

Hope this helps. The further away she was from the qualifying scores needed for Kent, the more persuasive your case will have to be.
Have you seen our checklist of possible evidence?
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b11

If the grammar schools you are applying to are oversubscribed, as they probably will be, you will also need good reasons for wanting a place:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... -school#c2
(Some grammar schools may be more difficult than others to win an appeal at.)

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Etienne

Hi,

I have evidence of the emails I sent to the teacher regarding the bullying. As some of the bullying took place online the school seem to be saying that it’s not there responsibility even though the bullying continued in class, break and at lunchtime.

Was working at greater depth before the bullying occurred. When the bullying started it has dipped to now at to be expected. From working at home I can see she is able to meet all of her targets and being graded to full marks. Could I use this as evidence at an appeal?

I did speak to the teacher that was in the room during the Kent test. He has denied any disturbance in the room so I am unable to state that she was distracted. The school have bluntly stated they will not move forward with the disturbance that took place. The other child that was sitting in the room is known to be a disruptive influence in the class and during live lessons I have witnessed this myself. I asked the school why they did not meet my daughters needs requesting her to sit the test alone with no distractions due to her needs and health requirements during the test. They said due to Covid they were short staffed even though the request was made in March. I am unsure how I would prove this in an appeal. I have since found out that the school never requested special measures for the Kent test after calling the Kent test for details of the school requesting for my daughter to have this request put in place. So they did not meet her needs or follow through with the request back in March.

The school have said they will support an appeal

You say the school will support any appeal. It may be helpful to your case to understand if the head did a headteacher appeal and if not why not. If they did and it was rejected that may provide some indicator.

Good.

If the targets are GDS in the core subjects, and if the school confirms that she is on target, then I think so.

The best I can suggest in the circumstances is that you report briefly who you spoke to, what they said in reply, and details such as date and time of conversation/telephone call.

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Etienne