Making the choice to NOT sit the 11+

[Harrysmum]

*Big Sigh*

After deciding that our child was bright enough, with some encouragement and extra tutoring, to stand up to the competition of sitting the 11+, but with the thought that an indie school might be better for him than our local GS, a spanner has been thrown into the works.
Our DS tutor has suggested that he may be dyslexic (she is a dyslexic assessor), something which we had never considered, and that as things are it is unlikely that the 11+ is attainable. I have been into school and told them of our concerns and they are going to do some testing (we are considering getting privately tested) but the school think that we are putting too much stress on our child and that we should back off (these are my words, not the schools).

Now, as we had not grown up in this area and I like to be organised we had looked around at prospective senior schools when my DS was at the end of Y3 (now in Y4). He decided that he wanted to go to the indie and so we said he had to work for it so that we would then be prepared to pay for it. He has seemed happy with this, although has been struggling with his school work (found out this week after meeting at school). We have since discussed him having additional music lessons as, if only he would practise, he would be brilliant. He adores his new music teacher and things are moving along well.
When reading and looking at entrance exams it seems to me that the papers are along the lines of the 11+ anyway, and lots of parents have said that if they knew then what they know now that they would not have gone down the 11+ route.
So I am considering the following:-
Keep up with the 11+ tuition and aim for the indie, the classes are smaller, approx 10 per class, so would he get better help? or
give up and accept that he will have to go to the local school.

My head is just in such a spin and I know I have time, but I just like to have everything in order so that I know where I am.

[Minesatea]

If your DS is still only in year 4 you have plenty of time.

It very much depends on what area you are in and how selective the Indie is that you are considering as there is a huge variation. My DD sat Essex 11 plus and age 11 entry for the local indie and the difference in standard she was amazed by. Even at the Indie in the next town (which is considered to be very selective) their academic scholarship level is 11 plus pass for the superselective grammar. However in some areas the Indies can be harder to get into.
With regards to "would he get better help?" in the Indie - this again depends on the school, some have good provision for this , others are worse than the state schools.

Personally I would first concentrate on getting a firm diagnosis and then see what help / provision is available at the schools you are considering.

[mum23*]

Y4 is still young, there is plenty of time to prepare should you wish. I would agree with getting a proper assessment done to see if your DS has dyslexia and what his needs are. He would probably be entitled to extra time for any entrance exams if he has dyslexia. Take a look at his CAT scores when he takes these because these should give you an idea of whether he would manage well at a grammar. Having dyslexia would not necessarily prevent him passing the test or doing well at school. My DD has it too and had her assessment done in Y4.

Once you know what his needs are then look round the schools and chat to the SENCOs. Each school is different and you might have more of a sense of who will support your DS best. Good luck and don't worry. I would recommend you having a look at the SEN threads on this site, there is lots about dyslexia and the BDA courses for parents are very good.

[Harrysmum]

Take a look at his CAT scores when he takes these because these should give you an idea of whether he would manage well at a grammar.

Are his CAT scores the levels 4a,b,c etc?

[DC17C]

CAT tests are tests run by GL assessment that schools use to assess ability in verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning and quantative reasoning. My children did them in yr5 and I think other schools may do them in other years too.
The test is done without any prep so is supposed to measure a child's ability.
The Score is out of 141 and the average score would be 100. A score over 115 would be "well above" average and above 128 would be the top 6% ability range.
Schools don't necessarily seem very keen to share these scores unless you ask. I did not get told about these last year when I was trying to work out if DD should do the GS test and I still have no idea what hers were - she did pass the test though. DS's teacher was much more forthcoming this year about DS's CAT scores and recommended DS should do the test.

[Amber]

The Score is out of 141 and the average score would be 100. A score over 115 would be above average...

Er, a score over 100 would be above average, no?

[DC17C]

Good point -sorry that should be "well above average "

[Y]

I think they usually band these results into groups - something like 85 - 110 (not actually these figures) being considered 'average', then another band above being 'above average', etc.

[MrsB]

Harry's mum what area are you looking at?
In Essex versus the indie schools in Essex/suffolk, the papers may look similar difficulty but in reality the level you need to achieve on the paper is lower at the Indies, as the Essex granmars are so selective.

[mystery]

Are you sure the tutor knows what she is talking about? There's a load of mumbo-jumbo thrown out by some dyslexia specialists and others are useful.

I think you have mentioned this in another thread too?

You mentioned 4a, 4b, 4c etc. These are national curriculum levels. If this is what your son is achieving in year 4 he is streets above average.

I really think you should just bash on.