Parents 'let down' by Weymouth College over SEND support

As previously reported, students with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) who attend Weymouth College say they were not given the extra support for their GCSE maths resit exam, which took place on Wednesday.

Parents have been left fuming at the college, with students reportedly being left without access to support such as scribes, readers, rest breaks, extra time, and a separate room for exams.

Now, more parents have come forward, raising concerns about the college’s standards regarding SEND support from their past experiences.

One mum from Weymouth, who wished to remain anonymous, said her son faced problems with his English language resit earlier this week and only found out about a change to his support from a letter sent to his college email over the half term.

Weymouth College (Image: Alfie Lumb) The letter outlined that, 'due to circumstances beyond the college's control', they were unable to finalise the arrangement of a word processor, but said that rest breaks would be provided instead. 

It said: "We understand that this may be disappointing, and we want to ensure you have options moving forward." The letter than went to outline two options for the student; either to sit the exam without access arrangements, or to withdraw from the exam and/or sit them in the summer term. 

 It ended by saying: "Please let us know your decision by November 4, so we can assist you accordingly. If you have any questions or need further clarification, do not hesitate to reach out."

Reacting to the incident, the concerned mum said: “My son was accepted onto his Level 3 computing course providing that he resits the English language GCSE. He is in need of a laptop for his exams, but when he turned up, he found out he was sitting it in the main hall with everyone else, which for him was the first time that he had sat an exam with other people.

“We gave the school the information and needs that he required, as well as scans of SEND proof at other schools.

“We received an email during half term to say that the access requirements couldn’t be met for the exam. This was sent to my son’s student email- which was never checked during the half term period, and no correspondence was had with parents.

“There just seems to be a real lack of clarity, and accountability. I’m sure the college has a legal requirement. I’m stunned honestly because I was full of hope when my son started after meeting with the SEND team- I would like to see a good reason as to why this support was not given.”

Cally O'Neill, who raised concerns to the Echo about the lack of support in her exam this week, faced problems again during her calculator maths exam on Friday. 

Cally O'Neill claims she has not received the correct SEND support (Image: Cally O'Neill) She said: "They got in contact with my mum, and said they'll make sure someone supports me, but when I got to college on the day, no one spoke to me. 

"It's really horrible, but I still sat the exam because I didn't want to let them put me off - I thought at the very least I'll give it a go. 

"In the end I found that I couldn't read half of the questions without my support, and didn't get to finish the paper- it was really stressful."

Hannah James’ son, Charlie Gear, is a student at Budmouth Academy but attends Weymouth College two days a week.

She says her son has faced different problems with SEND support, and is worried about her his future.

She said: “My son is in his final year at Budmouth, and was invited to college for two days a week this year for a course for students struggling with SEND needs to help build resilience, and we were told that would include team building exercises such as boxing, and a trip to the sailing academy.

“After one week, and two sessions, the course was stopped with no reason. Nobody has given an explanation. We were just told that it’s not going ahead again.

“I feel let down after putting my trust in them to support my child and I'm not sure whether I would want him to attend next year.”

When asked about the circumstances leading to the cancellation in the letter to English Language students, the college refused to reply. 

A spokesperson for Weymouth College said: “We cannot comment on individual student arrangements, but we do understand that exams can be a stressful time for our young people, and as such would actively encourage students and/or their parents/carers to get in touch should they wish to, and we will offer support and advice on an individual basis.

“With regard to whether the college is doing anything extra in relation to our exams tomorrow, we have communicated with students and will continue to follow the published guidance. All students will have the opportunity to re-sit exams in the main series of exams in the summer and we will continue to work with students to get the support they need within the regulations during these re-sits.”