ADHD

Behaviour, or unmet need?

Pupils with ADHD are often described by what they don’t do: they don’t start work, don’t bring the right equipment, don’t listen to instructions, don’t stay in their seat. Each of those can be read as a choice. Very often it is something else: difficulty with task initiation, working memory, organisation or regulation that the school day is asking them to manage without support.

Sanctions rarely fix an executive functioning difficulty. Well-designed provision and sensible reasonable adjustments often can.

I have supported pupils with ADHD for many years as a SENCO and senior leader, and I have also lived with ADHD as a parent. I know the school systems, and I know how different the evenings and mornings can look from the inside.

What good ADHD support looks like

• Is the support aimed at the actual executive functioning difficulty, or at the behaviour it produces?
• Are instructions, homework and organisation adjusted, or is the pupil simply expected to try harder?
• Is there a plan for overwhelm and emotional regulation, not only for consequences?
• Do adjustments carry on through GCSEs and exams, where they matter most?
• Is anyone checking whether the support is making a difference?

GCSEs and post-16

The demands of Key Stage 4 (revision, coursework deadlines, exam conditions) can expose ADHD-related difficulties that were manageable earlier on. Support doesn’t disappear after Year 11 either. I can help you think through access arrangements, planning for exam periods, and what to ask a sixth form or college about continuing support.

If revision itself is the sticking point, Bespoke GCSE Revision Planning builds a structured, manageable revision system around your young person’s needs.