Exam season can be overwhelming for any student, but for those with additional Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, the traditional high-stakes approach can be particularly damaging. At Inclusion School & College, we’ve developed a carefully considered strategy to turn exam preparation from a huge source of anxiety into an opportunity for growth and achievement.
The results have been remarkable, and even more importantly, it’s created a framework that any educational setting can adapt. Here’s how we support SEMH students through their exam journey, and how you can too.
The biggest mistake mainstream education makes is treating exams as ‘succeed or fail’ moments. From Year 7 onwards, students are bombarded with messages about how their GCSEs will determine their entire future. For SEMH students, this creates an impossible psychological burden.
What we do instead: We begin exam conversations at the end of Year 9, but we frame them differently. We tell students that exams are important, but they’re not life-changing. You can retake exams, you can pursue different pathways, and most crucially – your worth isn’t determined by your grades.
The language matters: Instead of “you’ve got to pass your GCSE’s,” we say “this is a great opportunity to show what you can do.” Instead of dismissing anxiety with “everyone’s worried, don’t think about it,” we validate it: “feeling anxious is totally normal – it shows you care. Let’s work together to make sure that anxiety doesn’t overwhelm you.”
Rather than throwing students into high-stakes GCSEs with no preparation, we create a carefully constructed ladder of exam experiences that builds confidence over time.
The progression:
Each rung of the ladder serves a specific purpose. The first exam teaches students what the exam experience feels like – sitting in a room with an invigilator, managing time, following instructions. They’re not worried about the content because they can probably pass; they’re just learning the process.
By the time they reach their final GCSEs, students have already achieved qualifications they can fall back on. This removes the “all or nothing” pressure that paralyses many SEMH students.
For SEMH students, unfamiliarity breeds anxiety. Our approach is designed to make every possible aspect of the exam experience familiar and safe.
Environmental consistency:
Managing the unexpected: We prepare students for potential changes. If a staff member is sick on exam day, it’s not catastrophic because students have relationships with multiple adults in the building. Every interaction matters; we build a network of trusted relationships, not just one-to-one dependencies.
Pre-exam preparation: Students meet their invigilators before exam day. We discuss practical details like room temperature, lighting, and noise levels. Students know they can ask for adjustments; if the fan is too loud, we’ll turn it off. If they need the window open, that’s fine too. We know it’s the ‘small’ details that make all the difference.
The worst thing you can do is introduce reasonable adjustments only for exams. If a student needs a laptop throughout their lessons, they should never encounter a teacher who questions why they have it.
Making adjustments normal:
Student ownership: We help students understand and advocate for their needs. They leave us with a “passport” that explains how they work best, what support they need, and what’s worked for them. This gives them the confidence to request appropriate support in college or future employment.
While GCSEs work for some students, they’re inherently inflexible. For SEMH students, this inflexibility can be the difference between success and failure.
Functional Skills as an option
These qualifications offer:
A two-tier approach: We’re developing a system where students can achieve Level 2 Functional Skills before attempting GCSEs. This gives them a safety net because they already have the qualification they need for college, so the GCSE becomes an opportunity to excel rather than a make-or-break moment.
Parents often unknowingly increase exam pressure because they don’t know how to have informed conversations about exams and anxiety. They remember their own school experiences, which are not likely to be relevant to their child’s situation in the present.
What schools can do:
There’s a delicate balance between keeping students safe and helping them grow. We don’t want to wrap students in cotton wool, but we also can’t throw them into situations that will overwhelm them.
Our approach:
For exam preparation:
For supporting anxiety:
For long-term success:
This approach works because it addresses the root causes of exam anxiety rather than just the symptoms. When students feel psychologically safe, when they’ve experienced success before, and when they know exactly what to expect, they can focus their energy on demonstrating their knowledge rather than managing their anxiety.
Our recent exam results reflect this philosophy in action, but the real success is in the confidence and resilience our students develop. They leave us not just with qualifications, but with the self-knowledge and advocacy skills to succeed in whatever path they choose.
If you’re passionate about supporting SEMH students and want to be part of an educational approach that prioritises both achievement and wellbeing, we’d love to hear from you. At Inclusion School & College, we’re always looking for educators who understand that academic success and emotional safety aren’t competing priorities – they go hand in hand.
We’re particularly interested in teachers who:
If this resonates with you, we’d love to discuss how you could contribute to our students’ success. Because when we get exam support right, we don’t just help students pass tests, we help them believe in their future.
