Where is the line?

[Noodlenoon]

Ok, we got two kids. Little one is amazingly normal. Older one (7) was always bright and a bit different though I never noticed til no 2 came along.
Various quirks picked up on by school, but either his brightness has been overlooked or else I'm kidding myself.
However I stumbled across a page about asynchronous development and it really hit a chord.
When he left play school his teacher said he was the best little reader she had ever come across and could read any children's book by that point. But the somewhat snotty manager only commented on social skills issues and "poor motor skills".
Could it be that he's gifted, whatever that means, and how would I know?
He got top marks in English and Maths SATs but average in Science.
He's got a great way with language, a big imagination and he's fascinated with nature and how things work.
Erm, this all stemming from the fact I was researching grammar schools because the local comprehensive might not fit his personality.
Also if anyone knows how easy it is to get into selective schools without any special training...
Thanks

[iseenodust]

You can see form various threads/web pages what a yr2 SAT result indicates. If he has done amazingly well then school should be aware and then may mention it to you in the autumn as he goes into KS2.

Re selective schools depends on the school (helpful but true). DS is going into a selective indie in Sept at yr5. He had no tutoring in subjects incl. from us. The new HT said just do a Bond book in VR and non-VR and we took him at his word and it went fine. (No grammar schools round here.)

[umpti67]

In our school they would usually have mentioned if your dc was considered g&t. My year 2 dd has just got level 3's, reads very competently, very imaginative, always asking questions but I'm told she's not g&t in literacy or maths.

She has a friend who is g&t and I can see the difference between them. Although they both got level 3's there's something a bit different about her friend - I don't know what it is exactly - sort of more driven, more socially adept, more organised in her head, likes talking to adults, more sensitve too - she understands slights more than my dd and therefore gets more upset.

Whereas mine is like a hapless foal, disorganised, messy, rarely speaks to adults unless she has to, would much rather have a laugh with her friends than go to the library and study something.

So I don't think you can tell from the Sats levels alone is what I'm trying to say. 25% of the class achieved level 3's (so maybe 8 dc) and there are only 1 or 2 "g&t" in the class.

I would ask his teacher outright - where does he stand in relation to the rest of the class. If she says he's way out ahead, you could then ask do you think he's g&t.

[Noodlenoon]

Cheers Isee. Will have a hunt re SATs results.
We've not got grammars on our doorstep either, but I wouldn't want son spending 5 yrs learning hard lessons about life, and failing academically.
Good idea re books.
However it seems to be those with cash for tutoring or private education that fill up the selective schools.
We'll just have to see what happens when the time comes.

[Noodlenoon]

Thanks umpti, I suppose his teachers would have said something. Don't want to sound stupid by asking her if he's clever.
I suppose when I came across gifted info it just looked sounded like a good explanation / reason for his sensitivity and individuality that the school have perceived as an issue.
I love him to bits and just don't want him to be misunderstood. I think he has great potential and thirst for knowledge / understanding, and I want to do what I can to help him out.

[iseenodust]

You can feed that thirst whatever school has or hasn't said. Loads of nature activities are provided free by the Wildlife Trust, RSPB etc. Galleries and museums will have things going on in the holidays.

I think teachers hedge their bets in KS1. We were told DS was doing well but he might 'lose that'. My guess is they thought we were pushy parents but he started school unable to read so huh? It was only at the start of KS2 that we were specifically told G&T. Unlike Umpti's child's friend, DS is not driven, not hugely sensitive and is Aug born so often can come across as immature.

[EmmaGoldmanSachs]

I think it is very hard to know, though. I don't think anyone would pick up dd as 'gifted' from her school work.

No SATs here (Wales), but at the end of yr 2 her teacher assessments were mainly level 3, but she was a low level 2 for writing, and she was on School Action with support to get to that level.

Fast forward to year 6, and I think from her school work you'd pick her out as a reasonably good performer but not outstanding. Although her writing skills have improved she is still extremely slow to complete work, very disorganised, falls apart when stressed, and struggles particularly with open ended tasks and staying focused when bored.

However . . . she was referred to the Educational Psychologist because of her issues with writing and also some behavioural stuff that was going on. From the EPs tests she comes out as on the 99+ percentile for both verbal and non verbal reasoning. Which I think technically puts her in the gifted category. In the chat bit of the report, the EP talks about 'asynchronous development typical of gifted children', and I think that is absolutely a fair summary.

In more plain language, I'd say that dd spent most of her primary years being either too good at things and therefore a nuisance (reading from the yr 6 book selection in yr 3), or too bad at things and therefore a nuisance (painfully slow to write).

[umpti67]

I hadn't heard of this asynchronous development - that's really interesting.