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Talk to other parents about parenting a gifted child on this forum.

Gifted and talented

individual learning plans. does anybody have experience of one?

11 replies

crkm · 23/01/2008 10:56

i have just been told that my 4 year old is having an ILP - has been assessed as 'gifted'. has anyone experienced this with a four year old and can tell me what this means to their schooling etc. not had chance to discuss properly with the teacher. and wanted other parents perspective. thanks

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Chopster · 23/01/2008 11:11

My 5 year old has one due to special needs. It outlines a very long list of his needs in the classroom. It outlines exact activities that can be done to support him, and how to deal with certain situations with him, etc. It is basically a plan to ensure that he is supported in the classroom so that he can be educated properly. He was fully assessed by the educational psychologist and the plan was drawn up following that.

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crkm · 23/01/2008 11:46

thank you. so its a clearly defined programme of education. has it made a difference to your child? do you find the other children are aware of the additonal focus on your child? The children in my sons class seem to be aware that he is clever, i dont want it to become an issue for him. I was also told this morning that 'gifted' also comes under 'special needs' but not sure that that is acceptable to many people!!

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Chopster · 23/01/2008 13:42

well I used to do a lot of work in classrooms before I had kids of my own. One school I helped in had a class for children with sn, and that included exceptionally bright children, after all they do have additional needs.

It's made a lot of difference to ds1, as he is happier in the classroom, there are directives in place to help him focus and games to help him with his fine motor skills, so he has actually seems to be fitting in with the whole school system a lot better.

ds has social issues in any case, which have got worse this year. I think it is a lot to do with his sn as much as the IEP though. I'd say for now, the advantages have definitely outweighed the social stigma for him of having additional support. In any case, the school have a responsibility to make sure that he isn't pushed out of his peer group and you should ask them what they will be doing to help with that.

good luck with it all!

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crkm · 23/01/2008 15:49

thanks for the sensible words. Its funny how much you panic when your child is given a label!!

I just want him to fit in and not stand out, to be happy in his class and not to be pointed out all the time. i guess the answer is to always communicate with the teachers.

I keep thinking i am fussing too much and worrying unnecessarily.

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Chopster · 23/01/2008 16:08

Oh I felt exactly the same - the plan should hopefully go a long way to sorting that all out. I've relaxed so much since ds1 got his - I can see progress now, and I don't feel like I need to be constantly pestering the school any more.

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tobytortoise · 23/01/2008 21:05

Hi

I really am asking this out of genuine interest and hope you don't mind. Can I ask you what has led the school to decide that your son needs an ILP? In what ways do they consider him 'gifted'?

Thanks

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Chopster · 24/01/2008 07:51

Sorry if I've mislead you, I really wouldn't describe my son as 'gifted'!He has dyspraxia and hypermobility syndrome. He also has autistic tendancies, but hopefully that is due to the dyspraxia and he won't be labeled as autistic too.

My battle has been to get his teachers to recognise that he has disabilities and that he is of average intelligence. His preschool didn't think he had sn and simply labelled him as a 'bit slow' - this was before he got diagnosised.

His primary school have been a lot more supportive, they immediately picked up that he has no fine motor control - he is now year one and still can only just write his name, though he can read fine. It was that which first lead him to being assessed by the school.

Now they recognise his special needs, and are supporting them he is coming out average for literacy and certainly has a talent for maths. He is picking up numeracy at lightening speed (always has loved numbers, maps, etc) and his teacher has told me he can do maths in his head that his peers can't do on paper yet.

The next stage on the ILP is that he should be considered for a laptop. He can't write well enough to keep up with his brain - something that actually a lot of gifted children struggle with ime. I'm just so pleased that they can now see my bright little boy for who he really is.

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Chopster · 24/01/2008 07:52

oh gawd, jsut written an essay and realised it was someone new on the thread, sorry!

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crkm · 24/01/2008 19:11

Hi tobytortoise, MY ds started reception with a reading age of 7.5, his numerical ability astounds everyone who interacts with him.

He recognised all his numbers up to 1000 before his third birthday. he has gaps in his knowledge in other areas of the numeracy curriculum but his number work is beyond belief. His teachers have been giving him one to one sessions (about 15 minutes a day) because he is so far ahead of the rest of the class you cant teach him alongside your average 4/5 year old in some areas.

The ILP is to ensure that they meet the level of education he needs to keep him interested.

yesterday the others in his class were copying over numbers in their book, but ds was doing number placements! He is still 4. ITs difficult to admit that he gets one to one as i know many parents who are struggling to get that level of support for their sn children!

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tobytortoise · 24/01/2008 21:28

Hi. Thanks for your reply Chopster, should have made it clearer I was referring to OP.

crkm - thanks for that. My ds(3.9)has just started the nursery class at our local infant school. He seems very similar to your son. They have asked me to go in for a meeting next week with the Deputy Head and SENCO.

Can I ask you what kind of targets they are putting on his ILP? I have written lots of ILPs for all different kinds of SEN when I was teaching, but we never did any for 'gifted' children.

Thanks again

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crkm · 25/01/2008 19:32

I was only told on wednesday they were going to do the ilp so not sure what they will do. I had heard of them before but dont have a clue as to what they contain. will let you know when i find out.

we were very lucky with the nursery unit ds went to as they actively encouraged his reading and numersacy despite it not being part of the nursery curriculum. they liased with reception staff to ensure he was challenged. sounds like you have a good team where your son goes. My eldest ds(6) is a very bright child too - but the nursery he went to (attached to a school) did nothing for him and dismissed his abilities when i tried to get them to take note and help. I am thankful I changed their school!! ( The mad thing is this excellent little school had a poor ofsted and lowish sats results, so it looks bad in the blooming tables!!!)