assessment

[thecaptaincrocfamily]

is there any charity that will help with the cost?
I have emailed an ed psych which would be 400, which I don't have at the minute.
School don't seem to be meeting her needs Colouring humpty dumpty, tracing humpty dumpty, freehand drawing humpty dumpty and cutting him out. She could do this neatly at 3 years.

It is driving me insane and I feel as though I am being precious if I speak to the teacher or as though I am a pushy parent and the only reason she knows is because I have drilled it into her, which isn't the case.

[mychatnickname]

But would getting an ed psych assessment really change what school do?
Is she in reception?

[MollieO]

Does she have or do you suspect she has SENs? Your school SENCO can refer to an Ed Pysch. Or the child development centre cons paed can recommend the school to refer to an Ed Psych. If your dd is at private school then the LEA won't want to know. In which case if you have private health insurance you can get them to pay.

[magicmummy1]

What everyone else has said - don't really understand why you want an assessment or what difference it will make.

Getting an ed psych report on the basis of what you've told us seems infinitely more "precious" to me than having a quiet word with the teacher about how your dc is getting on at school.

[rabbitstew]

Does she hate colouring in and cutting out?

[singersgirl]

Both my children hated colouring in and cutting out, but that wasn't because they were particularly bright - it was because they found it difficult and boring. They liked sticking things in and Play-Doh and painting and playing with sand and water though. Colouring in and cutting out are both very useful activities for small hands to practise, even if they don't enjoy them.

[ClenchedBottom]

You say it's driving you insane - how does your Dd feel about it?

I'm clearly missing something because I don't understand how an EP assessment would help....

[singersgirl]

Yes, an EP assessment is unlikely to conclude that under no circumstances should the OP's daughter do colouring or cutting out.

[FreudianSlimmery]

Is it just you who feels school isn't meeting her needs, or is she complaining?

[thecaptaincrocfamily]

No she is complaining that she is bored. Bored of nursery rhymes, could sing most at 2. Bored of cutting out and 'practicing' she can already manipulate scissors well, cut things out neatly along the line of whatever she is cutting, glue it without mess etc. She needs constructive activities like making a book then writing in it, not colouring nursery rhyme figures (she already writes small neat letters). She views the activities as babyish (her words not mine).

Sorry didn't realised I would be flamed for asking a simple question, which is is there any charity who could help?

The crux is she needs more stimulation in the classroom which I feel isn't happening. Teachers don't seem to notice what she can do because she is very reserved. They only see advanced if someone is years ahead in one area, mine is approx 2 years ahead in most areas (bar empathy for her sister!).

I feel if she had an assessment I could approach the teacher and would be more able to demonstrate my point.

PS she is not SEN in the sense schools measure SEN, they look at learning needs predominantly from the behind stance rather than advanced, so it seems.

[PaisleyLeaf]

Charity? I can't imagine there would be.
You could maybe save yourself £400 by talking with the teacher. Did you not have a parents' evening yet?
Do you think that by doing activities that she's already very comfortable with, your DD might be able to build her self confidence?

[magicmummy1]

If she is approximately two years ahead in most areas, I'd have thought she'd be fine in reception - sounds like she is still well within the range of "normal".

I struggle to believe that colouring and cutting is all that they do in school, but in any case, it seems quite sad to me that she doesn't enjoy any of this stuff. Personally, I'd be quite concerned if my child was unable to enjoy anything except academic work.

I still don't really understand why you need an assessment in order to approach te teacher, especially as she is only about two years ahead of her peers. You were worried in your first post about coming across as a pushy parent, but honestly speaking, I think this would make you look more pushy than anything else. What do you think an ed psych would say, other than confirming your view that she is a couple of years ahead?

If your dd has complained that activities are babyish and is saying that she is bored in school, then why don't you approach the teacher with that as your starting point? I imagine most teachers would be responsive to genuine issues which come directly from a child, less so in response to pushy parents who feel that their brilliant kids are above humpty dumpty.

[magicmummy1]

Oh, just wanted to add - if she is a bright little thing, she will be very quick to pick up on your disapproval of anything that she does in school. If you let on in any way that you think there's something wrong with colouring and cutting, or that she is somehow above all this (and that's the distinct impression that I get from your posts) then she will absorb that sentiment wholeheartedly. And you could end up stealing her childhood from her in the process!

[MrsShrekTheThird]

totally spot on, MM
no point me posting anything else

[FreudianSlimmery]

I can understand you wanting an assessment - I get the impression you'd like to prove your DD's ability so that the teachers will have to listen to you and won't think you're pushy?

I don't think assessment would do much good ATM though. As others have said, 2 years ahead is very good but still normal in that teachers should be able to deal with it easily.

Just talk to the teachers and tell them that DD is complaining of boredom. They need to help her extend her own learning I reckon - so if the class is doing colouring she could attempt to write a caption underneath or something.

TBH if they don't listen to a reasonable request to challenge her, I think she's in the wrong school.

[triballeader]

SEN does cover G&T, it is certainly on my sons statement but it does have to be a genuine educational need of the child for the SEN register to kick in.

The school your child is at can bring in an Ed Psych but unless there is significant concern from the teacher and the SENCO this is unlikely to occur in reception for a bright child. Two years either way is within the normal bands as others have said. Its children who are wildly outside either who end up needing specialized support.

The best place to start is with the school- you need them on your child's side and your not going to achieve that by wheeling in a big independent Ed Psych without having explored all other avenues first, if the school does think they are dealing with an exceptional child most will call in an Ed Psych for the teachers sake if nothing else.

Tell her teacher your concerned as your daughter consistently tells you she is bored in class. Listen to what is said to you and ask how you could support your daughter to help her settle into school. Try and build up rapport with your child's teacher for the sake of your child. Some bright kids can set adults against each other.

You might believe your child is G&T but what about the pov of others who know her? A bright child in an average family will stand out a lot, a gifted one will seem they like they may be from another planet altogether. Gifted is not so much about what a child knows but about how they use what they know. Hope that makes sense; a child may know a lot of facts but can they generalize them to other areas, do they use them to help problem solve a new situation they have never meet before, can they take that knowledge and syntheize new ideas and so on.
She could easily be a bright child who finds doing things she knows in ways she knows boring but may find over the rest of the year as she makes friends and coheses all the core skills needed to continue learning school becomes more fun.

My youngest daughter whilst classed as talented in art and humanities is only on the cusp between very bright and gifted. In reception she wanted to know the origins behind the nursary rhymes the others were singing and insisted on being told the real history behind them rather than saying they were boring- her gifted brother would have hunted that information down for himself in a determined and restless manner. When my youngest daughter moved to Yr 1 the school bought in an Ed Psych for her who has since given advice and support to her for many years.
A one off payment for a single snapshot report would not give you that and if you pay once you may find you have made a rod for your own back.

[gramercy]

My ds (very academic, geeky) couldn't hold a pair of scissors in Reception. Combination of his being clumsy and PFB - I would't let him have scissors or pens in case he poked his eye out

So he would have come across as a real numpty if intelligence had been judged on ability to colour in and cut out.

Girls are nearly always better at "neat" tasks.

Children who use the word "boring" have heard it somewhere. From someone.

[cory]

I can see why colouring in and cutting out would bore her- but singing nursery rhymes? Surely singing is something you can always improve on? Adults sing traditional songs and enjoy it, how can a 5tyo be too bright for that? Most people who do music carry on performing pieces that they knew many years previously. What about imaginative play- do they not do that? Again, surely you can't be too bright for imaginative play?

If she thinks role play and singing and real crafts/freehand drawing are babyish activities, then she will struggle at secondary too. If that is her problem, then someone needs to explain to her what babyish means.

On the other hand, if her class spends all their time doing unimaginative things like colouring in and cutting out, then the problem is unimaginative teaching, not your dd.

I would investigate a bit more closely to find out how much time she is actually spending on monotonous and undifferentiable tasks like colouring in. And then take it from there. If that is really all they do, then I would be in to see the head, because that is simply not good enough.

[thecaptaincrocfamily]

I do understand lots of what has been said, the problem is more that the two years ahead is across the learning spectrum but without listing everything she can do atm (which would be tedious iyswim) it is difficult to explain. I have tried speaking to school but they give such short notice that I have been unable to attend discussion sessions due to the course I am on.
If children are vastly ahead in one area they often are average in others and can get something from that year group. Because it is across the whole spectrum the challenge is not constantly there.
I did write in because I couldn't get there to ask for more notice for parent events but the same has happened again .
Yes she makes informed problem solving suggestions and applies new learning to lots of situations. Yes she knows about cultural issues, about origins of humpty dumpty which incidentally was named after a cannon!
She enjoys complexed books and films and only has to be read a book or see a film once and can retell the plot accurately. She understands and can tell the time, takes complicated instructions. She does practical tasks and is very safety aware, often tells me if for example her young sister has got hold of scissors (dd2 climbs to get things and I can't remove the chairs!). She knows about wildlife, flowers, trees etc. She adds and subtracts, writes all numbers, spells words out loud etc. Is imaginative and at three pretended to be a member of a motorbike display team. She wants to be a vet and wants to know how to become one. This doesn't change. This is a snapshot not a complete picture by the way. Uses words like phenomenal in context and so forth.

[thecaptaincrocfamily]

OK I am relieved now . DH went to school and teachers have noticed and are going to set different work, so hysteria for nothing . Saves lots of hassle and my mind is at rest

[begood]

I am very pleased you feel better about things. Good luck to your dd - she sounds lovely. I do appreciate how frustrated you feel when teachers do not seem to see dcs potential. It happened to me last year and i spent a lot of time fretting which i hate - am normally laid back. Completely different now ds is in year 1 and is being given appropriate work and really enjoying himself.