Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Gifted and talented

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Would you call my 8 year old gifted?

27 replies

EmRaw · 26/07/2010 12:40

I got a letter from the school with DD1's report to say that she had been placed on the Gifted and Talented list for 'Academic Performance'.

I am fuming at the school, as although she is in the top groups, she has never been given extra work to do, or special lessons, and now it turns out that she is gifted. It is no wonder that they have been complaining about her behaviour all term.

She got a level 2a in her Year 2 SATs and has achieved a Level 3 in all subjects this year, which is obviously above where you would expect her to be. I mean the kid is obviously very clever - you can tell that when you talk to her.

She always has her nose in a book, and asks lots of questions, such as 'what happened before time?' which clearly show a deep insight.

So, what should I do? Should I look into moving her school? She obviously needs to be somewhere where they can nurture her, but where? Should I talk to the school?

Thankyou for your time!

OP posts:

rainbowinthesky · 26/07/2010 12:43

I dont think 2a in Year 2 is gifted - it's average isnt it?

purpleturtle · 26/07/2010 12:43

Are you sure she's never been given extra? If she's been given properly differentiated work then she may be unaware of it.

rainbowinthesky · 26/07/2010 12:44

DD is Year 1 and just got 2bs but isnt g and t.

purpleturtle · 26/07/2010 12:45

Is your DD happy? That should be your driving force.

purpleturtle · 26/07/2010 12:47

And to answer the question in your title: I don't think I would call your DD gifted, no. But if she's in the top 10% (?) of the class, she gets put on the list.

themildmanneredjanitor · 26/07/2010 12:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cece · 26/07/2010 12:52

2a in KS1 SATs is an average score.

My DD was working at that level at the end of Year 2 and 3 and is definitely not gifted. Clever ys and in the top groups but not exceptional!

I expect she has been given differentiated work and not realised or thought to tell you she is getting special work TBH.

domesticsluttery · 26/07/2010 12:55

As purpleturtle said, the g&t register is the top 10% of the class. So it is subjective, in a class which is full of very clever children it is a lot harder to get onto than in a class of undreperforming children.

Level 2a is, as far as I'm aware, the upper end of normal at the end of Yr 2. Level 2b is average, level 2c slightly below. So 2a is quite normal for the upper end of the class.

Obviously you should encourage her, just as every other parent should encourage their child!

TheFirstLady · 26/07/2010 13:03

FWIW my DD3 is also at the end of Yr3 and got L4 in her end of year SATs. I know that there are a number of other children in her year working on the same level, while at least a third or more of the class would be achieving L3. So you need to get this in perspective.
The government requires schools to identify 5-10% of their pupils as G&T. This is done in various ways by different schools, but essentially there is no guarantee that a child identified by one school would also be selected by another school - it depends on the intake and the criteria that particular school uses to determine what G%T means - it is a contentious definition at the best of times.
I should think the school is doing a perfectly good job with your DD - they will be diffrentiating in class for the higher ability pupils.

PosieParker · 26/07/2010 13:09

My ds just got all 3s at the end of year two....I knew he was doing okay, but blimey I am delighted!!!

A little boy in my dss class came over at the end of year two(july birthday so only six at the time)...uber uber bright, he looked at one of our maps and exclaimed that Madagascar was in the wrong place and it must be a Jurassic map, it was, he then told me a brief history of the world and when countries split and joined. He also knew about the Angles, The Vikings and corrected my English (he was right but I was talking to a baby!!).

Anyhoo, if being G&T means extra time and effort I would go along with it!!!

My dcs are beautiful and funny and there's no special scheme for them.

HousewifeOfOrangeCounty · 26/07/2010 13:11

Not gifted.

My ds got a level 3 for maths at the end of year 1 and I'd say that he's an average child (yes a MN'r with an average child!!).

DD2 got level 4's at the end of year 3 - she's bright, but not gifted.

jem44 · 26/07/2010 13:26

The term "Gifted and Talented" as used in the scheme to which your daughter has been addes is a bit confusing as it is aimed at the top 10% or so of the population. Your child is bright but not (at present) performing at a level which is "gifted" in the sense your post seems to imply you believe. The aim is to ensure children who perform well are challenged and are not overlooked in the efforts to raise standards of children who are doing less well. I would guess the school is doing well by her. Don't fume, be pleased.

GooseyLoosey · 26/07/2010 13:27

I would not do anything if she is happy. I have been thinking a lot lately about what gifted children need and what is best for them.

Ds has just turned 7 and got level 3 in all Yr 2 SATs. He has a functioning IQ in excess of 150 etc. etc. and is working at about the level of a 14 year old. He too has behavioural issues (which was the context in which the other things were assessed) and social ones.

The recommendations we have received are to accelerate him through school and provide lots of extention activities. I have been wondering what this would do for ds. I don't want him to go to university at 14 or do GCSEs at 10. I don't want him to be the geeky nerdy kid in the class and I don't want him to go to secondary school believing he is a genius only to find that he is not that special after all (except to me).

What I do want is for him to be happy and well adjusted and interested at school with a good understanding of what is important in life (ie that his friend who cannot read is just as great as he is). I want him to be interested in school and find it fun, but I do not need to be able to measure this or to know exactly what the school are doing. There are times when he has been extremely unhappy and I have come to the conclusion that as long as he is happy at school, I cannot ask them to do more for him and indeed he does not need any more.

Where all this rambling was going is to ask you is your daughter happy at school? If you think she is, then I think nothing more is required. If she is not, then you do need to look closely at why and consider doing something.

SleepingLion · 26/07/2010 13:31

I think the G&T programme is widely recognised to be fairly meaningless, isn't it? - since schools have to identify the top 10% and declare them G&T regardless of their actual ability; is that right?

Your DD sounds as if she is more or less where she should be for her age. As others have said, she may have been given extension work and you were not aware of it; my DS was given extension work so unobtrusively that he didn't always notice that he was doing something different.

And being bright does not excuse bad behaviour! I teach plenty of bright kids who are beautifully behaved.

suecy · 02/08/2010 10:49

Agree with the others - my DD got all L3's in her KS1 sats at the end of year 2 and she's not on the register - she is in the top 10% of her class, so by rights should be, but I ain't bothered - I know she's just a bright kid.

DS, Y1 is currently working 'somewhere in KS2' for maths, ie. level 3 or above, and IS on the register because he's working at least 2 years ahead of his peers and unless he was on the register the school wouldn't be bound to give him an individual plan and cater for his needs - he gets a lot of 1 2 1 time with a TA and appropriate work for his abilities.

Your DD is not 'gifted' in the true sense of the word, she's just top 10%, and with the level she's at normal classroom work will be appropriate for her. Calm down!

Bearcat · 04/09/2010 21:06

My 2 sons are 18 and 22 now.
They both got Level 3 Sats at end of infants, Level 5 Sats at the end of juniors and 7's at Senior year 9 Sats.
They were both on gifted and talented register at all their state schools, including their very ordinay not high achieving comprehensive.
Eldest got 3 A's at A'level and a First Masters engineering from a top university. Youngest has just got A* and 3 A's at A'level and is off to same university his brother has just graduated from.
My husband and I never made a fuss re anything through their school years and always presumed the schools were doing the best they could for our boys which they absolutely always were.
Our boys were also good conscientious workers but are also one of the lads with lots of mates.
Maybe just calm down a bit re your DD and her brightness, and hopefully she will find her own level. She can read for pleasure, maybe learn to play an instrument.
I'm sure the school know what they are doing

Quattrocento · 04/09/2010 21:12

ROFL - all G&T threads end up this way!

Which is to say just relax and enjoy. Your DD doesn't sound like the next Einstein but she does sound good fun and has done well getting on the G&T register. Don't get precious ...

Ingles2 · 04/09/2010 21:17

love the way you've skipped over....they've been complaining about her behaviour all term...classic...
so,...??? she sounds lovely,.. high end of average,,,,,what;s going on with her behaviour then?

Lougle · 04/09/2010 21:21

Well your OP made me laugh, so I'll give it an 8/10 for effort, but 6/10 for authenticity

HumphreyCobbler · 04/09/2010 21:23

excellent OP

Giddyup · 10/09/2010 21:22

Would you automatically be told if your child is on the G&T register? I personally couldn't care less as I understand it to be pretty meaningless. He got level 3s in his year 2 SATs so I guess I am just interested (if he isn't in the top 10%) he must be part of a brainy cohort. His school is nice but average and part of a 3 tier system so he is still there for another year.

PiratePrincess · 10/09/2010 21:38

Ah but you would so that's all that matters

Snowybird · 20/09/2010 23:13

my 8-year-old child, at a state primary school, got a perfect 140 score at the end of Yr 3 for maths and literacy and STILL isn't in the top 10% of his class!

Sometimes the competition is ferocious!

ramonaquimby · 20/09/2010 23:17

or the school don't bother with the g and t programme
some schools don't

benandoli · 28/09/2010 17:34

I am an inclusion manager in a primary school and one of my roles is g and t coordinator. Just wanted to point out a misconception about g and t. One of the reasons for having a g and t register is to identify and monitor underachievement so whilst it should be the top 10% of the class that doesnt necessarily mean the top 10% of results. A child could have poor sats results but if the staff feel the child is much more capable they could be identified as G and T and could then be targetted to improve their results to match their potential.. As a teacher you often get plodder children who are not that bright but end up in top group because they always listen but that still doesnt make them g and T.

Flip

1 2