Tentative - what does it really mean to a 5yo

[LizaTarbucksAuntie]

littlemad has now been 'identified' as G&T - no massive suprise I guess given he is pretty astonishing (answering KS2 'sums' in roman numerals because it was 'too easy')

But I'm kind of 'meh' about it, and I'm not sure what it means for him, I expect him to be treated like an individual with unique learning needs any way (very small rural school and we are v lucky with that)

Any guidance, suggestions ideas?

TIA

Yep, that sounds pretty G&T to me :) (not that I'm qualified)

My advice would be:

• as long as your DS is happy and doing well at school, relax
• always work with the school - it's good to keep a co-operative approach going as far as possible as it's SOOO easy to end up in a situation where you have to ask school to do something differently and feel like you're unintentionally on opposing sides... (voice of experience here :( )
• think about how you want your DS to approach learning in future years. Not just yet, but, say, in KS2. Do you want the work to challenge him? Or would you prefer him to find things easy and be able to coast, perhaps concentrate on the social side? Different parents have different approaches to this.
• as long as his social skills are developing well, bless your lucky stars! It's very easy for bright kids to feel 'different' and become isolated or have social problems as a result (this is my DD) so just be aware of this as a potential issue. Doesn't affect all G&T kids though.
• read up on G&T issues, join the NAGC, educate yourself so you're always in a good position to act in your DS's best interest

But above all - enjoy him, be proud of him, and let him keep on enjoying learning! :)

You're very lucky to have a school that does individual level teaching - hope they keep it up in these cash strapped times. Good luck!

Thanks eye - that's sort of how I feel the worst thing I could imagine for a 5 year old is to have a sense of expectation on his school performance. It's just that people seem to make such a fuss about it all I thought I might be missing something. and I am very very proud of him, not for him being clever so much as being an utter star with a a wicked sense of humour, great at sharing and a lovely friend to his best friend at school.

I don't think it means anything in practice, tbh. He is still the same little boy that he was, and the school still needs to respond to his individual needs, regardless of whether there was a label. You clearly know that already.

I hate labels. I think they set the kids apart for no good reason, and they create unnecessary pressure. My dd knows she is clever and gets different work but she has not been told that she is G&T, and I have told the school that I don't want her to be told.

OP you sound like you have a fantastic attitude about your ds who is clearly exceptionally bright. He sounds fab and lovely!
Hope the school continues to meet his needs.

Thank you for your lovely comments.

It's sort of hard not to be proud of what a lovely boy he is.

Magicmummy, I didn't realise I could do that - the not telling them, I think I might well take that on board, thanks.

I don't know if the not telling would work in all schools. At our school, they don't even tell parents on a routine basis, and I only found out by accident when they suggested that dd should skip a year and go from reception straight to year 2. I said no, and made it very clear that I didn't want dd to know that she was "on a list"!

Luckily, the school respected my wishes, and it's fairly easy as they don't bandy the term around much in the school anyway. However, I have heard of other schools running special activities exclusively aimed at kids on the G&T list, so I guess it would be a bit more difficult to keep it quiet in that sort of environment. I do feel for kids who are told that they are on the register and then get taken off a few years later - can't be great for their self-esteem!

Personally, I struggle to associate the term G&T with anything other than a gin & tonic, and at not quite six, dd is nowhere near ready to be on any sort of list with such a label!

at "the magic mummy approach". Wonder if I could patent that & market it?! :)

ds gets so much out of being with his friends of all abilities in Y1 and the G&T/ extension stuff is definitely about the parents iyswim. ds was as pleased for his best friend for getting full marks for spelling as he was for himself and they have completely different sets of words to learn. The children know more than we do what they can all accomplish. They may notice it but it just doesn't matter to them. Chemistry rules !