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Gifted and talented

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

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Original poster

Gifted and talented list?

13 replies

Beccabell · 16/12/2011 14:17

Does your primary school tell you when your lo is on the G&T list? Our school never has done (I've already had one dd through the school, who wouldn't have been on it, but I know parents of kids who definitely would have been and they were never told). DD2 in year 2 will surely be on it if they have one as she's already level 3b in literacy at the start of the year and her writing and spelling abilities are extraordinary for her age (teacher has told me so). Should I ask them? Does it matter? Are there things they should be doing with her if she's on the list? The lack of communication from our school is one of its failings.

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Original poster

Beccabell · 16/12/2011 14:47

Actually I can see why it might be kept from parents where we are - and elsewhere. We live in the land of competitive parents here and it could cause no end of trouble. It would be nice to know though.
Parents were stopped from coming in and reading with their dc's own classes for this very reason - competitive reading levels etc.

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blackeyedsanta · 16/12/2011 14:47

no mention of g and t at all from school. she has books from ks2 which seems to be unusual in school, but that may say more about school wanting children to read through every book in the scheme than about dd.

g and t lists are no longer compulsary. they were required by the government at one stage and related to the top x percent in the school. I think they were more about focussing teachers/schools on stretching the brightest children in the class as it is tempting to let them get on with it as they are meeting national standards already.

it is more important that the school is teaching your dd to her ability level than whether or not she is on some list or other. you are already at an advantage as your dd is performing well in school and the teacher has noticed. you can follow that up and ask what they are doing to keep her learning and moving on.

Original poster

Beccabell · 16/12/2011 14:57

Yes you're right. She's happy at school although she does complain that a lot of the work is boring and too easy, but I think they are due to step it up a bit next term. I'll keep on their case without being nightmare pushy mum, if that's possible. Her teacher is great, I like her a lot - and a happy child is what you want. I might consider doing more with her at home if the pace hasn't stepped up by February.

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blackeyedsanta · 16/12/2011 17:33

it is sort of getting that happy balance between having to have a go at some stuff even though it is a bit boring with enough work at her level to interest her. dd quite likes easy work. takes after me i suppose! [lazy emotion]

iggly2 · 16/12/2011 18:11

No G and T here. DS is listed as SEN due to his rate of advancement. As long as the DC are happy with appropriate work (but not too simple/easy/quick/repetative if they are at risk of losing motivation) I do not think the name or list matters.

simpson · 16/12/2011 18:58

Don't know if there is an actual list in the school but I have been told he is gifted iyswim.

I was only told in the Oct parents eve and he is in yr 2. This only came about as I mentioned that he was finding some of the work too easy and the teacher then mentioned he was gifted.

Joyn · 16/12/2011 19:41

Dcs school, still uses gift list. If your dc was in our school those grades would definitely put her on the g&t list. Don't think it really makes much difference other than a few inter school masterclasses. The key thing, like the others have mentioned, is differentiation. They've obviously recognised that she's very able if she's already getting those marks, so well done to her & your dc teachers!

muffinflop · 16/12/2011 20:20

I was told at our recent parents evening that both DC are on the g&t register (DD is only in reception so I'm a bit dubious about that one). They're apparently looking in to 'special trips out' for the g&t children which I think is ridiculous but what do I know

Iamnotminterested · 18/12/2011 14:53

muffinflop I agree, totally ridiculous, especially in reception FFS. These days are a real bug-bear of mine, might have mentioned it before , "Well done for being so clever, x, have a reward".

muffinflop · 18/12/2011 20:39

I just think sending her on 'special educational days' out (what those would be for a 5 year old on the G&T register for literacy I have no idea!) will completely alienate her from her classmates and upset the other parents too!

We're waiting to see what they come up with before refusing to let her go!

ibizagirl · 19/12/2011 06:06

Dd was put on the g and t list at primary but myself nor dd didn't know she was on it until the last parents evening in year 6. School didn't have any leaflets or anything about it and i had never heard of it so just ignored it. Dd didn't do anything different, she just had extra homework like she had been getting anyway. Upon starting high school (now year 8) she was put into top set for all subjects except pe and dance. All the top set children are classed as g and t although dd found out that only one girl in maths is on list. Sometimes dd may go on a different school trip than other children to do with what they are learning in lessons, but apart from that it hasn't done anything for my dd that i can think of. She just gets extra homework!

festivefireworks · 19/12/2011 12:45

We got a surprise letter home from school. If we wanted to talk to the nominated person we could have an appointment but we didn't bother as we knew they were differentiating. No special days options.

rockinhippy · 23/12/2011 10:35

We've been told since Reception that DD is at G&T level, but her been put on the G&T list has only been mentioned now in yr 4 - so far its meant several extra educational trips out of School - previous years she has been set more challenging work & we've been allowed to adjust her homework to suit her capabilities - IYSWIM - but seems as its only made more of as they get older - which TBH does make sense - lets face it, there can be massive differences in development in the lower years, so it just wouldn't be fair to give too much special treatment to the brighter kids, so long as they are happy, engaged & challenged, then IMO the list is of no real importance

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