School doesn't have G & T list - never concerned me until now

[spepples]

Newbie in this topic.

Although DD1 has always been bright I've never considered her gifted, thought that label was more appropriate for those reciting shakespeare whilst still in nappies . She's now in a mixed Yr 5/6 class, one of three in her school. They then stream the kids by ability for some subjects. DD1 is in the top group for each subject and again I was not concerned about that. But now, some months into the year she seems to be finding most of the homework pretty easy and it often takes no more than a few minutes for her to complete it and certainly doesn't captivate her. We mentioned this at parents evening last week and was told we can set her more work at home if we want to, we were also told that next year, when she is in year 6 that they'll do the same work again but in more depth! We're concerned that if she's finding the Yr 6 stuff easy-ish this year that she's going to be bored next year and we'd prefer she was encorouged to reach her potential instead of coasting in the run up to big school.
I'm wondering if a G & T list as recommended in the last Ofsted report might encourage the school to engage the brighter children. What do you think?

It might.. but it made no difference at my secondary school.. We had a meeting once a term and that was it. There was no proviision made, and it seemed it was just something to please the inspectors and p**s off kids who saw us as nerds.
I'd wait and just make sure you choose a secondary school that stretches them. There's nothing worse than knowing you could've done harder work/got better grades if you'd been given attention. The school spent far too mcuh time getting bottom sets up to standard. (Was best school in area, C of E, near top of league tables etc)

Sorry it's waffle, hth.

Why do they need a list?

A list is not a panacea.

They should work to the abilities of all the children, whether top or bottom. I would see the class teacher again if I were you.

Agree with others - it's no the list that makes a difference. My DS is working at a level abut 18 months ahead of his peers and the school are dealing with it very well - they don't have a G&T list either. However, he has a fab teacher, who is putting in a lot of effort with him.

Thanks for your replies. It seems the school is very focused on bringing on the lower ability children (hopefully its not to just for the league tables)! And have always published the fact that they will strive to ensure all children move up two sub-levels per year and if they don't, an individual learning plan will be put in place.

DD1 obtained levels 4b maths and 4a reading in year 4 so in line with school policy we would expect her to be getting level 6 reading by end of year 6, is that right? We asked her teacher at parents evening if she was on target and was told children aren't going to progress two sub-levels as they move up the school . I get the feeling that as long as they reach level 5 at the end of KS2 then the school feels they've done their job. We've written to her teacher and asked for clarification, no response so far .

Exactly. I agree with you guys, they shouldn't need a list. But if nothing else is in place to encourage the brighter children will having a list at least mean the school has to address the issue. I don't know?

Maybe work on self motivation a bit - how can she present her homework differently or can she do more than the bare minimum as these are useful skills for secondary school.

Children should be getting work differentiated for them list or no list.
The question is, how do you know there is not a list, or do you just know your child is not on it? The school at which I am a governor, has a list but it only has 2 children (out of 120ish) on it. There are lots of 'bright' children, but only 2 determined as gifted as they are working several years ahead of their age group.
Regarding the levels, I would imagine it would depend slightly on your daughter's results at KS1 - if she achieved a 3a then and is now a 4a I would think she is on track for a 5a at KS2. However certainly our school uses Fischer scales to predict what a child will achieve and it isn't as simple as the above.

I will work on the self motivation as I agree that's important.
I know there isn't a list as the recent Ofsted report highlighted that the school should look at introducing one. Perhaps they will now introduce one and your right littlemissgreen she may not be on it, as I said I don't consider her gifted as such but I do know she is the only year 5 girl in the top set for maths so maybe she will be. Either way I'd just like to know that the school is keen for all their pupils to be engaged and challenged and the last parents evening left me with doubt. I'm still waiting for a response from her teacher to the letter we gave him over a week ago, I'd have expected a reply out of courteousness if nothing else, so I think it's time to have a word with the Head.

I don't think you can get above level 5 in yr 6

Having a G & T List doesn't seem to make any difference at DC's school, up to her last parent/teachers in Jan her achievement level had stalled for 12 months and her effort levels were going down. The whole thing was disorganised from the start as they were the ones that wanted her to go on yet the following year her teacher had no idea that she was on it at all!

am I the only one who read the op and though gin and tonic thought it was some sort of PTA socialising question

HA HA - it is in the gifted and talented section I see- I only ever read thread titles!

You are not the only one!

thak goodness shockers

thank goodness even

The best part is, we were both so intrigued by the thought of a school G&T list that we clicked on the thread .

As they manage things now, coasting as she is, do you think she'll get into the top set when she goes to secondary? Is that satisfactory? Would you rather she was excelling beyond the usual top set, and did her GCSEs a few years early? Sometimes I'm not sure what people mean by "achieving their potential" at this age. Where do you want her to end up as a result of her working as highly as she's capable of?

No I don't want her to be excelling beyond the top set nor would I think her able to ragged. As I stated in my opening thread I'm worried she'll be bored for the entire year 6 if all they are going to do is what they did this year. I'm also fully aware that other primary schools give out extra work that can be done if the child want to and the school will mark it. I'm not sure that's necessary but I'd hope the school would have some system of keeping all the kids engaged and progressing even when they are in mixed year classes.

She has about 5 minutes of homework a week, DD2 who seems to be just below average in her class has approx 1 hour of homework spread throughout the week and she's only year 2.

when she is in year 6 that they'll do the same work again but in more depth!

that's normal, she will be doing the same stuff in more depth until she takes options in year 9 - then she will continue to do the same stuff in more depth in her options, and again at A Level and again at degree level.

I thought schools with combined classes made a point of alternating the project work, so for example in History, Yrs 5 and 6 together might do Tudors one year, and WW2 the next. So you cover both topics, but the order depends which year you are in. Naturally you do the second one in more depth, because you are a year further on.
For numeracy, literacy etc, you do cover the same basic concepts over and over, but again, the work should be set according to the level at which the child is working.
For literacy and wordy subjects, a conscientous top-group child will automatically produce work of a higher level, they will be reading more complex books, (at home for sure, and probably in school) and answering written questions with more detail, better use of language etc.
In maths, it is more difficult to introduce new concepts for a tiny proportion of the class, and at DS school, they will find any excuse not to they want them to be 99% accurate, neat and showing workings out (even when the DCs can do it perfectly in their head), before moving on to anything new.