Ds report says he is 'gifted' in maths. What does this really mean?

[Lemonytrees]

Ds (7) generally bright but has always loved maths and excelled in this area. His report states several times he is gifted. Does this really mean anything? Should I expect additional support for him? I'm not sure he's really being challenged in school at the moment so not sure how I should pursue with the school

Being recognised as 'gifted' in a subject usually means that you are in the top 5-10% of pupils in your year, but the fact that the word was used several times may suggest that he is genuinely exceptional. Without seeing the context it is hard to say, and I would suggest talking to his teacher about it if it isn't clear.

Differentiating a maths lesson to suitably challenge an able 7yo is not at all difficult and I would be surprised if his teacher wasn't doing this already; she will probably have 2-3 children who are on the G&T register for maths (depending on the size of the school there could be more than that) and will be setting them extension work as a matter of course.

Incidentally, the children do not always realise that they are being given extension work. They will receive the same input, at the beginning of the lesson, as everyone else (with differentiated questioning of course) but may be given a more difficult worksheet, multiplying three numbers instead of two or whatever.

If you really do feel that he is not being suitably challenged once the new school year is underway then you should speak to his new teacher, they will be more than used to this question.

Thanks for replying. He is given extension work, but the teacher admits he does it so quickly she can't keep up. You're right probably best to wait until the new year starts and see how we go

It depends. All 3 of mine are in the top 10% of their year for a subject. DS1 and DD just get extension work and get along just fine, they are just in the "quite bright and hardworking" end of provision. DS2 however is very far ahead of his peers in literacy (in 2 languages) and is given a whole action plan with targets on how the school will challenge him. o begin with they put him with children 2 years older than him for literacy lessons, but now they set him his own individual work. He is more what I would call "properly" gifted.

DS1 and DD don't need the level of support that DS2 does, a little bit of extension work does them just fine.

What level did he get? 3a? - bright- differentiated/ investigative/ extension work necessary. Level 5 now and ready for GCSE in a years time- yes gifted and I would expect considerable additional intervention to be put in place to foster this.

There is a big difference between true giftedness (ala Child genius) and a child who is bright and within the top 10% of any one school.Obviously the abilities of the whole cohort can affect which children get put on the G and T register. It all depends on what the teacher means when she says gifted.

Whatever she means- well done to your DS for such a great report!- must be lovely to teach such a bright little spark!

Thanks again for replies everyone.
I spoke to the teacher yesterday. I suspect he is somewhere between top 10% and truly gifted. He is measured as a 3a but scored 30/30 on the sats paper and wasn't tested ay higher. The teacher admitted that they hadn't stretched him this year and are already organising something different for next year (prob to do maths with older classes).

Also been given the green light to 'push' him a bit at home too which is great. Until now, we've done puzzles, played chess etc. but not done any maths because I've been concerned about him being bored at school!

Really helpful to hear other views - seems to be such a confusion between being top 10% and actually being gifted. Although I don't suppose it really matters if the child is happy and being streched