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Gifted and talented

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Original poster

When do teachers identify g and t children?

21 replies

Mim78 · 23/01/2014 13:45

Or is it a moving target?

My dd is in reception - just wondered if they even did g and t in reception. Should I expect school to have a written policy.

Also did anyone say anything to the teacher if they thought their child was g and t?

Not going to go into why I think this because not the point of the question.

OP posts:
AnswersToAnything · 23/01/2014 13:48

Our child is on the G&T register in reception, but I don't know if all schools do this.

The school initiated it.

AnswersToAnything · 23/01/2014 13:51

Just to add - as I am sure you know - the definition of G&T for OFSTED purposes is the top 10% of any given cohort, so a child with an IQ of 130 would not be G&T if the rest of the class has IQs of 130+, and on the flip-side, a child with an IQ of 100 would be G&T if the rest of the class were below that. Obviously they are extreme examples to illustrate the point.

ilikenoodles · 23/01/2014 13:54

We were told ds was on gt reg in reception last year but heard nothing since so he could be off it for all I know. I wouldn't bring it up with the teacher, if she feels your child should be on the list then she'll put your dd on it. I'd never even heard of it before and as far as I know it's just a way a recognising children who maybe need "harder" work but nothing "amazing" happens. As long as he is getting the appropriate work for his ability then I couldn't give a fig about an imaginary list.

Original poster
Mim78 · 23/01/2014 14:28

I think the main reason I am asking is to make sure she gets to do the things that will help her learn, rather than a "list" as you say.

So I guess that would be a better question to ask rather than specifically about g and t.

OP posts:
blueberryupsidedown · 23/01/2014 14:44

Year 1 for us. In reception we discussed with the teacher that DS was 'good and confident with numbers', but in year 1 there was a more formal assessment and more challenging work at school and maths homework that is appropriate (although not longer or more homework than for other children in his class, just a higher level). I don't even know if the school has an official G&T list but DS has an IEP (he also has special educational needs) and his ability in maths is mentioned on there too.

Original poster
Mim78 · 23/01/2014 21:23

blueberry this is similar to what I have been told by reception teacher that dd is good with numbers. When we play doing sums at home, if I ever ask her how she knows something she says "I just know" which I am probably being daft to find a bit spooky.

In fact I more want to ask the teacher how I can help her with her reading because she is less enthusiastic about that - she likes it but I feel that she could get more out of it if I helped her to move on quicker. This may have nothing to do with g and t page though!

OP posts:
blueberryupsidedown · 23/01/2014 22:11

DS could do fractions, adding and subtracting negative numbers, percentages and decimals from 6 yo, and could do silly things such accounting backwards in threes. It's not something the school would know as they don't ask those questions...

Anyway, the best advice I ever got about reading is to find what subjects a child really likes and find books about that. DS is into animals, dinosaurs, cars, airplanes so the school books about fictional stories were of little interest to him. Now that we have figured out what subjects he likes, he reads loads. He also likes reading instructions (he writes his own Lego instruction leaflets!!!) I'm sure he will end up working for Ikea!

LittleMissGreen · 24/01/2014 09:07

Our school's G&T policy is any child who is taught with a different year group is put on the G&T list, because they are given an IEP stating what they should be achieving working with the other year group. These targets are reviewed termly and children are moved on and off the list as necessary.

DS2 was on the G&T list by the October of reception - he went in unable to read and was reading and writing with the top year 1s by then. The school were well aware of his ability as they had 'taught' him all his skills.

DS3 is now in reception. His maths skills were discovered when they gave him his computer maths log-in and he whizzed through all the reception levels. They are still finding out what he is capable of, but are now stretching him to find out.

But (in our school) they don't tend to just put a child on the G&T list just if they are ahead in one small part of a subject e.g. a good reader - they have to be good at literacy as a whole.

DS1 on the other hand, who I always considered G&T as a young child, I spent the year telling the teacher (different school) that he could read, but until they saw evidence of it at the end of reception (when they realised he read at a KS2 level) it made no difference what I said he could do. He has never been on a G&T list as although he reads well his writing level is not comparable.

ShadowOfTheDay · 27/01/2014 09:29

my eldest was not considered G+T at primary at all ... now she is at secondary she is part of their "particularly able" (horrid terminology) program in Maths, English, Science, Music and German..... she has "grown into her brain" as she puts it......

hells456 · 31/01/2014 12:17

Within five minutes of meeting them Grin

natellie1970 · 03/02/2014 17:01

My dd was considered very bright at primary school but g and t was never mentioned. When I saw her yr6 teacher and told her the high school had said she's gifted she wasn't at all surprised get the impression they didn't have a g and t register. My dd was always in the top one or two in her class (except in yr5 when the teacher called her lethargic! They didn't get on)

simpson · 03/02/2014 17:46

DD is in yr1 and I was told in nursery she was "very academic" and once in reception the teacher said she was G&T in literacy and reading.

DS is in yr4 and I found out last week Shock that he is G&T for maths.

Whereisegg · 03/02/2014 18:38

both dd and ds (10 and 7) were on it in reception, both for maths, dd literacy and reading.

dd is yr6 and has been taken out of maths for the last 2 years to be taught separately as she is so ahead and ds (according to the teacher) will whizz through the extended maths work in class then work his way round the room helping the others.

I have no idea where they get it, and any requests for help with maths homework strikes terror right into my heart Grin

jenthered · 03/02/2014 18:52

My son is in reception and they have put him on G&T register for maths. They say he should reach 2a by Easter and 3c by end of the school year. I am not sure about what the levels mean but from reading on here it seems he's doing well? They keep me updated with his progress and have arranged meetings to go through what they are doing with him.

snippyMcSnippy · 03/02/2014 19:08

my 5yo is on the g&t register for maths. he was tested last week and we got the letter today! wasn't something we had asked for.

am very proud!

simpson · 14/02/2014 01:21

DD was identified as a "child to watch" in nursery and then G&T in reception for reading and literacy.

She is now in yr1 and is now also G&T for history.

DS (yr4) I found out last week that he has been G&T since yr2 for numeracy.

BlueDesmarais · 14/02/2014 10:18

In our experience, you know when they call the psychologists in :(

SystemIDUnknown · 13/04/2014 23:30

With ds1 we were always told in Reception that he was top the class and very high achieving, but wasn't 'officially' identified until Year 1 when he completed all the assessments they had for KS1 and scored 100%, and then went through a lot of the KS2 assessments too, for maths. These are things I have never taught him, such as decimals, fractions, angles etc...he just 'knows' and could work it out. He's now joining the Year 4's for maths from next week.

Ds2 is 3 and is in part time Nursery. His teacher asked for an appointment a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that he'll be doing Maths at a higher level and joining in with the Year 1's from now for Maths lessons. Within his nursery class, they're still teaching numbers 1-20 and haven't even started on 'actual' mathematics yet, wheras ds2 is adding and subtracting figures up to 50 in his head (and on his fingers!) and spends his time counting to 100 in twos, threes and fives (in a singsong voice, the same way as the others are singing nursery rhymes, it's very cute lol).

Whether ds2's talent will turn out to be more than just an early-start though we'll have to see.

Fuzzymum1 · 13/04/2014 23:41

Our school doesn't officially tell parents when their child is on the G&T register. I work at the school and his teacher told me Ds is on the G&T register for literacy - he's a very able reader, in year 2 and also an able writer - it's his writing in particular that prompted it.

Lonecatwithkitten · 14/04/2014 14:47

Cohort can really affect this in year 3 three teachers told me you aware that DD is really very bright.
They felt they needed to tell me because, as a school their normal definition is CAT average score of greater than 120. In DD's year group this is over 75% of the children and so challenge and extension program is for nearly everyone. In the year above less than 5% of the year fall into the challenge and extension group.
So in DD's cohort she is not exceptional and whilst she has CAT scores of over 130 in every area if it was just the top 10% she would not qualify.

littledrummergirl · 16/04/2014 00:08

Ds1 was never considered g&t by his primary school but was very able.
We live in an area surrounded by ss grammar schools, one which is incredibly difficult to gain entry for as it is considered one of the best schools in the country.
Ds1 was the only one to score high enough to meet the entry criteria and gain a place out of his year group despite his dgp dying a week before.
Dont get caught up in g&t, ask for the best way to support your child.

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