Does anyone else have a PG preschooler?

[RoboJesus]

Are you worried about them starting school? Considering a tutor? Private? Homeschool? The whole thing seems overwhelming if I'm honest. It feels like this country isn't set up to handle PG tots. The school mine has been offered does have a (i think from what they've said) HG child in reception who they've had to readjust for which is a bit of a relief though.

If your dc is PG your biggest challenge is getting the right environment socially for him as he will struggle to learn if he becomes isolated and withdrawn.

I would choose the school which is able to support that rather than focusing on academic aspect.

I don’t think that your child’s social skills could cope with skipping ahead, which is why it is a relic from the past where people thought education was all academics and did not include social skills or emotional intelligence. It is also interesting that you are not actually engaging on this thread. What does the SENCO say?

You seem to be forgetting that whatever happens this is a 3 or 4 year old. What he needs at this age is chances to explore the world and learn social skills. If he is as talented as you believe the rest will fall into place but will be pretty useless if he can’t master the basics of interactions

Enroll in year 5 why bore your child with school at all if they are clearly that gifted. GCSEs and A levels will obviously be a waste of their time. Just register them for immediate entry to Oxford or Cambridge.

I found moving up just one school year incredibly tough socially (and I was still bored academically)

If you spend time going round schools though you will find that some schools are now very good at doing extension work and stretching the brightest.
Yes you might want to have a tutor too if you son is desperate to learn more outside school. And just have lots of books around.
But social skills are hugely important to happiness in life (and job success) so don’t neglect his opportunities to develop these. In fact create more opportunties if you can as well as school - beavers, sports clubs etc

When DS1 started primary school his literacy was assessed as age 14+, his maths was also pretty good.
He had absolutely no social skills and was assessed for ASD, he also had poor fine motor skills

His school have been brilliant with him. He did his literacy work in the year 2 group (would not put him any higher as socially it would not have been right for him, plus older kids are prone to talk about things a 5 year shouldn’t be listening too!!) they did individual work with him for both the things he was ahead with and the things he needed help on eg did social stories with him. Scissor cutting practise as well as one teacher inventing a special word game to do with him while others were doing thier spellings

He is now leaving year 6 and he’s a completely different boy, he’s still extremely clever and ahead but he’s become confident, more social, and more flexible with situations. I’m more proud of the progress he has made on his ‘soft’ skills as they are the ones that will enable him to get on in the work place, find a partner and get married, and be successful in life.
(For context I was also extremely advanced as a child, joined Mensa, was put up a year and much pressure put on me to excel- as soon as I left Home and went to uni I dropped out, I’ve always found it hard to keep friendships and have never settled into a career)

I have a child in y5. I don’t think any country would think putting a 4 to 5 year old child just out of toddlerhood in a class of 9 to 10 year olds on the cusp of puberty would be a good idea.

I’m a teacher with experience across the primary age range and significant nursery experience too. I’m genuinely curious about this PG category. I’ve taught lots of very bright 3-4 year olds but never had someone with a diagnosis/assessment (??) of PG. Can you give us a summary of abilities?

What makes you think they are PG? At such a young age, what is it your child is doing that requires them to go straight into y5?

Profoundly gifted is defined as an IQ of 180+ For the people being sarcastic, they may well be able to cope with year 5 academically, but may also need lots of social help. It's something like 1 in 1.1 million, so most teachers won't ever see it in a whole career.

OP look up PPUK (potential plus uk), you will find a lot of help, there's also a closed facebook page you can request to join where you will find others who can help (for what it's worth, my dd is not nearly as gifted as this, but I have found the page welcoming and helpful)

Profoundly gifted is defined as an IQ of 180+

What about those of us who don't support the concept of IQ. More importantly, there is almost no way they could cope with the demands of year 5, the PE curriculum would be impossible I'd say, a school could certainly make some adjustments, but then equally the school could make adjustmnets in YR for the things that were easy.

Ignoring the sarcasm though, what the OP really needs is to decide what they actually think what school and education is, what they want from a school, if they want a school, what is in the best interest of the child.

So many people on this board want push teaching of their gifted child, despite one of the advantages of being gifted is an early self recognition of what they want and all you need is opportunity, which in the age of the internet is so easy to provide.

sirfred I worded it badly but I think we're on the same page. What I meant was they may even struggle socially compared to other 4 year olds, and may well need extra support with that. Under no circumstance can I imagine it best for a child just starting school to go into year 5, regardless of their giftedness.
Regarding IQ there are arguments both sides, but I do think it gives people asking what it means an idea of how exceptional it is, although we obviously don't know in what way this term has been given to OPs child.
I totally agree with everything else you wrote!

Profoundly gifted in academics doesn't mean the child is mature enough to jump straight in to yr5, skipping all those years.
By all means, get a tutor, give the child adequate resources etc, but school has a lot more important things to offer to a child to grow up to be a well rounded person.

I said year 5 for example because of the social aspects. Putting them directly into senior school seemed too much.

You think your 4 year old is ready for senior school?

You think a 4 year old stands any chance of keeping up with a 10 year old socially?

I call bullshit in this thread

I want to hear more about what this kid can do 🤔

What is profoundly gifted? I've googled it but all I can find is stuff about IQ tests. Has your 4 year old had an IQ test? What makes them profoundly gifted? Sorry for the questions I've just never heard of it.
As for school, there is a lot more to school than academics. I was extremely good at reading when I started school but even I will admit I needed help socially which school enabled me to achieve.

Yep OP, you’re right - it does indeed seem “too much”. Nice try though

And how is Young Sheldon, Mary?

When I worked in the University sector, I knew a young woman from another European country who was profoundly gifted, doing Maths post doc work. She’d skipped multiple years at school, supplemented with home tutoring.

Went to Cambridge (I think) very young and promptly had a nervous breakdown- totally unable to handle the social side and also the competition for attention. Took time out to recover, then went back to a University setting. But went to a University where she would be the only mathematically exceptional student, so she would get the undivided attention of her tutors. Pretty much checked out of the social side. She was an odd mix of a super confident superstar with the academics in her department and a frightened child with everyone else.

She was still visibly uncomfortable, bordering on distressed, a lot of the time (I suspected some disordered eating, possibly some self-harm based on some remarks she made and things I saw). She was very, very lonely and scared. I had dealings with her in a professional role regarding funding. I was just a normal level nice to her as part of my contact with her. She got really attached to me, found out my address somehow, tried to get a room in the house share for young professionals I lived in. It was a bit intense.

I just realised you want a 4 year old to go intoclass with 10 year olds. My dd is 3 and my nephew is 9, granted neither is profoundly gifted (?) But socially they are miles apart and my dd has good social skills for her age. My nephew is twice the size of her, could easily hurt her without meaning to etc. I mean this isn't true right? Nobody would really want their tiny 4 year old in class with 10 year olds no matter how gifted you thought they were.

I fund this -getting strong American Psycho vibes.

"Profoundly gifted children experience their world so deeply, develop their own sense of morality, and are rarely motivated by societal standards. Their emotional and imaginational range is extreme, and their psychomotor energy is often atypical, fueling a need for constant movement and mental stimulation."

sengifted.org/directors-corner-raising-a-profoundly-gifted-child/