NAGTY now YG+T - has anyone heard anything yet about WTF is happening?

[Piffle]

Now that NAGTY has gone and has been replaced with the joyous Government initiative of Young Gifted and Talented...
Apparently we were supposed to get info via school in the 1st wk of Sept, but they've had some problems...
Does anyone know anything?

havent heard anything at all as yet

anyone signed up to the student forums (adn some parents?) shoudl have had an email apologising for the delay in contacting people, and pointing you in the direction of their incredibly complicated and uninspired website here
Provision is now mainly through schools, there's no easy way fo finding out about Outreach courses, and although Summer School will still exist, I don't know of anyone who has been able to find out anything more re what, where, and how to apply.

School run outreach courses used to be listed on the website

I can't get anywhere with the search function - I've just had a look, and there doesn't seem to be any Outreach in London or the SE at all in the next year in any subject whatsoever, which i'm sure is not the case.

Shrinking Violet, don't you get loads of provision through London Gifted & Talented?

we're Surrey so don't get it free . I'm not too fussed as personally we get loads of G&T enrichment at school, but it's the point - NAGTY was working pretty well until the Gvt changed the rules (10% from every school rather than top 5% nationally) and decided that things like Summer Schools weren't worth it - at least with the NAGTY website you could see what was on where, with this new one, it's practically impossible, and it's NOT a collection of ALL G&T provision in the slightest.
It's a shame for the brightest kids coming through, as they won't know what they could have had (and don't get me started on how Home Educated G&T children are supposed to access school based provision.....)

(sorry for the rant )

Rant away, SV, I totally agree with you. It's typical of Government thinking that they set something up (NAGTY) and, when it just gets going, they pull the plug and change it for something else (YGT). YGT will waste time re-inventing the wheel, which is no help at all to the kids.

Interesting but annoying article, SW. NAGTY was structured to help all Gifted kids, regardless of class/race/sex/etc. YGT is a fig leaf for social engineering; its focus is all on educational systems rather than on the kids themselves.

ds received this email yesterday

Welcome to Young Gifted & Talented (YG&T), the new name for the national programme for gifted and talented education in England.

As you may be aware the University of Warwickâ??s contract to run the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) on behalf of the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) expired on 31 August 2007. Following a competitive tendering process the CfBT Education Trust, a non-profit making educational charity, was appointed by the DCSF to manage the YG&T programme.

Working with the University of Warwick, the available details of all former NAGTY members have been automatically transferred to the new YG&T programme. We had planned to be in touch with you earlier with news of your YG&T membership, but it took longer than expected to transfer personal information to our database and comply with child protection and security procedures.

YG&T builds on and celebrates the achievements of NAGTY and other organisations important to gifted and talented provision, but offers more as it is a new and extended programme designed to engage with all gifted and talented learners who are between ages 4 - 19.

You can now use the new YG&T website at www.ygt.dcsf.gov.uk. Log on using your existing username and password. You may see a member survey initially, which you can choose to complete, defer until later or reject - itâ??s all about you and your preferences, and the information you provide will help us improve our range of products for you.

When you access the site, you will find familiar features such as subject specific discussion forums but there are many new features for you to try too. For example the Learner Academy, Learner Catalogue and the YG&T Library are all key areas where you can search and select from an increasingly wide choice of activities, materials and events involved with G&T learning.

The site is still under development and your views on how it can be improved are invaluable in helping us shape the service provided in the future. Let us know your thoughts by emailing: [email protected] or using the discussion forums on the site.

For your safety and protection, CfBT has a privacy policy in place which explains how we collect and use your information, and under what circumstances we may disclose it. Details can be found on the website.

YG&T is here for you and we look forward to your involvement with the programme. Visit the site for more information and explore the opportunities!

SueW, I was rather shocked at your link. It had long been suspected that the Government's G&T schemes were aimed at improving the state sector's results by skewing the intake, and there's a Minister actually confirming that view. (Of course, I'd have nothing against the state sector being made genuinely so good that there'd be no reason for anyone to opt for private education.) fembear, I was under the impression that NAGTY events tended to price out those from poorer families - have I been misinformed?

tibsy, has your son explored the opportunities? Do they look good?

The cost was variable. Some events were relatively expensive eg some Outreach had a fee plus hidden costs (like travel). There again we attended quite a few free Outreach, some of which were in our local city. Assuming that you had no dial-up charges or could use the internet at school or the library, the online activities were free. Summer schools had a sliding-scale bursary system worth up to 100%.

hallgerda - no, he hasnt yet, will let you know

fembear, thanks for the clarification. Has any NAGTY event actually led your DC to a longer-term interest? I'd be interested to hear about what you feel the scheme did for your DC. (As you've probably gathered, my secondary-age DS1 is not in NAGTY, but doing well. My interest is in how Government policy is affecting real people - I don't have sour grapes, and certainly don't want to re-open the debate on the existence of this section...)

tibsy, no need to hurry your son on account of my idle curiosity, but thanks anyway.

Interesting question, Hallgerda. Like most people we went to things that she already had an interest in, so it was expanding her existing fascinations rather than developing new ones.
By the end NAGTY had quite a big membership thus it had a variety of effects, dependent on the student. A lot of kids weren?t interested; many because they were bored brainless at school and had no desire to have more of the same (as they mistakenly saw it) in their free time. Some would have participated but there were not enough relevant events in their locality. Some took part and enjoyed it (like my DD). Others took part, found it life-changing (especially Summer School) and really engaged with it; they used NAGTY to the fullest and developed contacts with, for example, University departments or other specialist bodies.
One of NAGTY?s strongest but immeasurable effects was to create a community. There was a group of really bright kids who felt very isolated - even those who had won scholarships to academically selective schools sometimes found that adult support was not what it could have been ? and NAGTY gave them a peer group. These kids met up at Outreach and Summer School and created their own support network which is kept alive on the internet.
NAGTY was a bit patchy; it depended on whether your school or LEA encouraged participation and on your local Uni?s (assuming that you had one) pet subject. The new policy (top 10% of every school instead of top 5% on a national scale) is a blunt instrument but it now means that schools can be ?forced? to take part ? schools may deny that they have any of the latter category but they cannot deny that they have the former.

I have to admit ot having grave misgivings about taking an overall top 10% of every school of 4-16 yr olds, rather than have an exact standard/measure that needs to be reached.
That's not to say that those that could attain that benchmark should not be given every opportunity but that's not what it sounds like they are doing if I have read correctly.

DS has now joined the online YGT section and had a natter - he would def benefit from a group of like minds, he is not socially isolated but finds it hard to find much in common with boys his own age and he may be at a top performing grammar but it is sports specialist - and he is more certainly not a sports specialist

piffle, your ds sounds like mine. He has friends, but none really that share the same interests and he is definitely not sporty. He only joined NAGTY last year, and, as yet, has not utilised it at all. I must say, its all a bit new to me too and now its gone

I think I will encourage him to have a look at the YGT website to see what he thinks.