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Gifted and talented

Talk to other parents about parenting a gifted child on this forum.

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Original poster

OK a poll, are your children on the G&T register at school

73 replies

tobeornot · 20/02/2008 11:11

Name changers welcome Just thought I'd start a poll to see how common it is for children to be placed on this register i.e you've had the letter and its official. Yes answers will do, as I'm aware that the some posh schools dont do one and that its not always done in infants, juniors.

OP posts:

bozza · 20/02/2008 12:42

marialuisa just out of interest - does she not get spellings because her spelling ability is too good to make it worthwhile? DS gets them and they are very easy for him, but it has never bothered me because they are just something he sits and writes out while his sister is finishing her breakfast.

RosaIsRed · 20/02/2008 14:16

Our school doesn't tell. However, I am pretty sure that DD1 is on it, because I have been told (by her, not the school), that she is pulled out of class twice a week for special literacy sessions. DD3 I also believe to be on it, because another parent told me that a teacher told her so. But lots of schools don't officially inform parents if there child is on the register.

RosaIsRed · 20/02/2008 14:18

AAGH their not there.

marialuisa · 20/02/2008 15:18

Bozza- initailly in Y1 she had differentiated spellings but even those were not remotely challenging. I can't say I was bothered, TBH we rarely even got her spelling book out to see what the words were. Her teacher this year said that it had got to the point where she was looking for words in the dictionary that she (the teacher) couldn't spell so all a bit of a farce really. DD now gets 5 words a week that she must try to get into her creative writing (they do one extended piece of writing every week)and so far there has been quite a range. DD likes it, it actually seems to have a point and it's all done in school so everyone's happy.

ecoworrier · 20/02/2008 15:24

Yes, for my 3 children. Very low-key though. At primary school the main way you'd know is that your child got invited to extra activities of various kinds, either enrichment activities at the town's secondary schools, or courses at the county education centre - fairly expensive these course, we rarely bothered with them. Some children went on loads, so in many ways it just turned out to be jollies for middle-class children.

At secondary school you sometimes get a letter from a particular department offering your child a special activity or day out or course aimed at children gifted in that subject/area. The school's enrichment fund often subsidises these activities.

Last year the school also started sending out letters to specific Year 7 children inviting them to join NAGTY - however NAGTY is no more, so that turned out to be a fuss about nothing. This group of children wasn't just the top 10% in that school though, they all met NAGTY criteria which were supposed to weed out the top 10% nationally I think.

needmorecoffee · 20/02/2008 15:25

I don't think ds1's school has a register but then there's an entrance exam to weed out riff-raff
dd2's school probably has but given she's only 4, can't speak or move, her obvious genius hasn't shined through yet

southeastastra · 20/02/2008 15:28

my ds(14) received a letter telling us he is gifted in french and should consider it as an option. cynical dp thinks they are just trying to up the numbers for the course .

ecoworrier · 20/02/2008 15:30

Just to add, although my children have enjoyed some of the stuff they've done, I don't think they would have suffered without it. Their schools have always been good at stimulating and motivating the children at the top end of the ability range.

In some ways it feels like treats for the clever - for example a select group of children 'gifted' in history were offered a trip to the 02 to see the Tutankhamun Exhibition, subsidised so it only cost £3. Great stuff, but I wonder whether the money would have been better spent on those who would never normally go to anything cultural or who have never even been to London.

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 20/02/2008 15:31

Yes. Letter from school (secondary).

Our primary is now using the term 'More Able and Talented' as opposed to Gifted.

SueW · 20/02/2008 15:38

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request.

florenceuk · 20/02/2008 15:51

is this really a well-designed poll? While most of hte people here who post will have children who are classified G&T, actually most (well 90%) of us don't. I think you need to rethink your polling technique! (BTW DS is not and isn't anyway, as far as I can tell). Or do you want to know whether IF your child is G&T they are on the register - in which case you still won't know because there may be somebody who thinks their DC is brilliant but they really aren't.

does anybody know what I mean.....

Bink · 20/02/2008 15:51

Also, no, because private school so don't do it (just to screw up your poll tabulations )

dd (yr2) is an all-rounder competent bushy-tailed child and is doing herself justice, so I'd suspect if they did registers ... Anyway, the form it takes for her is similar to others - just lots of quietly differentiated in-class work. Apart from Special Spellings, which she does with one child from her class & a couple of others from the parallel classes. She is not wholly impressed by Special Spellings as it happens during Art.

ds (yr4, but at specialist school) is on every register the school can think of, including having an IEP, as a way of trying to make some sense of him. He gets Special Maths, in particular.

Fennel · 20/02/2008 15:56

OK I'll drag the stats down a bit, as far as I know I don't have any children on any sort of G&T register. Does this make me unique on mumsnet?

I also don't know if our school tells parents if a child is on the register.

francagoestohollywood · 20/02/2008 16:08

fennel .
we are back to Italy, I don't think we have this sort of thing.

Piffle · 20/02/2008 16:09

south east astra. We've received subject letters like that too for ds1 also 14! So far in maths, Three sciences, art, music, geography, French, IT, Spanish... Bloody madness trying to pick gcse subjects amongst this kind of bloody assault!!!

wheresthehamster · 20/02/2008 16:21

Our infants school don't tell the parents and I don't know about the juniors.

Dd1 was a NAGTY member. Identified by the school but no opportunities within school.

Dd2 is G & T in Design & Technology (yes, ridiculous I know - we all had a good laugh about it!). They go on suitable trips and so miss the lessons that they AREN'T G & T in.

perpetualworrier · 20/02/2008 16:35

I had a letter saying DS1 had been identified for the "talented and able" group and would see the SenCo for "extension" work. Is that he same thing? He's 6.

LIZS · 20/02/2008 16:41

I think ours calls it Talented and Able (independent school)

MrsPuddleduck · 20/02/2008 17:08

What's the point of identifying a child as G&T and then not telling the parent?

Surely it would urge you to 'stretch' them a bit at home (please don't go mad at this remark - I mean that sometimes it could be what your child needs and you are unaware of it).

perpetualworrier · 20/02/2008 17:17

I don't get this "stretching" thing.

Ds1 is v able at reading, so he goes to an extention reading group - his reading is already good. IMO the time would be better spent on something he's not so good at, probably social skills or co-ordination. Although he's not behind in these areas, they are where he needs more help IMO.

WendyWeber · 20/02/2008 17:30

DS2's school (selective grammar) doesn't appear to go in for it - according to the teachers at parents' evening he is gifted in French (he's in Y10 and they did an old GCSE paper this term - he got an A*), German, English and - don't laugh - Food Tech but we've never had a letter.

RosaIsRed · 20/02/2008 17:57

I agree Perpetual Worrier. DD1 says her literacy extension work is usually boring and was outraged last week when she had to miss an art lesson because of it. As she is dyspraxic, I think possibly the art lesson would have been more useful.

Hulababy · 20/02/2008 18:03

DD's prep school does't have a G&T register. lases are small enough to meet the needs of the pupils within the normal setting. Children who are working at particularly high levels for the age may be moved up a year - they they tend to go through rest of their education a year ahead, so long as they stay in the private sector anyway. Similarly it is possibly to have a child in the year below their age too.

Christywhisty · 20/02/2008 19:52

DD yr 5 is g&t for maths. She has had extention lessons and has been to a maths master class at our local secondary school. Only really told officially last week at parents evening. The have only had the g&t list since September
Ds just started secondary has been told by the g&t coordinator that he is on the list because of his CAT tests and probably because of his Science SATs results.

They haven't done anything yet, but far too busy settling into secondary school, so doesn't really need extra work. Have been told that he will be able to take part in the Crest awards in Year 8 if he carries on as he is.

bozza · 20/02/2008 21:25

Thanks marialuisa. DS does get his spellings right every week (but they are not difficult, eg world, early etc this week) so always comes home with a sticker on a Friday but I think I am happy enough with the status quo.

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