Does your child who is gifted and talented get free dinners?

[lijaco]

Just wondered if any children on here who have the gifted and talented label also are in reciept of free dinners? Just trying to work out if this label is actually a privileged children thing?

[alleve]

Not read the thread, sorry but no, my gifted and talented daughter! She's on all the registers still taps me up for a couple of quid a day. I'm an improverished (sp) single mum so if this is real I would like to know how, please CAT me the form to fill in.

[LynetteScavo]

My DS is sooooo G&T that he is able to hussle free school lunches.

[choccyp1g]

Roisin, yes!yes! intelligence is closely linked to genes. Lucky that DS got his father's looks and my brains! ho! ho!
But seriously, maybe some "brainpower" is inborn, but surely most achievement is much more linked to family influence, quality of schools, and peer pressure. Which are all so affected by money (or lack of)

[choccyp1g]

Roisin what's EAZ btw?

[lijaco]

singersgirl I never mentioned primary school
age?????????????????
I am thinking more secondary school age here where kids can be better judged with g & t. Don't think it can very well at infant stage and below because it depends on the physical development of the brain.
Also August kids are set back at the start of school and in infant stage, but they level out to so don't worry about that too much. Hare & the tortoise!
That isn't what this thread is about though!

[seeker]

I would be amazed if the % of children on the Gand Register on free school meals isn't about the same as the % in selective schools - that is, significantly less than the % in the general school population.

[aintnomountainhighenough]

lijaco I can see the point you are trying to make with your threads and I think a lot of people understand what you are getting at. There are some seriously G&T children out there, you can tell from the posts however clearly there is an even greater proportion of just bright children who are labelled G&T under a government initiative to keep the middle classes happy. Frankly all children should be given the attention and work they need, not just the perceived 10% G&T or those with SEN (although to clarify I think those truly SEN children should have additional funding). I was interested to see recently that schools get extra funding for G&T - answers many questions that I have regarding the label of G&T. Surely any parent that has seen the targets under the NC can think that G&T is working 1 or 1 years above? Again - if your child is doing this they are probably bright but G&T, sorry no. This is where I think the posters question comes in - there are many children who are bright and who have middle class parents helping them who can achieve the 'standard' of G&T,

[Reallytired]

I know a six year old girl who is extremely talented at art. Drawings are on a different plain to her classmates.

Until recently she was entitled to free school dinners. But her mother has come of benefits and now has job, so I don't know if the girl still gets free school dinners.

Life is luck and it doesn't necessarily follow that intelligent people have more money. Some gifted people suffer with major mental health problems and that can make hard to earn a living.

[aintnomountainhighenough]

Reallytired, you have highlighted where the G&T program lets itself down or imo exposes how weak it is. We often see on threads 5 and 6 year olds being labelled G&T for various things but they are never for arts or sports. If it is a true G&T program it would include these, however as we all know at 5 and 6 it is very very difficult to see these things and those children are 1 in a million and would not be spotted by a school(e.g Lewis Hamilton).

[roisin]

Choccyp1g EAZ is Education Action Zone - usually inner city areas with high levels of deprivation indicators.

[roisin]

I think one way a school G&T programme can help is in encouraging an ethos where it's "cool to be clever". At my son's secondary there is a real atmosphere focused on achievement and a large proportion of the children aspire to succeed.

At the school where I work bright children learn to hide their abilities quite quickly
Of course this is sad, and IMO the school is not tackling this in the right ways.
But at least if some children are given special opportunities through the G&T programme for writing workshops or special science lectures and so on, there are some reasons for them continuing to put the effort in to achieve highly.

[lijaco]

I have had experience of this it isn't cool to be clever thing with my son. This happens a lot with boys especially in secondary schools. Probably mostly in state schools and deprived areas.

[UnfortunatelyMurderedMe]

My dd is entitled to free school meals. (Self employed, low income)
She has just passed the 11 plus and Ive had a look to see what sort of money I will be needing next year when she starts.
The skirts are £36, as are the summer dresses.
In the first month theres a day out (team building) costing £33, and at the end of year 7 theres a 5 day trip to Devon costing £285.
Im glad I looked as I now have a year to start saving.

[lijaco]

unfortunatelymurderedme what year is your dd would she be in year 6 then. Would she then be attending a private school ? Just asking because where I live private schools do the 11+ test.

[UnfortunatelyMurderedMe]

lijaco, she is in year 6 now, we live in Kent where there are still plenty of grammars.

[Loshad]

lijaco, only read first page of thread but yes there are plenty of kids on the G+T register at my school who also get free school meals - is that ok with you?

[lijaco]

Loshad yep that is great! Are they on for academic achievement or kinesthetic? How many would you say there are in comparison to not?

[PuppyMonkey]

I got free school dinners and I was very gifted and talented. Well, I got two As in my A levels and a 2:1 at University...

We got "tokens" to use at out school for dinner. I got my free tokens and sold them for 50p so that I could go down the shop and get some nicer sandwiches. That's talented for you....

[mrsruffallo]

Do you have to be on free school dinners to be classed as working class or poor?
Many working class parents work very hard and still don't have much spare but wouldn't qualify for free school dinners.
There are more of these types of family than both parents being long term unemployed.

[Saggarmakersbottomknocker]

No, you don't but entitlement to FSM is a standard measure of deprivation used by the DFES.

I agree though it isn't foolproof. You don't have to be unemployed to claim FSM, but it doesn't take into account how many children you are supporting on a low income.

[HRHSaintMamazon]

G&T has nothing to do with being privileged.

I have had a child at work who was on G&T. his mother was an addict and part time prostitute and his dad was whichever bloke his mother bought home at the weekend.

his upbringing, like that of all the other true G&T children has nothign to do with his achievment at school.

[Reallytired]

"his upbringing, like that of all the other true G&T children has nothign to do with his achievment at school. "

I'm sorry I really have to disagree with you. I think that upbringing can make the difference between being a sucesss at school and a failure.

Prehaps this lad has a granmother who has made sure his basic needs have been met. (Ie. he is washed, dressed, fed, sent to school and not abused)

Having half decent parenting in the early years makes a huge difference. All you have to do is look at the pathetically low number of chldren who are in care and manage to get educational qualifications.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1256842.stm

I am sure there are plenty of children in awful backgrounds who would have the potential to be gifted. Its just that they are worrying too much about staying alive to achieve anything.