why aren't parents told children are on G&T register?

[4ever21]

just had a chat with ds's classmate's mum and she had asked the teacher about G&T and apparently her ds was on it but she was never told, understandably she's really upset about it-even though i think i would be a bit glad if i found out my ds was on it! she encouraged me to speak with the teacher but i figured if parents weren't told, then there must be a good reason. perhaps cause they're still in reception.

Because if you know that they are on the G&T list you might, reasonably, expect the school to do something with them.
The law only requires schools to keep a list, not to do anything constructive with it.

They don't tell them at infants schools AFAIK as children are developing at different rates. Someone identified g&t in reception may be overtaken by another in yr1.

Why would you need to know that your child was quite clever? Presumably you might have already noticed.

I think that some schools are ambivalent about G & T, given that a good school should be preparing work that stretches children working at a variety of different levels in any case.

"Why would you need to know that your child was quite clever? Presumably you might have already noticed."

Of course parents want to know how their child is doing at School. Don't you? Whether they are average, below average, above average, SEN or "quite clever", they have a right to know.

And no, not all parents know how their child is doing in comparison to others of the same age. They may not have already noticed.

I'm sorry for that flippant comment earlier. Yes, you are right, but I just meant that whether your child is doing well at school and whether they're on the G and T register are two very different things.

my six year old's teacher had him sit Y6 SATS in science and literacy without asking me first

I was bloody stung at the time as I would have liked the chance to decide whether or not this was appropriate, and at least to have had the chance to have a hand in preparing him for his first experience of formal exams

but she is an excellent teacher who has worked wonders with him this year - he has AS and she has really integrated him into his peer group, helped him so so much in so many ways

and in the event he loved the tests, he loved the attention and the adulation, so no harm done

That said, I do think schools should share more information with parents. It seems a basic courtesy to me.

I found out DD1 was on it in Y6 when she came home and asked me what it meant as she had seen her name on a list on the teacher's desk.
DD2 I got a letter about.
DD3 another mum told me in the playground.
Makes little difference anyway IME, so not really worth bothering about.

I have told parents when their child is on the G & T reg just because I think it's nice to hear your child is doing really well at something. Agree tho it actually makes little difference becuase you are trying to challenge all children not just the ones on a special list. Also, especially with young children, stuff changes. Some seem to have a learning spurt then plateau for a bit while others are slow burners.

AFAIK we're not told until autumn in year 1. So much can change in reception, ability can be so determined by level of pre-schooling rather than actual ability. DD1 is having "G&T" lessons once a week, but we haven't been told anything about it. The school are deliberately cagey as the selection hasn't been made yet.

thanks a lot everyone for your replies. i'm not going to ask anyway. i know he's really bright and i'm glad about that.

Our school doesn't tell parents or do much about it, they only have a list (kept very quiet) to satisfy the regulations. It's a small school, teachers and children and parents tend to know which children are coming top of the class. It's not rocket science to work out which ones might be on a G&T register but the school isn't keen on labelling and categorising them. Which makes sense to me, children change and develop at such different rates.

to me, seeing how dd was doing at school was nothing to do with the g&t register: it's what you get from the school report

that's where you find out how the child is doing in relationship with national expectations, which seems far more important than to know whether they are in the top 10% of that particular school

g&t is only the best in this particular school= might not be very bright at all

doesn't tell you much more than if your child is always in top set- and children tend to be able to inform you of this

SATS result say a little more

and knowing the kind of discussions I could have with dd meant more than either

I'm a parent governor and this is something that we have discussed at length within our meetings. Relatively small primary school (180 pupils) so 10% on list across all years is just 18 pupils. The G&T covers all areas, not just academic achievers. The main reason that parnets aren't told has been mentioned, ie just because they may be exceptional at something at an early age doesn't mean that in say 3 years time this will still be the case. The question our HT asked was how would you feel as a parent if your child was taken off the register?!! The school will tell parents if they specifically ask (there was one parent demanding to know under the data protection act).

Some of the G&T children have attended workshops (for example, those that excel at maths and PE) but not all G&T areas have had these opportunities made available to them. It's difficult as a parent gov as I fully understand the reasoning of the school but of cousre there is a part of me dying to know if DD/DS are on the list!

Apparently you should be told as they will be invited to join a G&T academy which is online. There are arguments for and against. Funnily DS has both a SEn and is in the G&T register. he has had more additional work towards his G&T work than his SEN this year. Not sure what to think about that but it probably is easier to develop a skill than to support a weakness.

I wonder whether parents aren't told to avoid the perhaps inevitable feelings of smugness/jealousy/complacency/inadequacy from parents and children that can result from labelling a small group of reasonably bright kids "gifted" and by definition, a much larger group of (often just as hard working) children "not gifted" - madness IMHO!

@mangochutney: You seem to be suggesting that teachers are such a useless lot they can't explain to parents what 10% (or G&T) means.

And that parents are such an ignorant bunch they can't appreciate - even when it's explained to them - that "gifted" is used in a certain context here and that their child being on the Register imposes on the parents a job to work more closely with the teacher to ensure the child is properly catered for.

Depressing.

If my child has a hidden talent - be it in gymnastics or with a musical instrument - that puts her in the top 10% of her class, I'd sure want to know about it. I should be told about it. It's strange that larger groups can be "non-talented" and don't suffer life-long psychological damage but we need to shelter everyone who doesn't fall in the top 10% in academic subjects.