Teachers; a question.

[thenewtoto]

Hi

With the approach of the new term looming I was wondering about this; what kind of levels would you expect a pupil to have got at the end of year one to be offered extension work or to be considered as gifted and talented going into year two?

Thanks.

We had a little girl a few years ago who achieved level 4 maths in Y2 using an extension paper but I wouldn't have considered her to be gifted as she was being coached alongside her Y6 brother.

Pixie, but that would be down to an individual teacher, it's not something that is done routinely.

Lily, the [http://www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/assets/2010_Key_stage_1_ARA.pdf ARA document 2010]] is the statutory document for assessment in KS1, and contains clear guidelines on how to assess children at level 4.

Link again

Me neither. Cross posts - with bad links!

TheFallenMadonna I would give "extension" work with or without a "gifted" label as a matter of course. In mixed ability primary classes it is normal to have huge differences and a range of activities to stretch all pupils

I appreciate that mrz. I think this is less about a teacher's definition of extension work than a parent's.

TheFallenMadonna that's why communication between school and parents is important.

Which is why in my first post I said the OP should speak to the teacher. We too are in agreement

If the school think the OP's child is G&T or is being offered "extension work" they should keep the parent informed

I phrased it badly, I meant that it would be down to an individual teacher whether they assessed a child, rather than how they assess them at level 4 in Y2.

My DS was assessed at level 3 for all subjects and at level 4 for reading at the end of year 2. His class, however, is unusually able and he is NOT on the school's g&t list. This does not affect him in any way as there are sufficient pupils working at the same level so they can be "extended" within the top set.

I don't understand your point, Lily. f a child is working at level 4 in Y2, then the vast majority of school/teachers would assess them as such.

There is some talk of a few rogue schools who don't like using Level 4 in Y2 because it makes it harder to prove value added scores in Y6. Hardly any, though.

I think my point is that it's hard to say what level would constitute being on the G&T list, even as an average of children nationwide, because outside of the KS1 assessments which go up to L3, there is inconsistency in whether children would be assessed as working at higher levels. And for varying reasons - it's not just to avoid making it harder to 'prove add value' - it could be because teachers fundamentally dislike the assessment system and prefer to think in terms of the whole child rather than a number.

So, going back to the OP, it is difficult to have consistent results once outside the regular levels.

I taught a child in Y3 once whose arithmetic was excellent. He could handle most arithmetic concepts. He was very mathematically able. However, give him an open-ended investigation (even with guidance) and he would simply sit and cry because he had no idea how to go about it and didn't get instant results. He was very able, but I wouldn't call him gifted because his ability had such a narrow focus.

Thanks for all the replies!

I really didnt mean to start up the whole "what is gifted in one school might not be in another" debate, I really didnt. Its just that my DC did particularly well in reading and I just wondered how a child who is obviously in the top 10% may be stretched next year.

Toto.

My ds1 is in the top 10% of his class, he's not remotely what I would consider to be gifted - he's bright. The majority of the class come from homes where education is not a priority and DVds are bought rather than books. Therefore he 'classes' as G&T - but he isn't.

he's actually pretty level with my boyfriend's child of the same age, who is considered quite average for his class.

2a/3, which I know is not absolutely super-whammy-knock-your-socks-off clever but surprised me a bit and needless to say am proud.

You have every right to be proud