Gifted and talented - does it exist anymore?

[elgol]

I have been trying to get information from the school. From what I can gather, it's a no. The only thing on offer is deepening during lessons. Nothing extra, no links outside school.

There used to be stuff, but I just get a 'there's no money' type response. Which I completely understand.

If there is something available I would be very interested.

Our school offer the occasional external event on a Saturday. Tbh I'd prefer the money be spent on providing more routine deepening during lessons. We can provide challenging stuff at weekends ourselves.

Not at ours. Mine are twiddling their thumbs in maths these days (y6)...

We actually have the high achievers people coming out today! Referred by school. Free assessments done (90 mins) then they suggest a program to do at home. From £12 for the family a week apparently! (3 kids - one in the g&t already)

No, not at my ds's school.

Nothing here either - g+t got mentioned in passing at one parents evening, but there hasn't been anything external, or, I would stay, particularly stretching given in class.

I think our school is signed up with NACE (National Association of Able Children in Education) but the only thing I've ever seen that they have done with them is their photography competition.

I will have a look at NACE, thank you.

mybearded can I ask who the high achieving people are please?

Our school has lots of little groups being taught outside the classroom. All children who are struggling. I have no problem at all with that, I did think though that those in need of being stretched might have some provision.

Apparently, at the school my daughter goes to they have a group of kids for both, struggling and ones who are gifted. But they do not call it that and parents are not aware of it, unless their kids are pulled out for it. I think the gifted one is called abled. I am not sure why they don't call it gifted. Perhaps not to make others feel like they are not gifted?

http://www.potentialplusuk.org

mrz, do your school have any kind of G & T programme?
If you do , what do you do, I'm curious since your school seems like a great school?
Or is it up to individual teacher?

you have to pay for that bearded?

We have nothing called "G&T" but we have lunchtime clubs that offer "extension" activities and UKS2 pupils have the chance to join groups at local comp later in the year.

I'm a bit cynical about the whole G&T label who decides and what criteria for you use to decide?

" I think the gifted one is called abled. I am not sure why they don't call it gifted. Perhaps not to make others feel like they are not gifted?"

How pretentious to give the group a name. My daughter gets 2 hours a week with two other children. As far as I know there is no name for her little group.

Calling a bunch of small kids gifted is a recipe for arrogance.

Yeah, I agree it's not good idea to give names. Yet most of the children know why some children get taken out, either getting extra help, or special harder work.
And it's just the convenient name/ term for this kind of topic, isn't it?
I'm sure most parents don't call/tell their children are gifted.

Both my daughters have had various gifted and talented labels with various events being held over the years. They are both clever and found school enjoyable because of this but never to the point that they were remotely bored. I always knew it was a nonsense and my eldest has finished uni (getting A*AAB at A level) having found that there are many like her and that she isn't so special after all! In fact, she found that she actually had to work a lot harder than some to do well. I've always thought that the term gifted is used too readily, when actually they just meant bright and hardworking.

OK. I'm not interested in what it's called, its had various names and i used the most recent one I've heard. Nor do I think my children are that unusual. So am a bit about the pretentious/arrogant thing.

If my child was struggling to attain expected levels, I would expect some extra input. Am not quite sure why looking for something extra for a child above those levels appears to be distasteful.

Thanks for the help.

I know this doesn't answer the question you asked (in our schools the whole G&T thing seems to have largely gone) but have you considered a musical instrument lessons for your child?

"If my child was struggling to attain expected levels, I would expect some extra input. Am not quite sure why looking for something extra for a child above those levels appears to be distasteful. "

It's not distasteful to have TA support to ensure that an academic all advanced child is challenged. True giftedness is rare and frankly it's unlikely a school would have a group of gifted children. Using the term gifted too freely undervalues it.

My little girl gets TA support to endure she is challenged. I feel it would be a bit premature to describe her as gifted. She hasn't yet written a world class concerto or found a way of unifying quantum mechanics and relavity. Her drawings are pretty, but hardly on a par with Picasso. Dd's violin playing is a work in progress.

One particularly able child in our school attends maths lessons at the high school. It was arranged by his teacher though, I'm not sure if any other schools do it.

The term is not used anymore. It is now called "more able" or "extremely able". Criteria depends and is not fixed.

We identify them but don't tell them or their parents. The most effective intervention is pretty much always within the classroom. Anything that is done outside you could say should be offered to all students. Who are we to say that the trip to Cambridge (or wherever) is only for these 6 and not these 6?

ReallyTired, I think your dd is one of the lucky ones. She gets special attention from school.
My ds doesn't, I have given up and feed his thirst for learning/challenge myself.

Before I came to this, I was wondering exactly same thing as OP.

"Gifted" is just a term used on MN and some schools. HLP/ Able/whatever, it doesn't matter, sensible people wouldn't dare to use it in RL anyway

The most able are naturally inquisitive and will find excitement in learning in most situations. I teach a lot of very able kids - it's exciting seeing their brains whizz around things and what they find out of their own accord.

Cauliflower, my ds is very happy at school and doesn't get bored. But doing times table at school in YR4 when he knew them all in nursery doesn't make his brain whizz so much.

Irvine we don't take children out of lessons for "interventions" whether they are being stretched or are struggling any "programs" we do are in addition to normal lessons.

We do take groups of pupils to things like maths /debating challenges

mrz, my post was meant for response to reallytired's comment about "G&T".

I remember your comment from looooog ago that you don't take children out for intervention, since it creates even more gap. (I have a kind of partially photographic memory, I can't forget certain things.)

It's slightly different for able children as we don't want to hold them back but offer challenge in lessons