Starting school gifted?

[BabiesDontNeedDaddies]

I got told that to be classed as gifted going in to reception all the kid has to be able to do is read a simple sentence, ie "a cat sat on a mat", and do simple addition/subtraction, like 7+2 or 4-3. That seems quite basic to me for gifted. Is that right? Or is it like a local thing since I don't live in an affluent area

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

Yeah, it really is a crapshoot for these kids.

[BabiesDontNeedDaddies]

Aw that's so sad for her

[Mossandclover]

That level of ‘giftedness’ Is exceptionally rare though. There are some who start school each year who appear more ordinarily ‘gifted’ - reading fluently, good grasp of basic maths etc. But often this seems to be as much down to interest, being taught, and ability to sit still than actually ability. There is some shuffling around in the first couple of years at school as those who are able but were not interested preschool overtake the fluent readers who were taught as toddlers.

[Skyechasemarshalontheway]

My almost 7 year old has been reading and writing since he was 3, he also has a photographic memory for things hes seen and can draw them.

He has severe autism so although he can do the above he is still in nappies attends a sen school and needs full time watching as he rarely sleeps and has no danger awareness. He is amazing and loving but a child who has different strengths than others. He will in time learn to do other things other children his age mastered years ago and children his age will learn to read and write how he can they all learn at different rates. Whos gifted or not does not matter in 20 years times if all we do is teach children to read and write and not to build social skills needed as adults to succed in life.

[RomaineCalm]

When DC joined reception there were a couple of children that might have been classed as gifted. They could already read (so no need for phonics teaching), could write simple stuff and went to a Y1 class for maths.

All fine. They were clearly working ahead of YR.

Fast forward to Y6 and these children are still at the top of the year group but the gap has narrowed considerably and in some subjects they are no longer ahead of others. They have had differentiated work, haven't been allowed to 'coast' but are part of a great year group with a number of other bright children who have caught up.

So, for what it's worth, unless you have an exceptional child genius on your hands, being 'gifted' in reception means very little and social development is equally as important.

[wobytide]

What is your dc doing to demonstrate giftedness op?

I figured they had started the thread. So this is the parent and not the child? Wow

Lost a bit of respect for the gifted 4 year old now

[qumquat]

woebetide

I think any assessment of 'giftedness' at such a young age needs to focus on the ability to learn and develop skills quickly. Two children might be equally 'gifted' but one can read and the other can't. All that may indicate is that one has been taught to read and the other hasn't. I don't know if I'm 'gifted' but I couldn't read a word on starting school but was soon well above my year group in reading and was sent to higher year groups for reading sessions. A higher ability phonics groups in YR is not for the 'gifted' it's just for those who are more advanced in phonics.

[FullOfJellyBeans]

My eldest DC was identified as being gifted but didn't really show any obvious signs of it at all. He refused to do any number work in YR and was a good, but not the best, reader in the class (we hadn't done much reading with him at home but he could read things on sign posts etc). His handwriting was if anything below average. The test was an IQ test conducted by an Ed Pysch. and she came out as "highly gifted" top 0.1%. I don't know how accurate such a test even is long term (she was just 5 when it was done). Now in Y2 he is certainly very good at maths (he can do Y6 work) his reading is again good but not exceptional (think one of the best in the class but probably not even the top).

[FullOfJellyBeans]

Schools can recognise a gifted/bright/whatever you want to call it child a mile off. I have one who is off the scale of brightness/giftedness (my others are fine, but nothing exceptional). I have to say this isn't always true, neither the school nor we recognised it in our child, we only had an assessment done because of areas that he was struggling with (social and emotional). To be fair plenty of children could read very well if pushed enough by their parents. Social and emotional development was our priority for our child and still is.

[BabiesDontNeedDaddies]

I'm even more confused, you're all just conflicting each other.

[user789653241]

It all makes sense to parents with slightly older children.

[BabiesDontNeedDaddies]

You tell me then. What will the other kids be like in the gifted group in junior school. That's all I was asking

[RomaineCalm]

Babies, from the above posts I would conclude that there isn't any sort of 'norm' as far as a gifted and talented group at primary school. Different schools, different cohorts and different children make it almost impossible to suggest what an average gifted group might look like.

If this is something that directly concerns your DC I would suggest that the only place you will get an answer is from your own school/teacher.

[user789653241]

Exactly what Romaine says. Every school is different. Every child is different. For my ds, school isn't great for subject he is good at, but there are so much more you can get from school, and it's quite easy to accommodate specific academic needs at home at primary level. Main thing that matters to me is, he is really happy and bouncing off to school every morning.

[user789653241]

I was quite worried about his academic needs when he was in ks1. Seemed like it was all he was interested(maths in particular). But as he got older, he started to find joy in other things too. Now, he still does it at higher level than what he does at school, but it's only a part of his interests. And I am really happy that he found joy in other things than just keep going forward with maths.

[BrieAndChilli]

DS1 is ‘gifted and talented’ or what ever the current buzzword is.

When he started school age 4 he could read (and comprehend/understand) and spell anything. He had great maths skills. He was like a sponge and knew stuff about everything.
He would write stories that did not sound for 1 minute they were written by a child in the infants,

He does however have ASD, his social skills were crap, he had physical issues, hypermobility and poor fine motor skills which meant his handwriting was and still is terrible.

It took him until year 5 to really have good friends as he was just on another level from them, while they were running around playing super heroes he wanted to discuss scientific research or plot the rise and fall of the Roman Empire on a map, or whatever his latest obsession was (I still remember the year that ‘transit maps of the world’ was his favourite xmas present!!)

He is in year 6 and a lot of his cohorts are very clever too and obviously can read and count very very well (the School demographic is mostly kids of doctors/lawyers etc although is state) but DS just operates on a different plane of understanding, it’s really hard to explain, its like he’s a 100 year old
Man in a boys body with all the understanding and wisdom a life well lived gives you.

[elephantscanring]

OP, why don't you look at your primary school's website and see how they classify gifted/more able children? Or contact them and ask?

That would surely be more helpful than posting brief goady and antagonistic posts on Mumsnet.

Failing that, have a .

[rainbowdashflip]

The main thing to consider is that being gifted isn't about what a child knows upon starting school. It's about their ability to excel academically.

[French2019]

The thing is, OP, you seem to be looking for a checklist of what a "gifted" child should be able to do, but there is no such thing. There is no answer to your question, because all children and all schools are different.

If we all came on and described what a particular "gifted" child that we happened to know could do at that age, it wouldn't help you because you would just have a bunch of anecdotes about other people's children. Our answers won't tell you whether or not your own child is "gifted", and they won't tell you what your child's classmates will be like either. What use would it be to you?

I'm not really clear as to what you want to get out of this thread, but you seem to be wanting a massively over-simplified answer to an incredibly complex question. Nobody can give you that.

[Zoflorabore]

My dd is 7 and in year 2.

When she started reception, we went along to a meeting with the class teacher ( all the parents/carers ) and were told that the main things that would help the dc starting school were being able to dress and undress, being able to go to the toilet and being able to use cutlery, assuming no Sen of course.

The teacher assured us that everything they needed to know academically could be taught but these other skills were just as valid and important.

My dd has always been bright but nobody would have ever known that in reception. She played and played and played some more and learnt new skills along the way.

In the more formal settting of year one, it was apparent that she was a good reader and a bright girl.
She continues to thrive in a class of 30 where there are around 7 or 8 of the class at a similar level from what I've gathered.

Gifted is something entirely different.
My 15yr old is extremely gifted in art and has been since he could hold a pencil, he's not academically gifted though but who cares? It's all relative.

Celebrate their talents, whatever they are and work on their weaknesses and play on their strengths.

Many of us have thought that our children are the next Einstein at times but it's quite rare to find a child who is so off the scale bright that the school have to make extra provision.
Most teachers can accommodate the needs of the vast spectrum of children in their classes without feeling the need to label.

[BabiesDontNeedDaddies]

So basically my kid might have friends same as him or he might be with literally no one. Great

[applesauce1]

We recently had a child start reception with the ability to read and comprehend literally anything. They were already reading adult scientific magazines for fun. No over coaching and teaching at home.

That is gifted and talented. More regularly, children tend to start reception with abilities ranging from reading simple books, calculating within 20 and writing simple sentences, to not being able to do any of these things. Abilities tend to level out throughout the year.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

My son couldn’t read a word when he started school, by Feb he could read anything he wanted. No coaching at home, just ten mins (if that) reading a day.

[AllMYSmellySocks]

I have one gifted and one very bright child and one who struggles (possible dyslexia) so feel I've experienced the entire spectrum. For a start I think unless you've had an assessment done it would be difficult to conclude a child was gifted. As others have said what happens in each school to accommodate is different.

irvineoneohone has made some very good points that school is for so much more than academics and it's easy to provide stretch for a primary child at home. Genuinely gifted children tend to struggle socially and emotionally and school is absolutely vital to tackle this.