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

[RomaineCalm]

@BabiesDontNeedDaddies Despite reading your original posts I am still not sure what you want to know here.

• We have no way of knowing from your posts whether your DC is extremely gifted and 'off the scale' or 'very bright and in the top group'. Only the school will be able to tell you that depending on the school, the cohort and your child
• 'Gifted' children in reception do not, as far as I know, either sit on their own or become an additional teacher for the 'less gifted' children on their table
• I'm not sure what specific 'themes and topics' you are expecting the children to be discussing; my recollection of YR was everything from 'who could name the most flags of the world' to 'who ate the most spaghetti at lunchtime'
• 'Gifted' can mean all sorts of things - maths, reading, art, sport, music...
• Many schools have established ways to stretch the most able children. Sadly, some don't and we have no way of knowing what your local school can/can't do
• School is about more than just academic progress; it is also about socialising, learning personal skills and being part of the school community
• 'Gifted' in reception does not always mean that they remain that way all through school - others may catch up in different areas

Lots of people have given up time here to offer great advice and their own experiences - please try to acknowledge this rather than criticising us for 'not understanding'.

[PatriciaHolm]

What you appear to be asking is "will there be anyone as clever as my DS there".

Which Is a question we can't answer.

[French2019]

There might be someone cleverer.

[MaisyPops]

I agree 2nd.
I had a situation like you describe a few years back. The difference was the child was in a low set (rightly by the way - low reading age, low test scores, lazy, no punctuation in work, didn't follow task instructions etc) but home had spent years telling the child they were very able. Consequently, their response to any concerns about their child's progress was to blame the school for not nurturing their gifted child. They also hated the fact that other students got higher marks than their DC and were raging when other students were moved up sets.

I left the school, but I always wonder what happened to them.

[Bluntness100]

Op, i understand your concern.

Who told you your child will be placed in a gifted group? It is very unusual for such a thing to exist at that age.

If it was the school then they will clarify what and whom the group consists of and how the kids interact. If it was just a mate or family member I suspect they may be mistaken.

So you need to provide further info. Who told you basically?

[MrsSchadenfreude]

DD1 was labelled G & T through to Year 2. She was reading chapter books aged 3, and her maths was pretty good too. By the end of primary she had been caught up, or overtaken, by others. She’s now left school, having done reasonably well, but her results were by no means stellar. I don’t think that being ahead (or not) in primary is any indication of how they will perform later.

[Seeline]

Every school operates in a different way. Have you visited the school? Have you spoken to the Head and/or reception teacher and/or SENCO as to how they organise work? I wouldn't be taking too much notice of pre-school. IME reception is mainly about everyone playing and learning how school works.

[AnnUnderTheFryingPan]

Is it a private school? Because it’s very irresponsible for the school to use the term ‘gifted’. Start telling parents their child is ‘gifted’ and they are creating no end of problems with those children and the expectations of those parents.

As it seems to be here.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

They don’t always see if the child is 2e: gifted with a LD. Not all schools want to help either or have the time or resources to, especially in schools with higher than average low achievers or SEN.

[MyOtherProfile]

Please discuss this with the school. From your last post i think you would benefit from seeing how reception classes actually operate.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

Yep, most of these are mute points until the OPs start school.

[BrieAndChilli]

From what you described in your OP - being able to read simple sentences and add single digits together is not a gifted child IME. That is a bright child sure, or a child that has been taught, or a child that is quick to learn but most reception classes will have several children at that level. Maybe even up to half the class depending on the demographic of the school.

A truly gifted child will be obvious to everyone that ever comes in contact with them, a gifted child also tends to have other issues eg social so it’s a double edged sword.

[sirfredfredgeorge]

A truly gifted child will be obvious to everyone that ever comes in contact with them, a gifted child also tends to have other issues eg social

This is only one quite unusual definition of gifted, and is certainly not the definition of gifted being used in the OPs example class. There is a group who equate twice exceptional children and giftedness, (ie require giftedness to have a counterbalancing negative) but it's by no means universal.

I also don't really get why a child gifted in trampolining or music would be obvious to everyone who ever comes in contact with them, surely it would only be those who came in contact in the context of the gift.

Generally gifted is simply much too loaded a term for anyone to use in formal education settings in the UK, I suspect our slightly unsual OP and her unusual nursery are just talking past each other as per the other similar threads.

[chickenowner]

To me that doesn't sound like a gifted child, it sounds like a child that has had lots and lots of tutoring at home.

[BookWitch]

My DD was labelled as "gifted" by her pre-school. She was free reading by Reception when the rest of the class were doing phonics. She loved reception socially.

By the end of Y1 virtually everyone had caught up.

By the end of Y6 , was still classed as 'able' but not exceptional.
She got decent GCSEs and A-levels and a 2:1 degree in history.
She now works for the Civil Service.

OP please please don't get hung up on your DC being gifted, just let them develop at their own speed and don't underestimate the value of Reception and KS1 for social and emotional skills.

[MyShinyWhiteTeeth]

My child is 'bright'. She has a very uneven profile. There are things she's good at and other things she can't do. The focus has been on helping her most with the things she can't do very well.

Her school talk of different ability groups not giftedness. Another school in the area has gifted groups but they seem to be given more extension in their classwork like the high ability groups in my daughter's school. They have a few separate sessions every other day apart from the main class.

[user789653241]

Op, I think you are the one who doesn't get it.
Every child is different. Every school is different.
My ds was very advanced. He was a outlier, if only academics are concerned, but he had other problems. Naturally, my concern was based on his weakness, not the strong points. But still, school did try to cater for academic needs.

If your child has no problem at all about any of his other development and you are just worried about your dc being outlier academically, then you have to negotiate with school how you want them to accommodate his needs.
Other children really doesn't matter, everyone's needs are different. If you really want him to have children at same academic level with him, then going to state is not recommended.
You never know, there maybe a child as advanced as yours, or not. At least if you send him to selective school, there will be children at certain level.

I can understand your worry since I went through with it. For my ds, it worked well. Not completely, but academic advancement at primary level is not really a big deal, at least for my ds, it can be easily achieved at home. But school has given my ds so much, that I can't give him at home.

[Sugarhunnyicedtea]

To answer what I think your question is, there may be children who are less able than your child, there may be children who are more able. There is absolutely no way of telling.
My son started school unable to write his name or even hold a pencil or pair of scissors. Within 2 months he it was obvious he would find a lot of things extremely easy - anything logical (maths/science etc) he excels in but anything creative he struggles.
He's in senior school now and nothing has changed. He is naturally gifted in sports (his teacher's words not mine) and is the highest achiever in maths and science with no effort at all. Everything else is a struggle. Is he gifted? Possibly. Do I worry if he is surrounded by others like him? Not at all - life is made up of many different people, being able to socialise with everyone is more important. He's lucky to be naturally able in some areas

[Eolian]

People are getting frustrated because you don't seem to really understand how schools work.
Are you actually saying that your child is going to be taught separately in a gifted group, away from the other children, and only work with and make friends with those children? That seems very unlikely and weird.
Posters are probably assuming you are mistaken about this, and that your dc will be in the gifted group but within a class. They might be given more challenging work sometimes (not all of the time, because however bright they are, they'll need to be learning the same things that the other children need to learn). They may be gifted in different ways. It's not all about reading.

[Eolian]

Oh yes and how on earth would any of us be able to tell you what the other kids in his class will be like?! They will all have different levels of abilities in different areas, like all humans do, however much we might try and categorise them.