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Help! Meeting with Head to discuss how school is failing Gifted 7 yr old. What to say?

6 replies

DadAtLarge · 22/05/2009 12:37

Schools don't like tags such as "gifted" which is fine, but they seem to not accept that some kids are significantly above their age. And this is a problem because if you don't accept you can't provide.

My child is six (and three quarters!) His teacher in reception recommended he be put on the Gifted and Talented Register for Maths. It didn't happen. His teacher in Yr 1 requested he be put on. And again in Yr 2. It didn't happen.

He just did the KS1 SATS which he got a Level 3 in. We requested he be given the KS2 SATS, the school administered it and he got a Level 5. I don't wish to boast but apart from his maths knowledge being on par with 11 year olds he can do mental problems involving squaring or cubing double digits numbers or multiplying 3 digit numbers by other 3 digits numbers faster than any teacher in the school can do them on paper. He's a whiz with the Rubik's cube, Sudoku and stuff like that. He loves pondering conundrums involving infinity and playing around with irrational numbers like Pi.

And he is made to sit in with other Yr 2 kids laboriously adding 5 to itself again and again ...and other mind numbingly boring work. The teacher does try to give him "special" challenges but they are still far below what he can do. He is BORED.

The school is an excellent state school with very high Ofsted results and SATS rankings but they are refusing to let him sit in with older kids in Yr 5 and Yr 6. They point blank refuse to accept that it's in his best interest to sit at least occasionally with any older children. Their policy on G&T doesn't give any guarantees - it's all about "we'll try" to match them by ability and "we'll endeavour" to challenge the more able and "it's our goal" to accelerate them through the curriculum.

I'm meeting with the Head. Any suggestion on what I can say or do to get them to provide for him in some way, shape or form that doesn't bore him to death and cause him to lose all interest or get disruptive?

Sorry for such a long post.

OP posts:
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DadAtLarge · 22/05/2009 12:39

PS: No, I don't force him. In our house the star charts work differently: Doing Maths work with dad or mum is the "prize".

OP posts:
janinlondon · 22/05/2009 12:58

I think you might get more responses on the G&T thread? They are a bit more clued up....

TwoScrambled · 22/05/2009 13:08

He sounds amazing, good luck with the meeting!

thedolly · 22/05/2009 13:09

Sitting in with the older kids still wouldn't be enough for your son by the sounds of it so it might be best to drop that one and ask for help on behalf of his class teacher. Could she perhaps be given time to investigate a website such as www.ncetm.org.uk/ to seek out practical help and advice in dealing with what for her is a difficult situation. It is quite likely that your son's maths ability is in excess of hers and there is nothing wrong with that.

Also, as this 'problem' is presumably somewhat of your making, is there any way that you or your wife could support his teacher. This is something that you could speak about with the Head. For example you could ask for information on what maths topics are to be taught when and possibly provide extension work for your son to do in school or if this thought horrifies you you could at least provide the teacher with an indication of the types of things (topic relevant) that your son is capable of.

Good luck

DadAtLarge · 22/05/2009 13:25

janinlondon, thanks, I didn't realise it was a different section. I should have posted there.

Please ignore this thread and if a moderator doesn't move it in the next couple of hours. I'll repost in the G&T bit. My apologies, I'm new here.

thedolly, thanks for the link and, yes, we're happy to see what we can do to help. We are wary of appearing too pushy and "interfering" but maybe, as you say, we should offer to get more involved with what and when the school teaches.

OP posts:
katiestar · 22/05/2009 14:29

'gifted' in school terms means the top 10 % in that school ,whereas your son is what I would call gifted in the real sense of the word.
I don't think there is any point in him sitting in with the yr 5/6 s.Firstly because he is mre advanced than that and secondly there might be social isues, issues with timetabling ,space in the classroom and so on .
At our school there are links with the local grammar school and they lay on classes for the G &T mathematicians in the area.Its only once a month but better than nothing.
I don't know if other schools do anything similar ?i suspect the problem you will come up against is that primary school teachers are not trained to teach KS3 + maths.
I am wondering if there are any online resources they could use to teach your DS ?
On the bright side they only do maths for 45 mins a day at school ,so i is not too long for your DS to be bored and you can maybe do a bit with him at home every day.
Sorry a bit of a rambling response !

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