mussyhillmum and GoppingOtter, you'd be surprised at just how many parents are in your position. Teachers don't tell parents (despite DCSF telling them they should) because parents may have higher expectations... and we can't have that! Some of you may even be yummymummies / pushy middle class mums. However, even if you don't believe in the "arbitrary" 10% figure, parents like you would do your DCs a favour by pushing the school to better implement G&T - it would end up benefitting your DC. Ask to see the school's policy on this, speak to the G&T coordinator, ask who the Leading Teacher is, request information from the LT on the extent to which the school is implementing G&T (shame them if they're below "entry-level" on the IQS), ask to see a copy of the school census, write and ask why the census doesn't show the percentage of G&T that National Strategies/The LA/The school's policy defines and/or whether your DC does fall into the top x%. Find out who is in charge of G&T at your LA and speak with them, they are usually very helpful and are on your side (they have the same problem you do: getting the schools to get their fingers out).
The top 10% are NOT exceptionally gifted, they are bright but that is it
No kidding But it's great that your school is implementing the 10% to the letter despite your misgivings. I also commend you wanting to cater properly for "really gifted" - many teachers actively work against this group - but the state system isn't really geared to help you here. My DS is in a top state school, outstanding OFSTED report and top in league tables. I've got a good relationship with the Head and teachers, they are really keen to help my DS, we've got an IES in place and extra resouces ... but the best they will achieve is probably just keeping him from being bored in the class. With the best will in the world they can't do much more what with having 27 other kids in the class and no secondary maths teachers to hand and all. And you don't have the training. I know, I know, you said you accelerate them. How? Down the curriculum? A gifted maths student working at 3x would complete the GCSE curriculum before the end of Y4. So you need to accelerate him outside of the curriculum to avoid the dead-end problem. You have all the material and training for that?
but don't see any reason for labelling them G+T.
Yes, that's the hang up, isn't it. The "labelling". Teachers are a funny lot when it comes to what they call "labels". If there's a "label" attached to G&T provision they'd rather drop the provision than find some way of dampening the effect of the "label". I feel that one of the keys to provision is to overcome that obsession. If they're in the top 10%, they're clever. Or cleverer. Find some other term if "gifted" makes you cringe. But "not ignoring them" isn't exactly giving them what they need or deserve.
I still maintain that the cleverer 60-month old children have not acquired enough SKILLS to be labelled G+T, and 'ability' at this age is muddied by the home environment.
I agree that home environment makes your job of assessing "ability" and "potential" more difficult. But the DCSF seem to disagree with you on whether it's possible to identfiy the top 10% in Reception.
I have never taught a child in KS1 who is L4/5, and I KNOW that I would recognise an exceptional ability
Maybe. But I think that teachers sometimes over-estimate their own abilities ;). My son never stuck his hand up in class, did shoddy maths work because it was so much below him, and deliberately made mistakes because he was so bored. For two years his (very experienced) teachers didn't recognise his ability. How would they know he could square any two digit number in his head within 3 seconds... if they never asked him? How would they instinctively know he was sitting in the class mentally playing around with irrational numbers and performing mathematical operations on infinity? They judged him on whether he knew his number bonds to 10 ..and he made it a habit of pairing 6 with 5 and 9 with 4.
I would recognise an exceptional ability, probably by acclerating him/her in a higher year group. ..will differentiate work accordingly.
I'm not a teacher but I suspect your "differentiation" would be highly inadequate for children of exceptional ability.