Gifted and Talented

[AliceK]

Hi
I'm wondering if anyone can help me out. My DS came home from school one day last week and as I was dishing dinner up came in to the kitchen and just announced "I'm gat". I looked at him, not knowing what he was talking about and just said Good. It then transpired that he said "gat" but then he told me it's Gifted and Talented. Now obviously I knew what that was so told him how proud of him I was etc etc. He was pulled out of a lesson to go to a meeting where he was told he was on the Gifted And Talented register for sport. Now I was expecting to get a letter or something from school informing me of this but so far nothing. Do they not tell the parents or do they trust that the child will tell the parent???? What I would like to know is how this will / should affect him at school. What will the school do with him? Should I be doing anything with him?? All DS knows is that it will stay on his file when he moves schools and that he will now get an extra PE lesson every week. Is it standard practice that schools don't even liase with parents about this stuff?? My DS is 9 btw.
Does anyone have any direct experience of this and if so what happened in your case?
Thanks
xxx

[Mouse]

All my children have been on the gifted & talented register for one thing or another.

In my experience it meant very little, but maybe that was just because their schools didn't do anything They got certificates and sometimes went on different days out with G&T pupils from other schools, but that was it. I always got the impression it was more a PR exercise for the school and probably got them extra funding

If I were you I would phone school and ask what it means for your son. Hopefully they will have something in place that makes the most of his talents

[AliceK]

All my children have been on the gifted & talented register for one thing or another.

In my experience it meant very little, but maybe that was just because their schools didn't do anything They got certificates and sometimes went on different days out with G&T pupils from other schools, but that was it. I always got the impression it was more a PR exercise for the school and probably got them extra funding

If I were you I would phone school and ask what it means for your son. Hopefully they will have something in place that makes the most of his talents

Thanks Mouse. Did the school not actually inform you in person of this? I just find it strange that as a parent I haven't actually been told myself. Maybe I just expect too much what with "communication with parents" etc etc lol

xxx

[shortstuff]

DS was on the G&T register in year R for reading. I have to say I found it detrimental as they then held him back. They openly told me they wouldnt put him up on a higher level as soon as he was able because they would run out of books for him by the end of the year! As it was he was on level 8 reading by the end of year R and his year 1 teacher didnt change him for the whole of the duration in his class. This has served to upset him and make him not want to read and write and fed into the lazy boy syndrome. Having said that he is now in year 2 and after i had a word in the teachers ear he has been moved through the remaining levels and is now a free reader. With me helping him his handwriting is now astonishingly good, shame all school could do was send handwriting sheets home on his book bag and moan when they couldnt read his work. Never heard any positive encouragement unless I spoke to the teacher in front of him and asked what they thought of his latest work.

Sorry not bitter, much

[AliceK]

DS was on the G&T register in year R for reading. I have to say I found it detrimental as they then held him back. They openly told me they wouldnt put him up on a higher level as soon as he was able because they would run out of books for him by the end of the year! As it was he was on level 8 reading by the end of year R and his year 1 teacher didnt change him for the whole of the duration in his class. This has served to upset him and make him not want to read and write and fed into the lazy boy syndrome. Having said that he is now in year 2 and after i had a word in the teachers ear he has been moved through the remaining levels and is now a free reader. With me helping him his handwriting is now astonishingly good, shame all school could do was send handwriting sheets home on his book bag and moan when they couldnt read his work. Never heard any positive encouragement unless I spoke to the teacher in front of him and asked what they thought of his latest work.

Sorry not bitter, much

That's terrible

xx

[shortstuff]

That's terrible

xx

i wasnt best please, he is only just regaining his love of reading and often asks if he can read in bed if he wakes before us now. I think the harry potter novels have a little to do with that though x


oh should have said i did get a note in his book bag informing me on the same day he was told.

[Mouse]

DS was on the G&T register in year R for reading. I have to say I found it detrimental as they then held him back. They openly told me they wouldnt put him up on a higher level as soon as he was able because they would run out of books for him by the end of the year! As it was he was on level 8 reading by the end of year R and his year 1 teacher didnt change him for the whole of the duration in his class. This has served to upset him and make him not want to read and write and fed into the lazy boy syndrome. Having said that he is now in year 2 and after i had a word in the teachers ear he has been moved through the remaining levels and is now a free reader. With me helping him his handwriting is now astonishingly good, shame all school could do was send handwriting sheets home on his book bag and moan when they couldnt read his work. Never heard any positive encouragement unless I spoke to the teacher in front of him and asked what they thought of his latest work.

Sorry not bitter, much

The same happened with my son, but in maths. We were told he was way ahead of the rest of the class, so they wanted to hold him back to give the others chance to catch up! Basically it was too much work for the teacher to provide extended work for him. Luckily I was able to teach him myself, so he didn't suffer overall.

As for reading, I took very little notice of the school reading scheme and just made sure my children had plenty of books to read at home. We were told the school didn't have books advanced enough for them. I was quite surprised as there were plenty of other children who were also more than capable of reading well beyond the level of the reading scheme books.

[Mouse]

Thanks Mouse. Did the school not actually inform you in person of this? I just find it strange that as a parent I haven't actually been told myself. Maybe I just expect too much what with "communication with parents" etc etc lol

xxx

From what I can remember we did get a letter telling us they'd been identified as excelling in whatever subject and had been put on the gifted & talented register.

[shortstuff]

The same happened with my son, but in maths. We were told he was way ahead of the rest of the class, so they wanted to hold him back to give the others chance to catch up! Basically it was too much work for the teacher to provide extended work for him. Luckily I was able to teach him myself, so he didn't suffer overall.

As for reading, I took very little notice of the school reading scheme and just made sure my children had plenty of books to read at home. We were told the school didn't have books advanced enough for them. I was quite surprised as there were plenty of other children who were also more than capable of reading well beyond the level of the reading scheme books.

I think i would be more upset if it was something like maths.

I was keeping his reading going but feel that school were using it to get additional funding. Also why was it i had to explain to him that he was no longer G&T when because they wouldnt put him up any more a couple of the others caught up.

[karen2010]

One of my Mums had her 5 year old Daughter moved up to year 1 in reading and maths and only found out from her Daughter ! Obviously she is pleased but wasn't even asked if it was ok ! Think the problem is so many kids in the class things get forgot. Really feel for the teachers though imagine being responsible for all those kids !
My Daughter on the other hand is lucky enough to go to a Private school, 8 in her class, and I am informed of everything concerning her education, welfare etc - much be so much easier having so few kids to think about !

[AliceK]

One of my Mums had her 5 year old Daughter moved up to year 1 in reading and maths and only found out from her Daughter ! Obviously she is pleased but wasn't even asked if it was ok ! Think the problem is so many kids in the class things get forgot. Really feel for the teachers though imagine being responsible for all those kids !
My Daughter on the other hand is lucky enough to go to a Private school, 8 in her class, and I am informed of everything concerning her education, welfare etc - much be so much easier having so few kids to think about !

Oh tell me about it. Only found out by chance that my DD is doing Yr2 maths. My DS is doing Yr6 maths, I only found out about that by chance too as I asked why he was being took out of class to go to a different teacher for his maths lesson. No-one bothers to tell us parents anything

xxx

[Mouse]

Oh tell me about it. Only found out by chance that my DD is doing Yr2 maths. My DS is doing Yr6 maths, I only found out about that by chance too as I asked why he was being took out of class to go to a different teacher for his maths lesson. No-one bothers to tell us parents anything

xxx

It sounds as if you're children are doing really well. It would be worse if they were dropping behind and you weren't told.

You should be very proud of them...even if you're never told why

[AliceK]

It sounds as if you're children are doing really well. It would be worse if they were dropping behind and you weren't told.

You should be very proud of them...even if you're never told why

Lol yes I know and I am very proud of them.
Just amazes me that we don't get told anything.
Xxxx

[lilac_dragon]

The same happened with my son, but in maths. We were told he was way ahead of the rest of the class, so they wanted to hold him back to give the others chance to catch up! Basically it was too much work for the teacher to provide extended work for him. Luckily I was able to teach him myself, so he didn't suffer overall.

As for reading, I took very little notice of the school reading scheme and just made sure my children had plenty of books to read at home. We were told the school didn't have books advanced enough for them. I was quite surprised as there were plenty of other children who were also more than capable of reading well beyond the level of the reading scheme books.

Had similar experience with my dd when she was 7. We'd moved and after the first coupe of weeks at new school she told me that she'd sat in the Library area playing with Lego - trouble is she was doing this every day! I queried this with her teacher and was told that her reading was so far advanced that they were holding her back as they didn't have books to move her on to, and the others needed to catch up.
I took a set of library books in the next week and spoke to the Head about supplying books at her level myself so she could carry on.
She refused! Told me that she would have to slow down to everyone else's level!!
We moved her to a different school.

[Maza]

It's interesting reading parents perspectives on this. I was a teacher when 'G and T' was introduced. In my experience, it was another Govt initiative, all be it very well meaning. It was because a lot of time/money was being used on the SEN children and the G and T group were not being given the same amount of attention. Schools had to come up with a G and T register to prove that they are doing things to meet these children's needs/challenge them. The children in my Year 1 class used to get taken out of class one afternoon for about half an hour and they used to do some sort of activity designed to make use higher order thinking skills. From what I can gather, they used to think it was okay, but they hated going out of class because it meant they missed a chapter of The Magic Faraway Tree! I am always sceptical about children being taken out of class - what are they missing out on?? It's nice to have your children identified as G and T but I think it is more important that the class teacher differentiates the work accordingly instead of them being taken out of class - well, in my school that was the case. Yes, school should have communicated with you. x

[Mouse]

It's interesting reading parents perspectives on this. I was a teacher when 'G and T' was introduced. In my experience, it was another Govt initiative, all be it very well meaning. It was because a lot of time/money was being used on the SEN children and the G and T group were not being given the same amount of attention. Schools had to come up with a G and T register to prove that they are doing things to meet these children's needs/challenge them. The children in my Year 1 class used to get taken out of class one afternoon for about half an hour and they used to do some sort of activity designed to make use higher order thinking skills. From what I can gather, they used to think it was okay, but they hated going out of class because it meant they missed a chapter of The Magic Faraway Tree! I am always sceptical about children being taken out of class - what are they missing out on?? It's nice to have your children identified as G and T but I think it is more important that the class teacher differentiates the work accordingly instead of them being taken out of class - well, in my school that was the case. Yes, school should have communicated with you. x

Very interesting to have a teacher's view on it.
Sounds pretty much like I thought it worked. I know when my eldest was at school it was picked up on their ofsted report that the more able pupils weren't being stretched enough. That would have been before G and T was introduced. He did have one wonderful teacher who put in a huge amount of effort to come up with new ways to challenge him. Sadly others would give him an extra work sheet now and again, but that was pretty much it.

[AliceK]

It's interesting reading parents perspectives on this. I was a teacher when 'G and T' was introduced. In my experience, it was another Govt initiative, all be it very well meaning. It was because a lot of time/money was being used on the SEN children and the G and T group were not being given the same amount of attention. Schools had to come up with a G and T register to prove that they are doing things to meet these children's needs/challenge them. The children in my Year 1 class used to get taken out of class one afternoon for about half an hour and they used to do some sort of activity designed to make use higher order thinking skills. From what I can gather, they used to think it was okay, but they hated going out of class because it meant they missed a chapter of The Magic Faraway Tree! I am always sceptical about children being taken out of class - what are they missing out on?? It's nice to have your children identified as G and T but I think it is more important that the class teacher differentiates the work accordingly instead of them being taken out of class - well, in my school that was the case. Yes, school should have communicated with you. x

I am the same about children being taken out of class. I don't mind that my DS is taken out to do maths elsewhere as this happens when his usual teacher is doing her maths lesson so he's not missing anything just doing a different level but a couple of weeks ago he started to be taken out of class to help teach other children from a different year gymnastics. Now that I was not happy about as he was missing out on another subject but he was very happy as he didn't really like the subject he was missing lol.
I just don't understand why schools don't communicate with us. I think it's because in our job we communicate with parents about everything so I just kind of expect others to do the same with me. Obviously my expectations are too high lol.

xxxx