Gifted and Talented register

[kittykatty]

My dd has been invited on a drama weekend for children on the gifted and talented register at school. Well I didn't know she was on a register but naturally delighted. I suspect that the school probably didn't have a drama register and just put forward two children who are they knew were good at drama but may be wrong. I wondered if any of NAPM mums knew anything about the register (and I know there are some teachers amongst you). I am hoping that the information will be passed to her secondary school (where she goes in September) and may make it easier to ask for time off for castings and roles. I met a little girl at a casting who was on the register for gymnastics and her mum told me it meant she could take her out of school half a day a week for gymnastics.

[VarsMum]

Hi

I work in a primary school.

It is our local policy not to tell parents if their children are on the Gifted & Talented register so they dont push their child nor brag and belittle other children.
The register has to be drawn up at the beginning of the year, when the teachers start their assessments.
The children on the register must show real talent.
The information wlll be passed to the secondary school as it will be on your dd's school records, and the teachers hold transition meetings with the secondary schools where they discuss each child.

I am in Lincolnsshire and the following link should help answer any questions:

http://www.cfbt.com/lincs/support/strat ... upils.aspx

Hope this helps

VarsMum

[kittykatty]

Thanks for the information Varsmum, that is very helpful.

[nextinline]

All mine have been on it. Schools don't always tell you. I did not want my kids to know so was horrified when one of them was invited on a trip and it was in big letters across the top of one of the letters sent home with them. All it really means is that your child might be asked to go on various trips and that teachers keep an eye on their progress in whatever area they are seen as being gifted and talented in. Personally I don't like my kids being labelled as such although they have all enjoyed their trips with it. To me every child has natural talents and gifts of their own reagrdless and one of the nicest gifts that any child can have is humility. In my experience most professional performers have to have this in abundance if they are to cope with all the rejections and waiting around for an appropriate role to appear.

[bruno2]

Well said nextinline, wow !!!! everything you said was spot on. I only wish there were more parents and children that thought the same.

[doris]

I totally agree about humility and coping with rejections, but I do not have a problem with schools identifying talented children. My dd's secondary school streams its pupils, so my dd is already publicly "labelled" for her academic ability because she is in the top stream. The fact that she is also on the G&T registers for Drama and English is unknown - we were told privately and there are no special events or classes for G&T children. The school encourages us to arrange out-of-school activities that stretch her in these subjects, and this includes them allowing time out for auditions as long as this is not excessive.

My dd was really pleased to be on the G&T registers for these subjects because the teachers were acknowledging her creative talents in her favourite subjects, and this boosted her confidence a lot, but she would never use it as something to boast about.

[kittykatty]

thanks for all your comments - I seem to opened up an interesting debate. Like Doris's dd my dd is pleased that the school has recognized that she has talent in something she loves although it isn't something I would mention to other parents or my dd would mention to other children (she never talks about castings/roles at all at school). Of course all children have their talents and agree with everything you say on humility nextinline - your comments certainly gave me something to think about.

The purpose of my post was just to find out more information on something I know nothing about as I felt sure a lot of children on NAPM must be on the register (I had no idea schools kept it secret).

My dd goes to secondary school in September and when I mentioned the subject of occasional time off/early finishes to the headteacher he didn't seem very keen. I remembered a mother telling me that her daughter was on the G&T list for gymnastics so her school had to give her time off for it. Obviously that isn't a set rule but I thought that having something official from primary school may help my case. I know one boy at the school has an afternoon off a week for a sport he excels at but the school is a sports college and I have a feeling would view this very differently....but there is another debate.

[nextinline]

Good point Doris, I agree. It is good that it is in private. It is great if it gives confidence and your dd sounds like a lovely girl. I have no problem with talent or with discussing children's talents with them, only the label as I think it is limiting. Talent is only as good as the hard work and perseverance that goes with it. I think we are lucky on here as our kids are balanced and know how hard work and talent go together. Whatever the talent I have found that the most talented people often do not realise how talented they are because they are always striving to improve. Also I don't want any talent to get in the way of my kids' childhood or for them to rely on it (this would be the same whatever their talent). Whilst focussing on one thing (they have been told they are talented in) a child might miss out on other talents (big and/or small) they did not even know they have. Particularly during holidays we try hard not to always be out and about doing things so that the kids just chill out. However, this does not mean that we can't all enjoy the little successes along the way. It is a shame that your dd does not get to go on trips though. This is the one aspect that has been very interesting for my kids and they have benefitted across the curriculum. Allowing time out for auditions though is always good.

Kittykat I hope you manage to get time off for auditions for your dd. My dd is up to secondary school this September too but luckily we had already had a chat with the school about it because of my middle ds who is already there. Also we have been careful to limit the time off he has had for auditions and as they are getting older they have tended to have less auditions during school time. In terms of humility I am only talking about my own personal experience. There is nothing wrong in enjoying a talent and nurturing it. It is just something that I have felt has helped my kids keep their feet on the ground . My kids only talk to very close friends about their auditions and castings as when at school they just want to enjoy being at school. Also it is hard for other kids to know how tough the world of auditioning can be and they can wrongly assume that you just get through everything.

[Hecouldshine]

Kittykatty I suspect that her place on that register for drama will not continue over into the secondary school. The secondary school make their own registers for subjects as they see fit, is my understanding. The primary school may have found it helpful to have a register for drama, but unless an outside drama organisation asks for her to be put on a similar register in the new school, if they don't value drama, they may not want her on a drama register!

Don't know if that makes sense To give you an example. My ds was registerd for dance because he had to miss a fair number of days of school when he was a Junior Associate of the Royal Ballet School. The RBS wrote to all the pupils' schools to say they should be on a register and that then allowed the school to excuse them lessons for their JA classes. After that I also fundraised and set up dance classes at the Primary School he went to and they subsequently put more pupils on the register for dance as it allowed them extra resources. Having said that very few of the others have continued dance after leaving the primary school and I wouldn't have said they were especially talented either, just interested and enthusiastic! There is an interesting debate on mumsnet in the G&T section about how G&T just means in the top 5%. So a child could be in the top 5% of a very average school and be registered G&T, but move to a bigger school or streamed school and then not be on the register

My ds is at a grammar school and the head was OKish about him missing school for English Youth Ballet recently, but I really don't have the nerve to contemplate finding him an agent and asking for time off for castings, and the head is a performing arts graduate! The boys at this school all do traditional sports, the girls get dance classes as well as sports. Basically ds is too unusual already for me to push for more time off!

Are there other parents who can give you an idea about what the new school is into, and values? Do academic things win out? Or sports? Or have they got a strong drama department. you would probably need to get the drama head on your side if you wanted her on a G&T register in the new school, but then she would probably have to be pretty involved in the school's drama...

[kittykatty]

thanks for the information Hecouldshine. My ds has been at school for 4 years so I know it well but he isn't a performer. It is very sporty and they don't seem to have any problem letting children off school for sporting events. They do have a drama department and an after school drama club so I think my best policy is to try not to take her out of school for the first half term so she can get a good record for attendance and behaviour etc (I hope) and then talk to the drama teacher and headteacher. To be honest I am more concerned about castings because if she gets a role at least I have time to talk to him about it. He didn't say no anyway just that "he treats all requests for absence on its merits having consulted latest reports" and that there was a form requesting absence. Castings are always so last minute that I can't give 7 days notice and fill in an application form for absence to take her out of school an hour early but I guess there is always a medical appointment to use as an excuse but always had a policy of not lying to the school so don't really want to start now. Well it is a few months off so I will worry about it then....probably won't have any castings for ages anyway or knowing my luck nothing all summer then 3 in the first week of school.