Talking point: G&T Registers
G&T Registers: LGTâs Matt Dickenson asks, âWhat difference do they make?â
I know of a number of schools who have had problems with their G&T Registers, mostly because they seem to have taken on a life of their own. Theyâve become a painful annual ritual; creating a list that colleagues donât use.
It can be a time consuming and de-motivating task for a coordinator. Chasing up unwilling colleagues, trying to persuade people that test results arenât the only thing that matters. Managing the register can be hard work. One or two schools have even scrapped their register or decided to take a break from it!
On the other hand, many schools find that their G&T register a useful tool that helps provide more effectively for G&T pupils and can be instrumental in developing the contribution of G&T to inclusion in the school.
Whatâs your experience of G&T registers? Are they a force for inclusion or a painful exercise in paper collection? share your story (by adding a new comment below) and vote in our poll
Comments
G and T
I think having a name put down on a register doesn't mean very much in terms of the child moving on. When a childs name does appear on the register it just means providing evidence that there is provision specifically catered from them to help them develop. This can be time consuming and taking your energy away from the actual teaching which WILL help them move on.
ID though provision
I think many would agree with this view. What it tells me is that identification on a classroom level needs to come from provision. This is the Provide-Evaluate-Provide model (some call this PIP or PEP) - we learn from what a G&T child needs from how they interact with their learning and what we do next takes this into account. We can all see this in this in good teaching/assessment for learning practice, but can we see it in a register? It can be quite difficult to get this information into a G&T register using scores - to take things forward for individual G&T pupils we need to focus on skills.
This makes the register a matter of record - ID when it works is much more than how we record it. If what is a G&T register doesn't help us to provide, then perhaps the bext we can hope for is that it helps us to track and evaluate progress.
G&T registers
I agree that G&T registers are time consuming.
I compile the G&T register during the late summer and early Autumn terms. Once the register is completed it sits on my desk and has little or no part t play in organising G&T at my school.
Children's abilities are like mercury- they ebb and flow like the tide.
Children's abilities have to be matched to the enrichment and extension activities on offer.
Adhering to the register cuts out the identification of other G&T children who are being overlooked.
Identifying G&T children is a continuous process.
Registers
I think that given the huge amount of G&T work that goes on your school, this says something quite important about what the register is for. It tells me that it is not the place to look for information about the active programme, so does it just serve a monitoring purpose? If so, does it really enable you to take account of what G&T is actually for in the school?
What is the register for?
The Institutional Quality Standard for G&T Education (IQS) indicates that schools should start from 'an agreed definition and shared understanding' of what it means by G&T.
To me this means that the G&T register should be the collection of information about what these ideas look like in pupil-form and how can back up our hunches about who might need to learn what, when, and how?
But registers tend to value prior attainment, which is all in the past and can be pretty abstract. Jim has a verbal reasoning CAT score of 128 - 'Way to go James, you're eligible for NAGTY!', but taking this piece of information on its own, so what??? How does this help us to decide what his learning needs are?
Do you tend to find that your register is made up of lots this sort of information? Or have you found ways of making the information in your register relevant to the individual student? How does it link to any tracking systems you have in the school?
If your register really helps you to understand your pupils, or really tells your colleagues what they need to know, tell us about it...
G&T register - should we bother?
We are still developing our G&T register, just because we're supposed to have one! However, after all this training, I do wonder should we bother!? I can see the importance of raising the profile of G&T and in my staff training I emphasised the PIP approach. I have then asked staff to look out for the 'top' children in each subject area. The idea after this is that we will see which children appear the most and they would 'go on the register'.... but so what?! What would happen then?
If I know who the gifted scientists are in the school and a science project comes up, then I can make sure those children have access to that. Surely, there's no point in having a group of children (who could include a talented runner?!) all doing one 'Gifted and Talented' activity?!
I like Kathryn's 'thinking books' and 'thinking club' and can see how certain children would benefit from socialising together.
I'm certainly looking at the idea of the register as a fairly pointless paperwork exercise, whereas the idea of planning for effective questioning for all pupils would be a purposeful paperwork exercise!
G ant T register
I completely agree with what you say. Each teacher knows their G and T children and plans accordingly. Over the year different children show different G and T qualities and so a register is very hard to keep. Who would look at it and why?? Only the 'O' people???
Our G&T register does little
Our G&T register does little to contribute value to the school at the moment, but I hope that eventually it will. Even as it is, at least it focuses staff on thinking about the abilities of there pupils in a little more detail. I think it is also broader than just teaching to the top. It may identify pupils who have particular talents and could suggest extra curricular activities that we could provide.
G&T registers
a G&T register is a useful resource as starting point, especially for colleagues who are not entirely confident about providing for higher ability or G&T children. However, I do agree with N icole - teach to the top. That way everyone can access the curriculum and we're setting higher, but also achievable, goals for the lower ability/SEN.
If schools are using a register, they should be fluid and revised or edited at regular intervals. They should also only be in existence if they are useful; staff should be encouraged to plan while looking at the register and make sure they are teaching to those children.
Another point though: Do OFSTED want to see a G&T register?
Ticking boxes that don't go boom.
The G and T register is extremely divisive in that it assumes that only a certain section of the populace may be recorded and have their needs addressed.
As a 'box ticking exercise' it gets done, as do IEPs and SEN registers, but how many needs are really, pragmatically met, and would that be achieveable any way?
Do we really have to continually pigeon hole and assign people/students to specific identifiable groups?
It is a Jungian predisposition or totally unnecessay?
Treatt them all as gifted and taleneted and provide the curriculum and resources to meet those needs.
Jef Jon Fox
Red light/green light
I understand what you are saying here if the cohort is just about whether you are 'in' or 'out'. But do schools really only give their G&T kids the good stuff?
G AND T
I SO AGREE WITH THE COMMENT ABOUT 'TICKING BOXES'. AS WITH IEPS - HOW CAN WE TRULY MEASURE THE BENEFIT OF THE REGISTER
hear hear!
I have my register, just so that i can produce it if necessary. But the basic principle is that we all need to be providing for all these children in our classrooms. the only way that i use the register is that i invite those children to my after school 'thinking club'. Lucky them!!
actually it is a lot of fun and we play thinking/ strategy games and they can socialise together.
Low threshold, high ceiling.....?
It just brings me back round to:
- Its about good/outstanding learning and teaching
- Teach to the top!
And we need to think more laterally about who are the G&T? (what do they "look like!?")
Should we be embracing the PIP model rather than the DIP model...?
Nicole
PIP or DIP?
What is the PIP and DIP model?
Dip model
You can find Peter Tilsley's article on http://scs.une.edu.au/TalentEd/gate_pip/tilsley.htm
Basically it's about the advantages/disadvantages of identifying then providing (DIP) as opposed to providing and allowing the G and T to surface (PEP)
gt registers
GT register is useful in drawing attention to the needs of pupils who are gt - but the identification, structure and continuity of the register is not clear. Staff are concerned about the pupils who are/are not identified.
Living on the margins
This can mean that you need to widen your definition, break it down into subjects, or learning skills.
Personalisation and common sense would lead us to the conclusion that learning opportunities should match the learning needs of pupils.
If you are getting bogged down in the 'are they/aren't they?' question then perhaps the best thing to do is to look at the implications of increasing the proportion of your pupils on the register?
Categories
Indentifying children and recording them on registers can lead to a sense of job done situation clear, but all of us can aspire and surprise. Pupils with a range of G&T turn up in any and all sorts of classes and sets including SEN. I agree with the comment Treat them all as G&T. We should keep our minds, our pupils' minds and our colleagues minds open - not shut down and defined by a list.