2009-11-13 23:51:32 - Gifted and Talented children are being let down because carers can't cope and local government and charities are not doing enough to help them.

And the National Association for Gifted Children says the stigma of being a child in care can mean that some gifted children's abilities are forgotten or go unnoticed, simply because they are in care.

Some of Britain's brightest children are being let down because carers can't cope and local government and charities are not doing enough to help them, a hard-hitting report said today.

And the stigma of being a child in care can mean that some gifted children's abilities are forgotten or go unnoticed, simply because they are in care.

The report says gifted children in care - already trying to cope with major social and emotional difficulties and suffering from insecurity - often have no stability in their education and no-one to guide them. And experts say not enough is being done to help foster parents struggling to cope with the problems of looking after a gifted and talented child.

Now leading gifted and talented

children's charity - the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) - wants better teacher-training, more input from social services and a change to the minimum requirements for foster carers to make sure gifted and talented children have the same chances as those who are not in care. And it calls for more funding for NAGC so that its experts can be trained to advise and represent people dealing with gifted and talented children in care.

NAGC - which supports the needs of gifted and talented children by supporting their parents and carers - calls on schools and social workers, local authorities and other third sector bodies to take "prime responsibility for ensuring carers are informed about gifted and talented education and the issues connected to it".
Denise Yates, Chief Executive of NAGC says: " What we found was that, above anything else, children in care are not expected to be gifted, and gifted children are not expected to be in care. Consequently, the foster care world is largely unaware of the presence of the gifted and talented child, and the world of gifted and talented issues is only gradually becoming aware that children in care fall within its remit."

"There is a common misconception that life for a gifted and talented child is easy. This is not the case, and a gifted child may become frustrated and confused as their intellectual abilities develop far more rapidly than their communication and motor skills. A gifted child in care may be doubly disadvantaged. Not only do they face emotional and social difficulties, but they face these from a background that offers little or no security, an educational career that often offers little stability, and with no clear guidance figure. The role of the carer is therefore absolutely paramount in ensuring the gifts and talents of these children are encouraged and nurtured, and their emotional and social needs are supported."

"Gifted children in care have to deal with both the difficult experiences of being gifted and the difficult experiences of being in care. But the stigma that is attached to being in care leads to the giftedness of a child in care going unnoticed, or forgotten because the negative effects of traumatic experiences in the early years make children in care difficult to live with, hard to educate and create barriers to their learning."

She also says: "Carers of gifted children receive little help and support. In some cases, carers feel that catering for a gifted and talented child is above and beyond what they are prepared for, and is more then their role as a provider of a safe and secure home in which a child can develop, entails."
The reports says carers may be told that a child is bright or good at reading for example, but they are rarely informed that a child could be gifted and talented. There also appears to be very little policy in place regarding the support which social workers and schools should give to carers of gifted and talented children.

"There needs to be an awareness, amongst all parties, of gifted and talented issues, and a realisation that children in care can be, and are, gifted and talented. Policies and procedures to support gifted and talented children should feature in all of the structures which prescribe what a looked after child's life is to be. A child's gifts and talents are a fundamental part of who they are now and who they will be in the future, and so should be considered in all care planning decisions to ensure that being in care does not mean that these vital aspects of a child's life are lost or forgotten."

The report points out that only six per cent of children in care go on to study at University.
NAGC plans more research into the needs the needs of the carers of gifted children.


Note to editors:
Report based on survey of local authorities in the "Eastern region" of England
NAGC is the national organisation that supports the social, emotional and learning needs of gifted children. Based in Bletchley, NAGC was established in 1967 and supports over 15,000 people a year.