Centre for talented youth

mair1910

Does anyone have any experience with the centre for talented youth in ireland and the assessments that they do? can anyone apply for an assessment or does the primary school have to put a child forward? I would like to send my daughter for an assessment she's eight years old. Her school takes the approach of helping kids who are learning at a slow pace, and ignore kids that learn at a faster pace. Thanks in advance for any assistance!

byhookorbycrook

Sadly it's DES policy that high ability children do not get learning support at present. Due to wriggling a good bit and a supportive staff/ principal we make provision for children of exceptional ability but if the learning support allocation gets hit further, this may not be possible.

Of course you can apply for the CTYI yourself, we often suggest to parents to do so. The initial assessment is reasonably priced but the classes can be expensive. Have a look at giftedkids.ie for some ideas of how to support your child and general all round good advice.

silverharp

My son tested as exceptional but so far have only sent him to one course in DCU. They are a good idea but not sure of the value of them because of the logistics. The best approach is to come up with ideas yourself and stretch them outside of school. School can be a bit hit and miss, one of his teachers let me give him maths folders I had made up myself for when he had finished his class work and for a time the support teacher did extra maths with my son and a kid from another class.
From an overall raising a well rounded child its more important (imo) that they develop in different areas so wouldn't over do the hot housing. My son's main outlet is music which he has a talent for, I do Khan academy with him to challenge his maths ability, otherwise just encourage his reading and learning a second language. Timewise we put more effort into his sports.

Knob Longman

My lad has been there for the last three summers and he loves it. He had to do the assessment at the Western Gateway building UCC Cork. Its an expensive course and I'm not exactly wealthy yet but it was worth paying so my son can mix with like minded teenagers.

Big Bag of Chips

I applied myself for my son. The initial test was €45 and we went to Cork for it. He has done one Chemistry & Forensic Science course in DCU. It was €90 and it was over 3 Saturdays.

As he gets older the choice of locations for courses gets a bit better, and we won't be limited to just Dublin or Cork.

Unfortunately, in schools, the weaker kids are seen as having more of a need. So if you feel your child is able for more advanced work, it will be up to you to do more with her. Most schools are short on resource hours for the weak kids, who struggle with basic literacy and numeracy. I'm afraid kids who are excelling are way down the list of priorities.

Good luck. My lad loved his course, and is looking forward to what he'll do next.

byhookorbycrook

Can I urge you all to write to the DES and make your cases, please?In many cases the school would love to provide extra support for EA children, but there are no resources available.

beauf

silverharp wrote: »

...so far have only sent him to one course in DCU. They are a good idea but not sure of the value of them because of the logistics....


From an overall raising a well rounded child its more important (imo) that they develop in different areas so wouldn't over do the hot housing.....

Timewise we put more effort into his sports.

Was thinking about those DCU course. Any issues of over confidence with something like that.

Big Bag of Chips

beauf wrote: »

Was thinking about those DCU course. Any issues of over confidence with something like that.

Over confidence? Of the child when they finish it? Or of other kids on the course?

Not that I noticed with my lad anyway. But my lad is as far from cocky as is possible! He's actually quite timid.

He knows he's the cleverest in his class. All his classmates know he's the cleverest in the class. I'm regularly told by other parents how they hear how clever he is. (When he was in junior infants one mother told me her daughter was amazed that he knew what 100 plus 99 was!!) But he also realises, that's what he's good at. And others are good at hurling or swimming or athletics. One girl in the class is always the first to finish her work!

My fella really does his own thing. Some might even call him a bit of a loner. So he's not strutting his stuff around school. He got a certificate when he finished the course, and it's framed in the hall. I'm always showing it off, and telling him to tell people about it ... he'd rather not!

So I think if you have a cocky child, they will be cocky in any situation. If you have a shy, timid child, these courses aren't going to turn them into some uber-confident know-it-all. It's just a place where they can learn things that they're not being taught in school.

beauf

Not what I'm thinking of but it's kinda hard to explain.

Big Bag of Chips

Try....

Do you mean of parents being over confident of their child's abilities?

Edit: or do you mean with the courses themselves? My lad isn't sporty. Will never be. Learning is his "thing". So I think these courses, for him, are no different than going to a GAA summer camp or similar for another child.

It's an interest he has. And this is somewhere he can go and enjoy his interest.

silverharp

I find my son is used to be thrown into all kinds of camps/ courses, so just because its as in "DCU" had no bearing on it. Logistics is the main reason we wouldn't go back, we live southside and the courses were not all day so it meant my wife had to hang around and setup her "office" in the canteen. While my son coasts a bit in school he has fun and his popular in his class, I could imagine if you had a kid that was frustrated, youd find the courses more valuable

byhookorbycrook

I know of a family where the child is exceptionally able academically and the parents (and child) took up a sport that she wasn't very good at, so she had to learn that not everything was easy and that there are multiple intelligences. Turned out to be a good player, full of heart and courage .

CookieMonster.x

I have attended CTYI from the age of 6 and I have to say it really benefitted me. I never got any extra work in school, I was always bored and always finished my work the quickest. I also skipped a class. My mum did extra reading with me at night which helped when I was probably aged 4-6. I would stay up all night reading if I could! Anyway, I really think you should get your child assessed and try the classes out. I cannot stress how beneficial they are! Not just for stimulation but also for friendships.
To the poster who was worried about over confidence.. Yes some people can be quite cocky about their intelligence and flaunt it everywhere. I think the main thing to do is to keep them grounded, get involved in sport, music, dance and ensure they meet with friends. Don't limit them to just doing academic things. When I was younger we never told anyone that we attended CTYI (my siblings also attended). I also did a wide variety of extra curricular activities. I never knew how intelligent I was until I found out that my IQ had been tested. I'm glad my parents kept it from me because, after watching Child Genius, I could have easily turned out to be a cocky child who looks down on those of a lesser intelligence. They never showered me with 'oh, you're so smart' or anything like that. This is kind of long wonder but I guess what I'm trying to say is to make sure your child leads a balanced life and that total emphasis is not placed on being intelligent.
By the way I must apologise for this badly written post, I'm on my terrible phone about to die whilst lying in bed so it's not the easiest to follow :P I also hope I don't sound cocky or anything in this post!
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask or PM me. I'll return to add more to this

mrhappy42

The assessment seems expensive, is it just a money spinner?

I am somewhat set at ease by CookieMonsters reply

GalwayGrrrrrl

mrhappy42 wrote: »

The assessment seems expensive, is it just a money spinner?

I am somewhat set at ease by CookieMonsters reply

The assessment isn't that expensive compared to the full educational psychologist assessment (around 450 euro). Either can be accepted by school as evidence of exceptional needs so we went with the CTYI assessment. My son passed but hasn't got extra resource hours in school yet. We live outside Dublin so haven't attended any CTYI courses yet, but once he reaches age 8 there will be courses in our local area (younger children's courses are mainly in Dublin).
The courses are expensive, but I am hoping that my son will enjoy attending if only to meet other kids who are like him - he is so far ahead of the other kids in his class it is putting him off school (and he is in a class a year older than him already).

byhookorbycrook

€45 is not expensive, when you consider the price of games etc.

Deenie123

The assessments aren't a money-spinner, they incur a real cost to put them on.

Send your child for an assessment. I found the courses great. If money is very tight and your child is accepted, ask about financial support.

ShamoBuc

The assessments are a necessary evil I think. The courses are expensive so I have no problem paying for that assessment to make sure I wouldn't be wasting money on the actual course. My child enjoys the courses. We allow her to do 1 course a year. She picks it and has really enjoyed the ones she has done. Once passed, the child can do a course upto the age of 16 or18 I think . They are challenging courses but certainly worth it