Q: I suspect - and so do the school - that my daughter may be of particularly high ability / gifted. She is 5 years old and in year 1. How can she be assessed? Should she be assessed at this age? I don't want her to tread water for the next few years - equally I don't want to be too pushy. Should I supplement her learning at home?
Deborah, Broxbourne.

A: She could be assessed by an Educational Psychologist who would look at your daughter's IQ profile and see what level this is and if she is deemed to be in the gifted range of ability. You could speak to her class teacher about this or find an independent psychologist to undertake this testing. There may be holiday schemes in your area that support gifted children - contact your local education authority and ask them.

The best approach to support her is to keep her interested - take her out and about to see new things - museums, the beach, get books or CD-ROMs out of the library and read them with her so she can look up and find out about what she is seeing around her. The important thing is to maintain her curiosity for life and encourage her to find answers. She could try and learn to play chess and could join a local group. Let her also try some different physical activities so that she is exercising both her brain and her body.