Service Children s Education Policy The More Able, Gifted and Talented Issued April 2008 2008- An Agency of the Ministry of Defence
Document information Title Policy for More Able, Gifted and Talented Reference number 1/2/9/1. Supersedes Supersedes Gifted and Talented Policy written in 2003 Date of issue 1/5/08. Approved by Authorised by Review date Review by & lead member of staff Prepared by Consultation Impact Assessment Implementation Supply / distribution Other relevant approved documents AD Teaching & Learning AD Teaching & Learning June 2010 or earlier if necessary Gifted and Talented Strand Working Party led by Link Inspector/Adviser Link Inspector Adviser (Primary) Link Inspector Adviser (Secondary) Headteacher (Primary) Assistant Headteacher (Secondary) Primary Strategy Consultants Secondary Strategy Consultant Performing Arts Consultant Advanced Skills Teacher for Gifted and Talented (Primary) Gifted and Talented Co-ordinators across BFG and Cyprus This document will be equality and impact assessed in accordance with the MOD Equality & Diversity Impact Tool This document outlines the Gifted and Talented strategy for the period 2008 to 2010 Available as a read-only document on the GfL plus one hard copy to each school & setting Service Children s Education Inclusion Policy DCSF Guidance on Provision for Gifted and Talented Pupils
1. Rationale 1.1 This statement forms part of Service Children s Education Strategic Plan for Inclusion. It reflects Service Children s Education commitment to meeting the needs of all its pupils. 2. Introduction 2.1 All schools in Service Children s Education demonstrate their commitment through policies and practice which recognise the needs of all pupils, ensuring that no ceiling is put on achievement. There is recognition of the particular needs of more able, gifted and talented pupils which are evident in curriculum, teaching and learning and assessment policies. In schools where there are well-defined and effectively implemented policies, the achievement of all young people, including those who are more able, gifted and talented pupils, is raised through higher expectation amongst staff and young people themselves. 2.2 Service Children s Education schools recognise that there are pupils who have very high general ability across the curriculum (gifted) or who have a talent in a specific area such as drama, dance, sport, art, music or leadership. These pupils are identified, challenged and supported in order to ensure that they develop and progress at an appropriate pace. 2.3 All Service Children s Education schools recognise that they have more able, gifted and talented pupils. They should; Realise that the pool of more able, gifted and talented pupils changes over time as children develop at different rates and move schools Have strategies in place for the identification of more able, gifted and talented pupils Ensure that more able, gifted and talented pupils are extended and challenged within and across the curriculum Recognise that good teaching that challenges more able, gifted and talented pupils in the classroom will impact positively on all pupils learning The 2005 White Paper, Higher Standards: Better Schools for All, set out the Government s ambition that every pupil more able, gifted and talented pupils, struggling or average should have the right to personalised support to reach the limits of their capability. For more able, gifted and talented pupils, this means better stretch and challenge in every classroom and in every school with opportunities to further their particular talents outside school at a local and national level. 3. The Principles of More Able, Gifted and Talented Education More able, gifted and talented pupils should have the opportunity to experience success in learning and achieve as high a standard as possible Teachers should set high expectations and provide opportunities for all more able, gifted and talented pupils to achieve the best that they can Teachers should work to overcome potential barriers to learning for individuals and groups of more able, gifted and talented pupils The More Able, Gifted and Talented 1
More able, gifted and talented pupils should experience a broad, balanced curriculum throughout their schooling that meets the requirement of the National Curriculum, including religious education More able, gifted and talented pupils also have the right to leisure There should be recognition that some more able, gifted and talented pupils are at risk of underachievement 4. Aims 4.1 Service Children s Education aims to support schools in their work with more able, gifted and talented pupils in promoting excellence for all through: 5. Definitions Providing stimulating learning experiences for all pupils that encourage independence and autonomy and support pupils in using their initiative Recognising underachievement in both individual pupils and identified groups of pupils Fostering the development of well rounded and balanced individuals both intellectually and socially Encouraging pupils to reflect on the progress of their own learning and to understand the factors that help them to make progress Encouraging pupils to be open to ideas and initiatives presented by others, thus promoting the importance of citizenship and cultural diversity Creating a culture of success and celebrating achievement Making creative use of the wider community in extending pupils learning Working in partnership with parents and carers to promote pupils learning and development Developing a range of identification and assessment procedures to ensure that the needs of more able, gifted and talented pupils are recognised and understood 5.1 Gifted and Talented is the terminology adopted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to describe a range of 5% to 10% of pupils in each school. These young people do not form an homogeneous group. They do not all exhibit the same behaviour or characteristics, but represent a wide range of individual differences. School definitions may therefore relate to pupils who show outstanding ability or achievement in either a limited or extensive range of areas. DCSF definitions: Gifted and Talented children are those who have one or more abilities developed to a level significantly ahead of their year group (or with the potential to develop these abilities). 5.2 Gifted refers to those pupils who are capable of excelling in academic subjects. (DCSF). Gifted children are identified by schools as those who are performing significantly above the expected level in one or more curriculum areas. 5.3 Talented refers to those pupils who may excel in areas requiring visio-spatial skills or practical abilities, such as art and design, music, P.E or performing arts such as dance and drama. (DCSF) 5.4 Pupils may also demonstrate significant abilities in other areas such as: The More Able, Gifted and Talented 2
creative or productive thinking leadership skills social skills (See Appendix A for other characteristics of gifted and talented learners) 5.5 Exceptionally able pupils are those who excel in a range of areas. This group of pupils is likely to represent only 2% of the whole school population. 5.6 More able pupils are those who work consistently above age-related expectations as defined in National Curriculum Programmes of Study and can apply their skills and knowledge. This group is likely to make up to 30% of the school s cohort. Special Educational Needs 5.7 Some more able, gifted and talented pupils may also appear on the Special Educational Needs (SEN) register. 5.8 In accordance with the Special Educational Needs revised Code of Practice, 2002, Service Children s Education does not consider that high ability itself constitutes a special educational need. However, it should be noted that a pupil s special or additional need may mask high ability or talent. 5.9 More able, gifted and talented underachievers have the potential to achieve but do not regularly demonstrate high achievement. Understanding the behaviour and recognising the characteristics of underachievers is essential if such pupils are to be identified and challenged. 6. Identification 6.1 The DCSF requires each school s identification strategy to make use of hard data, as well as wider qualitative evidence. 6.2 Quantitative data includes the results of National Curriculum assessments, public examinations and other available test data such as standardised ability tests. Other data could include music, art and sporting assessments. 6.3 Qualitative information includes teacher assessment, pupil observation, the scrutiny of pupils work, and pupil/parental voice. 6.4 The DCSF and Service Children s Education provide guidelines to support schools in developing their policy for identification. If good provision is to be made for more able, gifted and talented pupils, it is necessary to recognise their abilities in order to match work to their needs. Underachieving pupils are those who have the potential to achieve but do not regularly demonstrate high achievement. Schools need to ensure that underachieving pupils are included in the identification process and this means having clear criteria against which to identify. 6.5 Children in Foundation Stage are included in the identification process. 6.6 A range of people should be involved in the identification of more able, gifted and talented pupils including: pupils parents/carers and relatives teachers and other school staff The More Able, Gifted and Talented 3
specialist external staff who work with the school adults involved in out-of-school activities other professionals, e.g. those involved in extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, competitions, leadership 6.7 There are more able, gifted and talented pupils in every school, but schools define their own populations. We believe that ability is evenly distributed throughout the population, so a school s more able, gifted and talented cohort should be broadly representative of its whole school population. It is the responsibility of each school to identify the individual abilities and needs of its whole school population. 7. Key Roles within Service Children s Education Role of Directorate of Education Services 7.1 To provide strategic support and challenge for schools in ensuring quality of provision for more able, gifted and talented pupils in Service Children s Education. More specifically: to monitor and evaluate provision for more able, gifted and talented pupils across Service Children s Education schools to collate and analyse data from gifted and talented registers from each school to review Service Children s Education policy on more able, gifted and talented pupils to support schools in setting targets for more able, gifted and talented pupils to support schools in the development of appropriate strategies for the provision for gifted and talented pupils through needs-led CPD opportunities to create a sustainable framework to provide extended activities for gifted and talented pupils beyond school provision to raise the profile of gifted and talented in Service Children s Education through the Grid for Learning, including sharing good practice to encourage schools to nominate pupils to become members of The Young, Gifted and Talented Programme to support schools to self-evaluate against Institutional Quality Standards (IQS) and Classroom Quality Standards (CQS) or National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE) Challenge Award to promote the personal and social welfare of more able, gifted and talented pupils, including through the use of learning mentors to provide specialist teaching support e.g. music centres to dedicate specific funding to support the development of provision for more able, gifted and talented pupils Role of Consortia to support the sharing of expertise and resources to share training opportunities to provide opportunities for networking in order to use expertise in school when required to forge links with other schools, agencies and other professionals to maximise the deployment of available resources The More Able, Gifted and Talented 4
Role of School To ensure the personal and academic needs of more able, gifted and talented pupils are met through a carefully structured whole-school framework. More specifically, schools will: nominate a G&T Co-ordinator in school to oversee the school s G&T provision and to monitor the progress of more able, gifted and talented pupils in association with the whole staff. (For exemplar job descriptions, see Guidance Documents for Schools, available within the Grid for Learning s G&T Staff Room) agree and establish an identification procedure in school in order to identify the top 5-10% of whole-school cohort to create a G&T register which is representative of the school s cohort, including all talents irrespective of whether they can be developed within school monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of G&T whole-school provision have in place a school G&T policy which is a contextualised version of Service Children s Education policy. This should also be reflected in subject and departmental policies consult the SGC on the school s policy for G&T pupils and to report on its effectiveness set targets for more able, gifted and talented pupils in line with whole-school target setting consider a range of whole-school learning and teaching strategies for provision for more able, gifted and talented pupils and provide CPD opportunities as appropriate be pupil-centred, taking account of pupil s own interests, learning styles and cultures provide a secure, learning environment where risk-taking is valued promote opportunities for G&T pupils to participate in Service Children s Education extended schools projects, i.e. enrichment activities outside the school: challenge days, master class, competitions, extra-curricular activities, G&T Summer Schools encourage the use of the G&T room on the Service Children s Education Grid for Learning as an effective resource to support staff encourage pupils to use a wide range of resources, including the Service Children s Education Grid for Learning G&T Pupil room and other technologies encourage pupils to become members of National Academy of Gifted, Talented and More-able Youth (YGT) carry out self-evaluation against Institutional Quality Standards (IQS) and Classroom Quality Standards (CQS) to support SEF and SIP promote the personal and social welfare of G&T pupils, including through the use of learning mentors establish partnerships with parents/ carers to support G&T pupils, to inform and ensure their views and concerns are taken into account ensure that the needs of G&T pupils are recognised in staffing, resources, room allocation and timetabling, and to use existing expertise to enhance provision ensure the effective transfer and transition of G&T pupils collaborate with outside agencies that provide guidance, ideas and support for more able, gifted and talented pupils, e.g. NACE, YGT and The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). The More Able, Gifted and Talented 5
Role of Parents and Carers to aid in the identification of G&T pupils e.g. on registering a child into school to support their more able, gifted and talented child by providing opportunities for her/him to attend extra curricular activities to be aware of the school policy and support any targets set for their child to recognise and share in the celebration of their child s achievement 8. Monitoring and Evaluation 8.1 Service Children s Education will monitor the implementation of this policy through analysis of: national, local and school data: - attainment and value-added data progress, detailed in school self-evaluation review of standards and provision by the senior leadership team of the school and the link inspector/adviser the range and quality of professional development and training opportunities offered to schools; school improvement plan priorities and resourcing Ofsted inspection reports classroom observation. evaluation of summer schools and challenge days, based on pupil, teacher and parent responses review of take-up of In-service provision and In-service course evaluations 9. Conclusion The world needs children who are bright and competent and who will keep their sparkle as they move through life. Their potential capabilities can contribute greatly in all fields of endeavour in every corner of the world if only they are given the chance to develop them. At least one in ten children are born bright enough to make them outstanding in some way Dr Joan Freeman How To Raise A Bright Child (1995) Further support and guidance is available on the Service Children s Education Grid for Learning (http://www.sceschools.com) within the Gifted and Talented Staff Room The More Able, Gifted and Talented 6
Policy revised by: The Gifted and Talented Strand Working Party in consultation with the Gifted and Talented Co-ordinators in June 2007 Review date: June 2010, or earlier if necessary The More Able, Gifted and Talented 7
Appendix A Gifted and talented pupils will show a combination of a number of the following characteristics; faculty with language use logical reasoning ability imagination and creativity ability to link concepts and ideas ability to question ideas and concepts wide reading wide general knowledge excellent memory skills humour ability to engage in problem solving interpersonal skills intrapersonal skills kinaesthetic skills rapid assimilation of materials focused concentration on specific tasks keen observation The More Able, Gifted and Talented 8