The school uses the Department for Education guidelines that “gifted and talented pupils are those pupils who achieve, or have the ability to achieve, at a level significantly in advance of the average for their year group.” Nationally, this would be expected to be between 5 and 10% of each year group.
The gifted are those with high ability in one or more academic subject, and the talented are those with high ability in sport, music, visual arts and/or performing arts. (Excellence in Cities definition)
Identification Strategies
We will use a range of strategies to identify more gifted and talented children. The identification process will be ongoing and will begin when the child joins our school and involves staff, pupils, parents and carers.
Data taken into account will include.
- Information from parents and carers.
- Information from previous teachers or pre-school records
- Discussions with pupils.
- Identification by staff using professional judgements, classwork and test and assessment results.
- Discussions with sports coaches and teachers in the case of gifted children in sports
Children gifted in English may be identified when they:
- demonstrate high levels of fluency and originality in their conversation;
- use research skills effectively to synthesise information;
- enjoy reading and respond to a range of texts at an advanced level;
- use a wide vocabulary and enjoy working with words;
- see issues from a range of perspectives;
- possess a creative and productive mind and use advanced skills when engaged in discussion.
- work confidently on objectives for year groups higher than their own.
- Achieve levels in end of year tests above those expected for their year group
Children gifted in Mathematics may be identified when they:
- explore a range of strategies for solving a problem;
- are naturally curious when working with numbers and investigating problems;
- see solutions quickly without needing to try a range of options;
- look beyond the question in order to hypothesise and explain;
- work flexibly and establish their own strategies;
- enjoy manipulating numbers in a variety of ways.
- work confidently on objectives for year groups higher than their own.
Procedures for meeting the needs of gifted and talented pupils
School Level:
- Teachers will plan for the medium and short term to provide appropriate and challenging opportunities for gifted and talented pupils. In this way all children can benefit from high expectations and challenging opportunities. This will include the setting of appropriate homework. There will also be times when a pupil will be given the opportunity to study in greater depth which their peers to not cover
- Children may be grouped by ability across and beyond year groups to enable work to be matched effectively
- Occasionally children may be withdrawn for specific activities so that the more able can work together on particularly challenging tasks.
- Care will be taken to ensure pupils are able to develop co-operative and collaborative skills with their peers
- The school will keep a gifted and talented register. Pupils who are identified by the school as being gifted and talented are entered on to the school register. (Appendix 1) Parents or carers will be consulted before a name is placed on the register. – The register will be reviewed twice a year at the time of pupil target setting during which an evaluation of whether the pupil is reaching his or her full potential will be made.
- Gifted and Talented pupils will receive formal recognition through a certificate which informs them of their place on our Gifted and Talented register
Beyond the classroom:
- Children are encouraged to take up extra-curricular activities to develop particular interests and talents,
- Additional teaching and learning opportunities may be sought, for example, peripatetic music teaching and opportunities to take part in events with other gifted and talented children or activity providers.
