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E-bulletins - Gifted and Talented

How does G&T education justify its own existence?

Effective G&T provision improves teaching and learning for all students – but do your colleagues realise this? This ebulletin issue of Gifted and Talented Update offers advice on raising awareness of the benefits G&T can bring to your school as a whole

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Academic language for G&T learners

As a follow-up to our last issue, here we provide an overview of some of the issues surrounding academic language for G&T learners, as it is readily apparent that formal English can be considered to be an additional language for many learners and perhaps even most disadvantaged learners

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How to challenge advanced bilingual learners

Advanced bilingual learners are the focus for this issue. We explain how to provide challenges for gifted and talented learners who speak English and other languages

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The Pupil and Parents Guarantees for G&T – writing to parents

Here we provide some guidance on the framing of the letter to parents, the kinds of information that should be included and thoughts on how communication with parents can be framed to avoid potential pitfalls

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The Pupil and Parent Guarantees – what are the implications for schools?

The Pupil and Parent Guarantees, that are currently the subject of a DCSF consultation, make specific reference to the provision for G&T learners. Here we consider what this might mean for your school

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The Pupil and Parent Guarantees – what are the implications for G&T?

This G&T e-bulletin summarises the provision which schools will be expected to make concerning the pupil and parent guarantees

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How do you spot G&T potential in a new EAL student?

Without a system to identify G&T potential, it can take up to two years international new arrivals's language to develop enough to surface in formal written English. This issue, part of our occasional series on inclusion, shows how you can tell an EAL G&T student within six weeks of their arrival

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Sustainable G&T provision and the role of data

As nationwide programmes to support G&T provision are on the wane, there is more work to be done at a school level. Here we look at how embedding good practice into classrooms begins with robust analysis of the data

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The Ofsted Report on G&T practice

The next two issues of this e-bulletin will analyse the critical assumptions and issues in Ofsted's Gifted and Talented Pupils in Schools report, published in December 2009 (ref 090132); specifically its findings and how schools can usefully respond

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Gifted and talented education - the case for inclusion: part 2

Second issue exploring how different characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and free school meals eligibility influence the probability of inclusion with G&T students

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Gifted and talented education - the case for inclusion: part 1

In this issue we explore what the DCSF School Census, January 2009 tells us about identification and how pupil characteristics affect the probability of inclusion within the national G&T population

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Seeing your school through the eyes of the SIP

In the second of our e-bulletins looking at guidance given to SIPs, we consider what questions you should be asking to evaluate your G&T provision prior to the visit from your improvement partner

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Practical strategies and ideas for G&T provision in your school

This is the first issue of Optimus Education's new fortnightly e-bulletin, Gifted and Talented Update, which will focus on the ways that whole-school issues affect provision for more able and very able learners

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Links between SEN and gifted & talented: part 2

SENCO Week looks at how to support those students with DME (dual or multiple exceptionality) and how to help them fulfil their potential

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Links between SEN and gifted & talented: part 1

SENCO Week considers the links between SEN and G&T at schools; gifted and talented students are often considered as having specific learning needs and are equally in need of support

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Enrichment Activities: Entertainment in the summer holidays

These primary and secondary enrichment activities explore ways to entertain pupils in their holidays, and consider whether video games are a good source of entertainment for young people

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Enrichment Activities: Space travel and satellite communications

Enrich science and ICT with these activities that look at space travel and satellite communications, and invite pupils to make suggestions and offer solutions to hypothetical problems read more

Enrichment Activities: Environmentally friendly bicycles and lawn mowers

This week's enrichment activities look at environmentally friendly alternatives to transport and grounds maintenance read more

Enrichment Activities: Sportswear design and the use of slang

These enrichment activities focus on design, psychology and communication, looking at sportswear innovation and the use of slang read more

Enrichment Activities: The London Olympics and aerial pathways

These enrichment activities encourage pupils to apply logical thought to real life situations, to learn the benefits of considered evaluation.

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Enrichment Activities: Finding the centre and mapping the future

These enrichment activities focus on geography and maths, looking at mapping the landscape and finding the centre. read more

Enrichment Activities: Currency and minority languages

These enrichment activities encourage pupils think creatively and apply their learning to two different situations involving economics and minority languages read more

Enrichment Activities: Managing sunlight and saving buildings

One of these enrichment activities looks at global warming, the other at endangered buildings read more

Enrichment Activities: Fossils and green energy

These enrichment activities get pupils to think about unusual animals and ways of converting natural power into electricity read more

Enrichment Activities: Thinking about bereavement; designing homes

Thinking about death with secondary students, and imagining flying homes with primary pupils read more

Enrichment Activities: Listening and Citizenship

This week's activities take examples from recent news to encourage pupils to think about the sounds that are all around them and the power of community read more

Enrichment Activities: Internet safety and animals for peace

These enrichment activities get pupils to think about the dangers of the internet, and ways to prevent conflict through the innovative use of animals read more

Enrichment Activities: Mathematics and Ethics

These activities get pupils to explore innovative ways to approach maths and to consider their ethical standpoint. read more

Enrichment Activities: the significance of numbers and names

These enrichment activities get pupils to consider the meaning and effects arbitrary labels. read more

Enrichment Activities: conflict resolution and problem solving

These activities encourage pupils to use their problem solving skills to tackle two very different issues. read more

Enrichment Activities: representation and recycling

Developing pupils' creative thinking skills, drawing on recent events for inspiration read more

Enrichment Activities: resources, economics, scarcity and plenty

A secondary enrichment activity which asks pupils to consider the ethics of economic conditions, while for primary pupils there's a creative activity about resources read more

Enrichment Activities: planning for the future

These activities encourage pupils to think both logically and creatively to find solutions for everyday problems read more