Gifted and talented pupils

Enhancing provision for gifted users of ICT

scameron — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:48:46 +0100

Some schools now have wonderful ICT, with immersion technology, green screens, podcasting and software for different forms of modelling, but we need to ensure that technology is used appropriately to enhance and support teaching and learning for our most able pupils.

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

scameron — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:43:43 +0100

In the two previous issues of this bulletin we outlined the proposed Pupil and Parent Guarantees and their implications for schools. In the meantime, the guarantees have been dropped from the Children, Schools and Families Bill that was passing through parliament in the ‘wash-up’ before the general election. However, we hope that this advice will be of value to you even in the absence of the guarantees, as it is good practice to communicate with parents and work together for the benefit of pupils

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

scameron — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:41:12 +0000

In the previous issue, we highlighted that the new Pupil and Parent Guarantees will place schools under some pressure to state an entitlement for G&T learners, to define precisely the extra challenge and support that an identified gifted and talented learner will receive as a direct consequence of being identified.

Guarantee 3.10: That every pupil identified as gifted and talented receives written confirmation by their school of the extra challenge and support they will receive.

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

scameron — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:36:11 +0000

One of the new elements of national policy for gifted and talented education concerns the pupil and parent guarantees. These have been framed by the Secretary of State as key elements of ‘an education which combines universal entitlements for all – designed to lead to a broad curriculum and the best possible teaching – with personalised and targeted support which meets the particular needs of individual learners.’ (The Pupil and Parent Guarantees, Foreword, p3). This issue summarises the provision which schools will be expected to make.

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

scameron — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:46:39 +0000

Many more classrooms now include learners with English as an additional language (EAL) who are relative beginners in English or recently arrived in the UK. Conventional means that we use to identify G&T pupils cannot be easily applied to these pupils, for example if we do not have access to information about their education and achievement, or their ability to communicate their thinking in English does not match that in their first language.

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

scameron — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:20:45 +0000

In the previous issue we introduced some of the key debates around the composition of the national G&T population by pupil characteristics. We contrasted differing perspectives on identification with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ view of G&T to show how different characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and free school meals eligibility influence the probability of inclusion.

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

scameron — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:20:53 +0000

Ability is evenly distributed within the population; achievement is not.

The national programme for gifted and talented education emerged in 1997 as a response to significant evidence that more able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds were not achieving in the same way as those facing less challenging circumstances.

Twelve years on, significant inequalities remain.

Links between SEN and gifted & talented: part 2

scameron — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:45:46 +0100

Last SENCO Week we looked at the issues surrounding pupils with DME (dual or multiple exceptionality) – those with high ability in one, or some, specific areas but also experiencing difficulty in some aspect of education. This week we consider some strategies for support and how to help pupils fulfill their potential.

Links between SEN and gifted & talented: part 1

scameron — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:55:58 +0100

Lots of SENCOs find themselves in the role of G&T coordinator as well as having responsibility for pupils with SEN. In fact, some schools include their G&T youngsters in the SEN or AEN (additional educational needs) category. They are recognised as having specific learning needs and as such, deserve an equal amount of attention. Even if you are not the G&T coordinator, you may well be involved with individuals who are ‘twice exceptional’ - they are very able in one area, but have difficulties in another.

A-Z of G&T education (8): Gifted and talented

scameron — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:42:01 +0000

What exactly do we mean by ‘gifted and talented’? Dictionaries give us the following definitions:

gifted:

having natural talent or aptitude
highly intelligent (children)

talented:

Helping secondary G&T students aim high

scameron — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:57:55 +0000

Last month saw many young people starting university. In some cases, they will be the first person in the family to follow this route and to aim for degree-level qualifications.

Gifted and talented: the basics

scameron — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:49:30 +0000

For those encountering the idea of gifted children and gifted education for the first time, the field can appear complex and confusing. ‘Who are the gifted?’ and ‘What educational provision will they need?’ are some of the most difficult questions to answer. Yet it is important for a growing population of professionals and lay people to get to grips with some of the basic principles underpinning good practice. As the range of providers of services for G&T is expanded, this need is becoming greater and more acute.

Leaders of the future: G&T leadership skills

scameron — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:35:31 +0000

As a G & T coordinator or leading teacher, how would you describe your leadership style? If you have been part of a programme of continuous professional development such as the NCSL ‘Leading from the Middle’ programme, you will undoubtedly have been asked to consider your own leadership style and how it affects the contributions of others around you; but have you considered how this learning could benefit the experiences of those able, gifted and talented students you support?

Identify G&T without stigmatising

scameron — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:49:01 +0000

The field of gifted education is primarily concerned to ensure that those who have the potential to excel are not held back by lack of educational opportunity. Yet the question of how best to achieve this continues to perplex. This year, I have been undertaking a review of the international literature on the education of gifted and talented children over the past 50 years, and it is clear that certain dilemmas in the field remain unresolved.

Identifying primary G&T pupils in sport

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:55:47 +0000

A cricketer’s career

When he was 13, cricketer Nasser Hussain was well on the way to becoming an international leg spinner. But within three years, he had undergone a growth spurt and in the midst of this physical development his bowling fell to pieces.

Intelligence vs ability

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:33:07 +0000

Orla is struggling in maths again. ‘I’m just not clever enough to do this, Miss’. For some reason the fact that she has been hailed a ‘literary genius’ since the age of seven on the basis of her creative word play and devouring Philip Pullman novels since the age of eight doesn’t seem to factor in this negative self-perception. And Sally. Well, what can we say about Sally? Working beyond Level 8 in maths at the tender age of 12, though she needs to work alone and abhors open-ended questions. The concept of error does not factor on her agenda.

Achieving equality for gifted and talented students

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:56:05 +0000

Many gifted and talented students live in black/ minority ethnic (BME) communities and/or speak English as an additional language (EAL), but such students are traditionally under-represented in G&T cohorts. The REAL (Realising Equality and Achievement for Learners) Project is the first national project specifically working to improve the overall quality of gifted and talented education for BME and EAL students.

Personalised learning opportunities for able students

scameron — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:00:51 +0000

Ask your closest colleague why they are doing what they are doing and chances are they will attribute the shape of their lives to an early encounter that unlocked something – ‘let the genie out of the bottle’ – forever. The encounter may have been with a book or a place, but it was more than likely with a teacher. It would have been the teacher who introduced the book, the place, or the subject, topic, activity, pastime that introduced the ‘other world’, beyond the routine and the everyday.

Nurturing hidden talent

scameron — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:51:26 +0000

The aim of widening participation policy is to ensure that everyone with the potential to benefit from higher education (HE) should have the opportunity to do so. But although the total number of students participating in HE has grown, it seems this is mainly due to an increase in numbers of students from affluent backgrounds. This highlights a need for targeted interventions addressing particular issues for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Give disadvantaged students the opportunity to shine

scameron — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:54:02 +0000

In the current education arena, the ‘skills agenda’ focuses on developing the intellectual capital of individual students and the ‘personalisation agenda’ provides a potential framework to enable this to occur. However, a third major education agenda is the need to reduce inequity in the system.

Making G&T cool using sport

scameron — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:10:54 +0000

Why do some G&T pupils get bullied for being bright whereas others do not? There is a theory that it is cool to be a bright boy if you are good at sport (for girls, the acceptance is possibly linked more to fashion sense and an attractive appearance). One of the biggest responsibilities of a school leader is to develop a culture where it is cool to be bright.

Keeping G&T education relevant to 21st century skills

scameron — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:22:41 +0000

We are all aware that the pace of change in society generally is accelerating and the future will be very different from the present. The catalysts for change are many, but include: continuing technological change; the impact of globalisation; changes to ways of working; the impact of demographic trends; changing lifestyles; and economic prosperity.

A celebration evening for G&T

scameron — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:57:43 +0000

Since the creation of the Institutional and Classroom Quality Standards, the need to provide for the needs of every gifted and talented pupil in their classrooms is a challenge made explicit for all schools. The recent move towards leading teachers is based on the recognition of this need and taking up post in 2006, I was aware of the need to provide some sort of catalyst for adding impetus to our development of G&T provision.

Monitoring G&T progress

scameron — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:27:31 +0000

While most schools now justifiably claim to be able to identify their able, gifted and talented pupils with relative confidence, many admit that they still have some way to go to match this efficiency with a reliable and consistent means of monitoring progress and determining whether these pupils are fulfilling their potential.

Science enrichment activities

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:27 +0100

Sometimes a little chaos in the classroom is a good thing; it can encourage creativity and lateral thinking.

This resource includes nine activities to encourage inquisitive learning in science, taken from Enriching Science KS1 & KS2 which will be published in the autumn.

Written by John Senior

How to recognise excellence

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:27 +0100

Are we always alert to signs of exceptional learning ability and potential?

This case study, one of our free teaching resources, provides examples of excellence from children that teachers can compare to their own students' work, to aid them in recognising signs of outstanding ability.

Written by David George

Checklist: Preparing a Gifted and Talented (G&T) policy

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:26 +0100

Gifted and talented provision checklist

Written by John Senior

Useful for Gifted and Talented (G&T) coordinators in primary schools, this resource will help form the foundations of your G&T policy. Providing an easy-to-understand and comprehensive checklist, you will be able to cover important ground in achieving a successful G&T policy.

Integrating gifted and talented provision

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:25 +0100

Integrating gifted and talented provision for whole school success

From creating the right staffing structure, to the leading teacher's role to the 'inside-out' and 'outside-in' approach, this resource explains how gifted and talented provision can be a vehicle for improvement in secondary schools.

Writing a Gifted and Talented (G&T) policy: Example action plan

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:25 +0100

Gifted and Talented (G&T) policy: Action plan and departmental checklist

Written by Brin Best, Sophie Craven and Jane West

This resource recognises that a ‘one size’ approach doesn’t fit all Gifted and Talented (G&T) policies, but that there are some themes common to all schools that you’ll need to consider.

Enrichment Activities: Space travel and satellite communications

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:21:44 +0100

This week’s primary enrichment activity looks at the future of space travel and asks pupils to consider what the priorities should be for the European Space Agency.

This week’s secondary enrichment activity looks at satellite communications and asks pupils to consider what would happen if the world’s satellites stopped functioning.

***Primary Enrichment***

A-Z of G&T education (2): Baccalaureate

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:21:01 +0100

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is an internationally recognised qualification for students aged 16 to 19, currently available in more than 70 schools and colleges in the UK, both state and independent. The programme leads to a single qualification, rather than separate qualifications for individual subjects. However, students who don’t achieve the full diploma can be awarded a certificate for each subject taken.

How to discover and nurture artistic talent

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:21:00 +0100

Gifted and talented students may have individual or unusual artistic skills and interests which can be difficult to nurture within the school curriculum. The lucky ones will be attending lessons or workshops outside school, but there will be others whose needs are not fulfilled. These students could benefit greatly from taking part in the Arts Award scheme.

G&T children: evidence contradicting the stereotypes

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:56 +0100

The outstanding finding from many years of international research on the development of gifts and talents is that the evidence and the mythology do not match (see Freeman 1998; Freeman 2002). The dominant stereotype is still of an undersized boy peering sadly through his thick spectacles at pages of mathematical equations. But virtually all the scientific research shows the gifted to be healthy children of both genders, emotionally stable and a pleasure to teach.

Young athletes: identifying and nurturing sporting talent

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:48 +0100

PE and sport, as a curriculum subject, is currently enjoying a significant increase in interest, partly because of concern about obesity in children and the need to combat ‘couch potato culture’ and, of course, the desire to produce athletes and sportsmen and women who can compete successfully in the world arena; with ambitions accentuated by the excitement about the 2012 Olympics being hosted in the UK. The government’s public service agreement targets ensure a minimum of 85% of all pupils being engaged in high-quality physical education and sport by 2008.

NACE Challenge in Wales

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:48 +0100

In common with much of the UK and elsewhere, provision for G&T pupils in Wales has historically consisted of masterclasses, competitions, residential courses, etc which were separate from classroom provision, and mostly centred on mathematics, sport and music. The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales 2000/2001 noted that about half the schools in Wales made provision at that time for ‘gifted and talented’ pupils, but that much of this related to extra-curricular activities during lunchtimes or out of school hours.

Emotional intelligence in gifted and talented children

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:47 +0100

Interviewing for a research project on the learning profile of G&T children, I asked ‘Do you often put your hand up to answer the teacher’s question?’. The child surprisingly answered ‘no’. He justified his reply by explaining that he wanted to give the other children the opportunity to learn, too! He was just six years old and nominated by his teacher as academically gifted.

Identifying and providing for younger gifted and talented children

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:47 +0100

Of all the children with special needs, younger gifted and talented children are the group most frequently ignored throughout the world. What happens if we continue to neglect the needs of these children?

There are losses for the children themselves and for society at large. In societies that care about their children, it is difficult to justify continued neglect of those for whom the ordinary pre-school or school programme may be a poor fit.

Coaching for confidence: gifted and talented pupils

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:45 +0100

Many G&T pupils get used to scoring high marks in tests and being able to learn quickly without a struggle. Then there comes an occasion where learning in a certain subject becomes difficult or they perceive they have failed in a test even though they have scored a high grade. These occasions can hit these pupils hard and their confidence can take a considerable knock, with peer-group behaviour often exacerbating the situation. For other pupils, their ability remains unrecognised and unrewarded; they lack confidence in themselves and what they think they can achieve.

Success in Moseley: achieving the NACE Challenge Award

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:44 +0100

Moseley C of E Primary School is a high-achieving school, but its gifted and talented provision was highlighted by Ofsted as an area for development. The NACE Challenge Award was identified as a practical solution for delivering on the school development plan (regardless of whether or not the school actually submitted for the award) and work began in the summer term of 2006, alongside development of AfL. By January 2007, however, a review of progress suggested that Moseley could be the first school in Birmingham to gain the Award and this provided all the motivation needed!

Teaching gifted children with Asperger syndrome: practical advice

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:42 +0100

Asperger syndrome might be defined as a mild form of autism in conjunction with normal or high intelligence. It was first described in the 1940s and has long been used in Europe as a diagnostic label. However, only in recent years has it attracted much attention in the UK, where the average age of diagnosis is 16! There is no national Asperger register, but the largest and most comprehensive survey suggested that 36 in 10,000 people are affected, with a ratio of 10 males to 1 female.

'Pressure is good for me' says one Year 10 gifted pupil

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:42 +0100

How do you feel when people refer to you as gifted and talented?

Primary pupil voice: collecting views

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:40 +0100

Being asked about ‘the student voice’ by the editor of G&T Update made me think about how to collect feedback from our most able pupils and conduct a sort of litmus test of ‘customer satisfaction’. I decided to incorporate a reflective writing task in the work I was doing with a group of G&T writers, introducing it as a response to the publishers request for pupil opinion.

G&T labelling - student views

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:39 +0100

Our school (an 11-18 urban mixed comprehensive) is probably in much the same situation in terms of G&T as many other schools. Colleagues run some really inspirational out-of-class activities, and there is a lot of very good practice within lessons, but we can’t be sure that our most able students are consistently getting the stimulus and challenge to which they are entitled.

Cross-curricular observations

Pupils respond to a teacher's marking

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:35 +0100

Many pupils want to be involved as active participants in the consideration of what makes good teaching and learning so that their role changes from being an ‘object’ of research attention, to one of active participation (Flutter and Ruddock, 2004).

Double loop learning

Including G&T pupils in the primary classroom

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:35 +0100

The ‘open-door’ approach to G&T provision involves offering high quality learning opportunities to all children, rather than offering a special diet exclusively to those identified as G&T (the ‘closed-door approach’). In this way, children flourish and may well excel, merely as a result of being exposed to a classroom atmosphere based on the premise of enriching provision for all.

National organisations for gifted and talented

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:31 +0100

The CfBT's plans are ambitious and will help practitioners to access the rich and diverse services now available from a number of different sources. In the meantime however, we have collected together information to provide readers with an overview of what is on offer from different quarters – this month, national organisations.

NACE: National Association for Able Children in Education
www.nace.co.uk

Learning to love languages: resources for young linguists

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:30 +0100

It became apparent, some time ago, that there would be a desperate shortage of gifted scientists and engineers if action were not taken to stimulate the interest of young people. Initially, efforts were made to woo older secondary pupils until it was realised that it can be too late by that stage because attitudes have hardened and other interests taken over. So universities, research organisations, businesses and professional bodies began to offer courses, summer schools, competitions and clubs to lower secondary and primary pupils.

What makes a good teacher for gifted and talented students?

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:30 +0100

Different teachers can be good in different ways, depending on their method of teaching and the types of pupils they teach. One teacher may be better suited to teaching pupils who struggle with certain subjects and another might be great at working with children who thrive on their subject and do really well in it.

Enjoyment

Schools explore the quality standards for gifted and talented provision

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:30 +0100

The National Quality Standards consist of three levels; entry, developing and exemplary. They provide:

a means of raising individual and whole school/college achievement
a tool for in-depth analysis of need, once G&T provision has been identified as a school priority
a snapshot to inform self-evaluation within the ‘annual conversation’
professional agreement on practice which is crucial for development
a route for improving the quality of teaching and learning

How to keep G&T provision at the top of your school's agenda

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:27 +0100

The role of G&T coordinator may change hands regularly: it is often added on to another, wider job specification, or it can be act as a springboard to further promotion. Consistency and continuity is sometimes hard to foster and while new, one-off initiatives are valuable and enjoyed by able pupils, it is regular opportunities and effective systems that make a school justifiably proud of its efforts to genuinely stretch, challenge and support the gifted and talented.