POLICY FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE

GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILD

AIMS

Ø To encourage and foster the special talents and aptitudes of each individual child and include them fully in the school community.

Ø To recognise each child as an individual, to develop self-discipline and help realise their potential

Ø To help pupils develop inquiring minds, the ability to question and argue rationally and to apply themselves to relevant tasks and physical skills

In order to fulfill these aims we:

Ø Designate a member of staff to co-ordinate work relating to the gifted and talented child

Ø Provide a range of extension material that will meet the demand for enrichment within the curriculum. Intellectual challenge will be incorporated through the quality of work rather than the quantity

Ø Provide self-initiated and self-directed learning that will encourage the able child to develop the attitude that knowledge is worth pursuing

Ø Prepare pupils for an understanding of their relationship to others and their place in society

Ø Actively seek opportunities to enrich pupil's experiences by liaising with other classes within the school, partnership schools, outside agencies and visiting speakers

Ø Monitor the progress of able pupils and effectively transfer information regarding the child's needs when the child changes class group

CATEGORIES OF ABILITY

The following categories are recognised (see also the school's Special Needs Policy):

Physical talent

Artistic talent

Mechanical ingenuity

Leadership

High intelligence

Creativity

IDENTIFICATION OF GIFTED AND TALENTED PUPILS

We do not believe that any of the following should be used in isolation, rather that information about each individual should be taken from as many sources as possible.

Ø Teacher assessment

Ø Teacher nomination

Ø Parental nomination

Ø Standardised tests and SATs

Ø Peer group nomination - children in contact with each other both in and outside the classroom may have useful complementary information

Ø Nomination by a recognised 'expert' (e.g. educational psychologist, L.E.A. adviser)

Ø (see guidelines for an initial checklist for the identification of gifted and talented pupils)

PROVIDING FOR MORE ABLE PUPILS

DIFFERENTIATION

Tasks need to be planned so that they meet the needs of groups or individuals within a class.

This may be achieved in these ways:

By outcome:

Ø the same open ended task is given to all children but with an expected range of results

Ø the same task is given but adult intervention is appropriately planned

Ø differentiation by work rate - completion of tasks

Ø differentiation by method of reporting - written, oral, etc.

By input:

Ø different tasks for each ability group

Ø same core of work, plus an additional range of work for some

Ø same core work, plus pupils choose from an additional range of options

Ø different aspects of a topic undertaken by different ability groups

Ø children grouped with different roles assigned within the group (or negotiated by the group)

Ø different tasks for each individual child

Ø tasks set in accordance with pupil performance on National Curriculum levels of attainment

By organisation:

Ø time made available to work on a task greater for some groups than others

Ø all children working on the same task but certain equipment made available to particular groups

Ø groups undertaking a task for behavioural / personality reasons

THE UNDER-ACHIEVING CHILD

We recognise the possibility that some children who are performing poorly or apparently under achieving at school may be gifted and talented children "in disguise".

(see guidelines for a list of possible behavioural strategies adopted by unrecognised able children.)

MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

A register of gifted and talented pupils is kept, detailing the areas in which they have shown particular ability. A proforma is available to detail additional information and strategies for use with individual exceptional pupils.

Progress will be regularly monitored and achievement assessed by class teachers or the coordinator. Where appropriate, additional advice will be sought from the L.E.A. (Deborah Eyre) or from the educational psychologist.

AMENDMENT SHEET FOR ALL POLICY STATEMENTS

POLICY FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILD

POLICY NUMBER 48 Version 2

DATE POLICY RATIFIED: AUTUMN 1997

DATE POLICY LAST REWRITTEN: SUMMER 2002

Review Date	Page	Line	Amendment
Summer 1997			Written
Summer 2002			Rewritten