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Bishop Challoner

Catholic Collegiate School

POLICY : GIFTED & TALENTED

Aims

• To encourage high expectation and the pursuit of excellence among both


students and staff.
• To provide students with the opportunities to raise their achievement.
• To provide an appropriately differentiated curriculum that enables more able
students to achieve their best.
• To provide curriculum enrichment activities that enable more able students to
develop beyond normal expectations.
• To develop unique talents.

Definition

There are many definitions of ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’. This guidance builds on the
work of Excellence in Cities (EiC), which identifies:

• ‘Gifted’ students as those who have abilities in one or more subjects in the
statutory school curriculum other than art & design, music, dance, drama and
PE.
• ‘Talented’ students as those who have abilities in art & design, music and PE;
and/or in sports and in performing arts such as dance and drama.
• Students who are ‘all-rounders’ are both gifted and talented. This policy
document uses the phrase ‘gifted and talented’ (G&T) to describe students
with gifts, students with talents and students who are all-rounders.

EiC targets G&T work at the top 5-10% of students in any school, regardless of the
profile of the students at the school.

Funding

Funding for the G&T initiative comes from the DfES, via EiC. Funding is intended to
be used to further the initiative within the school for the benefit of G&T students.
Running costs include:

• Salary point(s) and time in the G&T Co-ordinator’s timetable


• Secretarial time
• Communication, including telephone, stationery and postage

The remainder of the annual budget is spent on a range of activities and initiatives to
further the education of G&T students. Examples of activities and initiatives include:

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• Teaching and learning resources e.g. higher level textbooks, ICT
• Out of hours clubs
• Additional classes for the more able
• Examination revision classes
• Trips
• Workshops
• Visiting speakers

The school also uses money from the delegated budget to support the specialist
musical instrument lesson programme and sport/team events; to provide resources for
these activities.

Rationale

G&T students are those who achieve, or have the ability to achieve at a level
significantly in advance of the average for their year group. They are to be:
• Identified
• Targeted
• Supported
• Challenged.

The school strives to achieve the above, recognising the needs of G&T students to be
an equal opportunities issue.

Roles and Responsibilities

Leadership

• Provide adequate resources to ensure high quality education for G&T students
• Monitor and evaluate the development of the policy across the curriculum and
year groups
• Provide opportunities for staff development to raise awareness and develop
skills in identifying G&T students, developing teaching and learning strategies
and providing resources for G&T students
• Report to governors on the progress of the initiative
• Provide G&T Co-ordinator with time and resources to fulfil the role
effectively

G&T Co-ordinator

• Create/update the whole-school G&T register annually


• Collect and disseminate data on the student cohort as necessary
• Develop an annual teaching and learning programme
• Promote and help organise appropriate curriculum enrichment activities so
that G&T students are able to benefit fully from the activities on offer

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• Represent the school at borough and cluster meetings
• Support departments and individual subject teachers to deliver an appropriate
curriculum for the identified students
• Liaise with Year Leaders, Heads of Faulty and Subject Leaders as necessary
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the G&T initiative within the school
• Support and mentor students on the G&T register

Head of Faculty/Subject Leaders

• Develop a faculty/departmental policy within the framework of the whole-


school policy
• Create/update faculty/departmental G&T registers annually
• Ensure that schemes of work and lesson plans show differentiation for varying
levels of ability and promote a variety of teaching and learning strategies
• Establish a set of criteria for identifying G&T students and ensure that it is
adhered to by members of the faculty/department
• Monitor the achievement/attainment of the identified students in conjunction
with Year Leaders and subject teachers
• Encourage students to participate in relevant cluster/other activities

Year Leaders

• Develop a pastoral policy within the framework of the whole-school policy


• Monitor the achievement/attainment of the identified students in conjunction
with Head of Faculty, Subject Leaders and subject teachers
• Liaise with parents/guardians in conjunction with subject teachers over
concerns about under-achievement of G&T students

Identification

The school follows Ogilvie’s definition of ‘giftedness’ (1973), which suggests six
areas of ability to be recognised:

• Physical talent
• Mechanical ingenuity
• Visual and performing abilities
• Outstanding leadership and social awareness
• Creativity
• High intelligence.

Identification of G&T students is an annual process that informs planning and


curriculum delivery. The process seeks to identify both high achievers and students
who have the potential to achieve but who are not regularly demonstrating high
achievement.

A variety of data is used, including:

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• SATs at KS2 and KS3
• NFER Cognitive Ability Tests (CATS)
• School banding
• Subject nominations
• Examination/assessment of student work
• Information from feeder primary schools
• Information from parents and other providers.

In addition, the school seeks to identify its G&T students through:

• Talking with parents, carers and peers


• Observing how students approach routine work in class and activities outside
the classroom
• Observing students in a range of learning contexts with a view to spotting
leadership skills, an aptitude for problem solving or acute listening/processing
skills
• Tracking/mentoring students.

Characteristics to look for

G&T students are diverse in their characteristics and their range of attainment is
varied. However, they are more likely than most students to:

• Think quickly and accurately


• Work systematically
• Generate creative working solutions
• Work flexibly, processing unfamiliar information and applying knowledge,
experience and insight to unfamiliar situation
• Communicate their ideas and thoughts well
• Be determined, diligent and interested in uncovering patterns
• Achieve, or show potential to achieve, in a wide range of contexts
• Be particularly creative
• Show great sensitivity or empathy
• Demonstrate particular physical dexterity or skill
• Make sound judgements
• Be outstanding leaders or team members
• Be fascinated by, or passionate about, a particular subject of aspect of the
curriculum
• Demonstrate high levels of attainment across a range of subjects or within a
particular subject or aspects of work.

Some G&T students do well in national curriculum tests (including the extension
texts) and in world-class tests. However, the school recognises that, as the list above
suggests, being G&T covers much more than the ability to succeed in tests.

The school acknowledges that not all G&T students are obvious achievers. Many
underachieve: their potential is masked by such factors as frustration, low self-esteem,

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lack of challenge, and low teacher/parent expectations. To enable such students to
fulfil their true potential, the school strives to give all its students the opportunity to
excel.

Avoiding stereotyping

The school strives to ensure that the full range of its student population is considered
when identifying the G&T cohort. We check that the students identified as G&T are
broadly representative of the school as a whole since significant disparity might
suggest that some students have been overlooked.

Provision

Provision for all students, including differentiation for G&T students, is the
responsibility of all teaching staff. The school seeks to provide a balance of in-class
and out-of-class opportunities for curriculum enrichment. Schemes of work will
identify areas of enhanced work and extension opportunities for G&T students.
Students will be encouraged to use higher order thinking skills where appropriate, to
think creatively and to engage in independent learning. The school seeks to meet the
emotional and social needs of G&T students though offering appropriate teaching and
learning opportunities in an environment that is supportive of and celebrates the more
able.

Monitoring/Reviewing

The whole-school G&T register is updated by the G&T Co-ordinator in the autumn
tern of each academic year. This is aided by comments from faculties across the
school, in addition to various forms of data (see Identification, above). At this time,
students are added to or removed from the register as appropriate. The names of
newly identified year 7 students are added around the same time.

Subject schemes of work should be monitored by Heads of Faculty to ensure adequate


and appropriate provision is made for G&T students. There should also be regular
lesson observations (undertaken as part of the school’s QA procedures) to check that
high expectations are being set and the all students are provided with equal
opportunities.

Resources and support

• Money from the G&T budget is spent each year on resources and support
materials.
• The G&T Co-ordinator regularly gives INSET to teachers within the school
and those working towards QTS.

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Further support, ideas and resources can be found at:

NAGTY

www.warwick.ac.uk/gifted

The Standards Site

www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/giftedandtalented

Providing for Gifted and Talented Children

www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications

HGfL, gifted and talented

www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/gifted

London Gifted & Talented - Home

www.londongt.org/homepage/index.php

Gifted and Talented Education Professional Development

www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/ education/rescon/cpdgifted/home.html!

QCA | Gifted and talented

www.qca.org.uk/8774.html

Espresso Education - Gifted and talented

www.espresso.co.uk/services/ overview/pol_gifted_talented.html

Gifted and Talented (G&T) Support Programme from British Mensa

www.mensa.org.uk/giftedandtalented

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London Grid for Learning

www.lgfl.net

BBC - Schools Parents - Gifted and Talented

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents/ life/sen/gifted_and_talented

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