QUEEN’S CRESCENT SCHOOL

POLICY FOR ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN 

Rationale

At Queen’s Crescent School we acknowledge the potential of each individual pupil and as such seek to support the Able, Gifted and Talented within our school through the provision of a broad range of opportunities. We believe that the social and economic growth of Able, Gifted and Talented pupils should be encouraged alongside the development of academic and practical potential. In the pursuit of school wide excellence we aim to provide opportunities for all our pupils to reveal, display and extend their abilities.

Aims and Objectives

Our policy outlines the way that the school :

• Identifies what we mean by Able, Gifted and Talented children

• Identifies the procedures used to support and extend the abilities and pace of the development of these children.

• Outlines the procedures by which the school may identify and form a register of these children.

• Maintains the registration system.

• Provides coherent support to staff so that they can meet the needs of these pupils.

Definitions  

Gifted and talented pupils are those pupils who have one or more abilities developed to a level significantly in advance of the average for their year group in school.  

Who is an able, gifted and talented pupil?

All pupils have some special abilities and we may all have talents that we have not yet discovered.  Some pupils may exhibit talents in a number of areas whilst others may have talents in one specific area of expertise.

Hence the need for a clear definition of the terms used to describe these children :

The term ‘gifted’ refers to those pupils who are capable of excelling in academic subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science or History. ‘Talented’ refers to those pupils who may excel in areas requiring visio-spatial skills or practical abilities, such as games and PE, drama, design technology or art. 

Queen’s Crescent School recognises 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. The school normally identifies those pupils as gifted and talented.

Identification Strategies

Staff, pupils, parents and carers will be involved in the identification process.

The strategies used will include :

1. Initial identification by teachers using checklists - general and/or subject specific.
2. Identification by staff using class work and test results, namely SATs scores, Non-Verbal scores and teacher assessment results.
3. Information from parents or carers.
4. Identification by a previous teacher, previous school, external agency or organisation.
5. Discussions with pupils.
6. Talents exhibited in out of school clubs or organisations – dance, gym, karate etc.

Gifted and talented can be defined in 3 broader areas :

• academic ability (in one or more than one subject of the school curriculum other than art, music or P.E.)

• talent (ability in art, music or P.E. or in sport or creative art)

• ‘all-rounders’ ability in a wide range of subjects)

In identifying those pupils who are gifted and talented, the school also aims to identify those pupils who have the potential to achieve beyond the expectation for their age but who are presently under-achieving.

The staff at Queen’s Crescent School are aware that latent talent or potential may go unrecorded, that social backgrounds/lack of opportunity may disadvantage pupils and that some pupils perform poorly in tests. To redress this, teachers will be encouraged to use their professional judgment and experience through observation of pupils; rates of progress in acquiring relevant knowledge, skills and understanding. 

The School Register

Pupils who have been identified by a teacher as being gifted and talented will be entered onto the school register kept by the co-ordinator and then distributed to all teaching staff. The parent of the child will be informed by letter at the beginning of the academic year. The register will be reviewed twice a year by the staff and the progress of each pupil will be evaluated.

Teachers also fill in an annual overview for each child in their class who is on the gifted and talented register. This provides information about the gifts or talents the child has displayed over the past year as well as the provision they have received within lessons and out of school hours.

Provision within the school and beyond

Queen’s Crescent School recognises that it is important for gifted and talented pupils to work at an appropriate pace and in a variety of settings. Some of our able pupils will grasp concepts quickly and be ready to move to more demanding work; at times they may also require more time than others to complete work to their own satisfaction.

The school aims to:-

• Ppovide extra opportunities for pupils to work in small groups to extend their interest and abilities in their area of gift or talent.

• group pupils in ways which teachers feel will maximise the quality of teaching and learning;

• identify in planning differentiated work/resources and opportunities for open-ended homework

• develop and provide opportunities for extension work

• provide opportunities for access to the internet

• provide opportunities for effective research techniques, library and ICT skills

• encourage and celebrate the expression of special ability - musical, sporting, theatrical performance and art work through assemblies, presentations and certificates.

Continuity and Progression

Gifted and talented pupils often make maximum progress through careful differentiated planning and record keeping. Records and lesson planning are shared between teachers in year groups and records follow the pupil to the next class.

Inclusion

Gifted and talented children have equal access to all aspects of the curriculum and school life and will be encouraged to take a full part. The school recognises that some gifted pupils may be keen to specialise in some activities but this should not be to the detriment of other curriculum subjects as the school encourages a balanced and full curriculum.

Extension or Extra-Curricular Opportunities

The co-ordinator informs teachers and parents about the extra curricular opportunities that are available for gifted and talented children around and beyond the school. These extra curricular activities may be at specialised times and may be in the form of a day and weekend courses run by the LEA at Braeside Residential Centre. Some courses are run during school hours by secondary schools within Chippenham covering such areas as maths and English enrichment, music, design technology etc.

Queen’s Crescent School Gifted and Talented Activities

The AGAT activities are provided to extend and enhance those children who display a particular gift or talent in one or more subject areas. The activities will be run by teachers and professionals within the school and from outside the school. These may be visiting artists, musicians, PE teachers from secondary school as well as teachers within Queen’s Crescent School. The activities will be run throughout the year as they become available, the aim being to have at least one activity per subject and for all children on the AGAT register to attend at least one activity. Depending on budget, more sessions per term will be offered. Activities will be planned to challenge and extend the abilities of the children and allow them to work closely with other children of a similar age and ability.

The Role of Parents and Carers

Parents and carers involvement is encouraged in the child’s learning. Parents and carers will be informed of their child’s inclusion on the register  at the beginning of the academic year. The register is annually updated and reviewed. This is to ensure children on the register are maintaining their development in their area of expertise according to their change in age, maturity and interests.

The pupils are encouraged to share their work and ideas with their parents during open evenings, visits to the school and at home. Parents are invited to support their child during the time they are doing set homework including the provision of space to work and additional resources. 

Personal and Social Education

Class work and work outside the classroom includes a number of opportunities for pupils to work in small and large groups, which will help develop their personal and social skills. The way that pupils work in teams, support each other when discussing ideas or collecting resources and materials all support their social, personal and emotional development. Some gifted and talented pupils find working in teams easy,

others show excellent leadership skills but others find ’team work’ more difficult. The school aims to develop all pupils’ abilities, including their social and personal skills, especially if these are not strengths.

Monitoring and evaluation

The monitoring and evaluation of the achievements made in this area of the curriculum is carried out through the guidelines on monitoring and evaluation. These set out how the head teacher, deputy head and subject leader use a range of strategies to assess the quality of achievements.  The class teachers however, have a key role in monitoring and evaluation of their work and that of the children in their class.  The Headteacher works with the governing body to inform them about the work carried out within the school. The periodic reports either through the Wiltshire School Improvement programme’ or OFSTED inspections give independent and outside views on the standards achieved within the subject area.