More able policy

Devonshire Primary Academy More Able, Gifted and Talented Policy

Implementation Date: October 2013 Adopted by Governors/HT: HT Review period: 1 year Last review date: October 2013 Person responsible for policy: Mrs C Scott

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented

Devonshire Primary Academy More Able, Gifted and Talented Policy Reviewed and updated October 2013 Rationale Devonshire Primary Academy fosters a learning community, in which all knowledge is valued and abilities and talents are recognised. It supports all children to aspire to the highest standards of academic and social development and seeks to develop an ethos in which achievement is celebrated by children, families and the wider community. The development and implementation of this policy will improve opportunity and provision for more able children. It will challenge the anti-achievement culture, recognising and celebrating success and promoting the belief that it is cool to be bright. Teaching and learning strategies developed through this policy have the potential to impact on the motivation and learning of all pupils.

Aims The aims of this policy are to promote a school ethos where there is: 

a stimulating and inspiring learning environment that evokes high expectations from children, staff and parents,



a safe environment within which children feel able to display ability, take risks and experience failure or setbacks as further challenge,



pastoral support available both for more able children and those experiencing barriers to learning,



a broad, balanced and challenging curriculum offered to all children, which meets their needs and enables them to achieve their potential,



high aspirations of children promoted by enhancing and enriching their ability to learn, their range of knowledge, their core skills, their intellectual curiosity, their creativity and their specific talents,



emphasis on children adopting a positive and independent attitude to learning whereby they are offered time to reflect on their learning.

Definitions The school recognises the DfEE definition that: “Gifted and talented pupils are those pupils who achieve, or have the ability to achieve, at a level significantly in advance for the average for their year group.” (DfEE 1999, Excellence In Cities). Nationally this would be expected to be 5 and 10% of each year group. At Devonshire Primary Academy, because of the variable size of the year groups, it is more appropriate to be able to identify between 5 and 10% of the school population.

2

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented

We adopt the following definitions:

Gifted: ‘Gifted’ refers to a child who has demonstrated a significantly higher level of ability than most other pupils in their peer group in one or more academic curriculum areas. This description applies to the top 2 per cent of children.

Talented: ‘Talented’ refers to a child who excels in the artistic and creative subjects or PE, but who does not perform at a high level across all areas of academic learning.

More Able: Between 10 and 20 per cent of children are ‘more able’, achieving high levels of attainment across the curriculum, or in particular skills or aspects of subjects.

The DCSF believe that ability is evenly distributed throughout the population; therefore a school’s gifted and talented cohort should be broadly representative of its whole school population.

Identification of More Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils It is our aim to use a range of strategies to identify more able, gifted and talented pupils at Devonshire Primary Academy. The process is continuous and begins when a child joins our school in nursery (or as a later admission) and involves staff, pupils, parents and carers. The register is reviewed and updated once per term and progress of this cohort is tracked.

Data taken into consideration includes: (i)

Qualitative: 

Information from parents and carers.



Information from previous class/school and/or pre-school records.



Teacher observations and nominations.



Discussion with pupils.



Agreed checklists of classroom characteristics (see Appendix 1)

(ii)

Quantitative: 

Baseline assessments, including optional SAT’s scores to track individual pupils.

3

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented The children identified as more able uses information based on National Curriculum Levels:

End of Year

National Curriculum Level

National Curriculum Equivalent Points

1

2c+

13+

2

3c+

19+

3

3a+

23+

4

4c+

25+

5

4b+

27+

6

5c+

31+



National Tests (end of Key Stage 1 and 2).



Internal test results including RM Snapshot and half termly assessment.

The Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator has responsibility for the continuous update of the cohort register and tracking data on children’s progress. This will be shared on a regular basis with all staff in order to inform the development of academic and pastoral support strategies.

Parents will be informed during termly parental consultations and invited to join discussion about their child. See Appendix 2 for guidance to support class teachers in informing parents.

The progress of the pupils on the register will be monitored and reported on at pupil progress meetings with Mrs Smith.

Pastoral support is offered to children identified as having specific needs or barriers to learning. Learning mentors are targeted for underachievers or those children experiencing barriers to learning.

4

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented Provision for More Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils

In class provision As appropriate, teachers will provide differentiated activities and a range of support and resources for more able and gifted pupils. These activities will match their needs in terms of challenge, pace, breadth, depth and learning style. Differentiation strategies will include the use of more challenging resources and vocabulary, use of higher order thinking skills, extension and individual tasks and independent study/research.

Year six is setted for Literacy, Numeracy and Science. Also, children are grouped for Literacy and Numeracy in years 2 and 5. Target setting is integral to the achievement of school based Curricular targets and set challenging objectives from higher year groups for the more able and gifted cohort.

Out of class activities

We offer an extensive range of extra-curricular activities for our children. These activities offer more able, gifted and talented children the opportunity to further extend their learning in a range of activities. Opportunities include a range of sporting, arts, and ICT clubs. Talented pupils also have the opportunity to compete in many inter-schools sporting events. We make parents aware of opportunities for pupils beyond the school context. Achievements, both in and outside school, are rewarded in assemblies and newsletters.

Monitoring of More Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils, including review procedures The Line Manager for this policy is Mr N Hodgkins.

Roles and Responsibilities Named co-ordinator: 1.

To maintain records on the Gifted and Talented register and share information with colleagues.

2.

To consult with and report to senior management, staff and governors.

3.

To liaise with parents, interview children and monitor progress.

4.

Keep up to date with provision for the more able and disseminate that information to colleagues.

5

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented 5.

To support colleagues in the planning of an appropriate curriculum for the more able.

6.

To establish links with other schools and sectors of education, outside agencies and organisations involved in the support for the more able.

7.

To develop a system to monitor the impact of the policy on provision and progress.

8.

To review and evaluate the policy, providing and annual report.

Class Teacher: 1.

To engage in consultation relating to this policy and supporting its aims.

2.

To nominate children for the cohort, giving details as required.

3.

To engage in training as required.

4.

To set targets and keep records on progress.

5.

To develop and plan a differentiated curriculum to meet the needs of the more able.

Named Governor: 1.

To ensure implementation of the agreed policy.

2.

To enable the sharing of expertise and good practice in the teaching and management of the more able, gifted and talented cohort.

3.

To ensure a fair distribution of resources.

4.

To ensure that all relevant policies and documents refer to the more able, gifted and talented children.

Revised October 2013 Mrs C Scott

6

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented Appendix 1

Characteristics of gifted and more able children

Gifted and more able children tend to exhibit some, but not necessarily all of the following characteristics:  demonstrate high levels of fluency and originality in their conversation  appreciate a sense of humour; often have a quirky sense of humour favouring the absurd; use subtle humour to great effect  prefer the company of adults  dislike criticism of themselves/others  have unnecessary worries  have an unusual resistance in putting pen to paper  have a vivid imagination  take an interest in difficult discussion areas such as politics or religious debate  be dominant in a social group  have a good memory  respond positively to challenges  become easily frustrated and resistant to repetitive tasks  have wide interests  show an in depth knowledge about a subject  pursue particular interests well beyond what is normally required  use research skills effectively to synthesise information  enjoy reading and respond to a range of texts at an advanced level  use a wide vocabulary and enjoy working with words  see issues from a range of perspectives  possess a creative and productive mind  explore a range of strategies for solving a problem  are naturally curious when working with numbers and investigating problems  see solutions quickly without needing to try a range of options or to write anything down (they often don’t see any point in recording their methodology)  show dissatisfaction with the results achieved, aiming for perfection  look beyond the question in order to hypothesise and explain  work flexibly and establish their own strategies  enjoy manipulating numbers in a variety of ways  challenge arguments and possibly appear to be disrespectful

7

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented Appendix 2 Informing Parents

This document is designed to support class teachers in informing parents of their child’s placement on the gifted and talented register, as agreed in consultation with the gifted and talented co-ordinator.

Informing parents is a delicate matter for many reasons. For example:



The more able, gifted and talented register is a fluid document and children maybe added and removed at termly reviews of the cohort. Children that then underachieve will be supported by a provision map that will identify intervention strategies.



Parents may give them a ‘label’ and elevate their egos and evoke complacency with parental support and distort the child’s perceptions of themselves.



Parents may have unrealistic expectation of school to provide additional support for more able, gifted and talented pupils.

Below is a guidance of informing a parent of a child’s position on the register at a parents’ meeting:



Inform parent that in light of recent results, assessments etc their child is currently performing above age related expectations. Due to these results/recent performance they have been placed on the register for more able/gifted/talented.



Elaborate on what this means; Child will be monitored by class teacher to ensure progress continues.

Opportunities will be identified to support the child in developing further.

Teacher will consult with child/parent to establish preferred ways of learning/support opportunities.



Ensure parents understand that it is a fluid register and that children may be put on/off register at various points in their education. If they are removed, what happens – pupil progress meetings followed by underachieving provision map.



Discuss with parents any needs they may have in order to support their child further at home.



Provide parents with a leaflet on how to support their able learner.

8

Devonshire Primary Academy – More Able, Gifted and Talented

9