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Promoting Potential - Wirral’s Policy and Guidance on Meeting the needs of very able pupils, including those with specific needs and talents

Wirral’s aim for our gifted and talented programme is to raise educational standards among the most able and talented and to extend significantly the range of educational opportunities available to them.

We agree with the general principles laid down by the House of Commons Select Committee in 1999 and subsequently echoed by Ofsted and QCA, namely that there is no single ‘best way’ to meet the needs of very able pupils and that the emphasis must be on improving provision in their schooling.

Since the publication in August 2000 of our first policy and guidance document (which this publication replaces), Wirral schools have made excellent progress in this area. The Excellence in Cities initiative has provided valuable funding, from which many primary schools have also benefited, and has been a major influence in enhancing provision for the schools’ most able pupils.

Extensive training programmes have first of all raised awareness and then provided teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to improve classroom practice and provision for the very able. The increased range of educational opportunities being provided by Wirral schools incorporates extension and enrichment activities both within the curriculum and outside normal school hours, including summer schools.

Whilst the high profile given nationally to the needs of very able pupils has required a response from schools and Authorities, this should not be seen as the only justification for taking action. There are also strong educational grounds for doing so, to do with equality of opportunity and the rights of all pupils to have their educational needs met. In addition, there is strong evidence to suggest that a successful policy and practice for the most able pupils benefits not only them but all the pupils of the school through a raising of standards overall.

Research indicates that very able pupils benefit most from a richer diet, and more challenging curriculum, delivered in the same year group as the rest of their peers. Social and emotional development is not best served if such pupils are ‘fast tracked’ into higher age groups.

It is necessary first of all to clarify the terminology used. There are many terms in use, for example ‘very able’, ‘exceptionally able’, ‘able and gifted’, ‘gifted and talented’. The terms are all problematic as there is no single precise definition for what we mean by a very able or gifted and talented pupil.

We suggest that in Wirral we use the term ‘very able, including those with specific gifts and talents’ (shortened for convenience to ‘very able’) to describe those pupils who are exceptionally intellectually gifted, and appear to be a ‘quantum leap’ beyond their peers, at least in certain capacities (NB these individuals comprise a very small proportion of the population and may only figure rarely in the experience of an individual teacher); or

function at levels beyond expectations for their age, or show a quality of performance superior to that which is normally encountered among their peer group, in one or more of a range of subjects, including the creative and performing arts and physical activities; or have exceptional ability but are either unable, or unwilling, to demonstrate what they can do.

Ability and achievement are not the same thing and it should be recognised that latent ability does not always necessarily translate into high level performance.

The descriptions given above reflect a broad definition and an inclusive approach, both of which the Authority endorses. It is impossible to be precise in terms of numbers or proportions of pupils, but, generally speaking, this policy is intended to promote and support provision for individual pupils who are functioning, or who have the ability to function, at a higher level in one or more areas than the vast majority of their peers, regardless of the intake of the school.

Those areas may include:

• Academic, eg: linguistic (facility with language)
• Mathematical/logical (reasoning, organisation, calculation, abstract and structured thinking)
• Naturalistic awareness (awareness of the natural world, collecting, categorising, analysing)
• Physical / kinaesthetic, eg: physical skills, hand- eye co-ordination, aspects of sport, dance
• Aesthetic /musical / auditory, eg: skill with rhythm, pitch and musical patterns, art, drama
• Mechanical / visual / spatial, eg: ability to think in pictures / mental images, use movement to assist learning / design technology, drama, art, dance
• Social Skills (inter/intra-personal), eg: skills in communication,
• Leadership, sensitivity to others, self-awareness, self motivation, self-direction

It is important to recognise that high ability may be shown in one aspect only of any subject, rather than the whole subject, eg: cricket but not other areas of sport. No one area is more important than another. They are all of equal worth, for the simple reason that society needs individuals who have ability or talent in all those areas.

The most effective way to identify the very able in your school, and monitor their progress, is to use a variety of methods because of difficulties of definition and difficulties in measurement. The following is the range of methods that could be used to identify and monitor the very able:

School evaluation of achievements, progress and functioning, including:

• Teacher assessment,
• Pupil response to higher level and novel tasks,
• Generic and subject specific checklists,
• National Curriculum levels and SATs measures,
• Standardised test scores showing ability/attainments in relation to the population
• Parent nomination and views;
• Achievements and progress in activities outside school;
• Peer recognition/nomination;
• Self nomination.

To be effective, those identification methods will be part of the school’s procedures which allow for recognition at any point in pupil development;

In-Service Training

The aims of the Authority’s in-service programme are to promote and provide for the needs of very able pupils and to equip school staff with the knowledge and skills to make the fullest provision possible for very able pupils. These aims will be achieved by the promotion of opportunities for teachers to meet and share best practice, the provision of training sessions for school staff and governors built around the issues raised in this document, such as implications for planning and teaching, schools’ monitoring and evaluation, and appropriate resources.

Resources For Teaching and Learning

The Authority will seek to assist schools in accessing resources to inform teachers, governors, parents and other interested parties; provide ideas for the classroom teacher and provide suitable curriculum materials for use by the very able pupil.

The role of the Authority will be to provide a list on the Wirral Learning Grid of publications and teaching materials currently available from commercial sources; establish a system for reviewing and evaluating the usefulness of those resources; establish effective systems to enable the exchange of ideas and best practice and the sharing of materials and facilitate access to support agencies both within the Authority (e.g. subject inspectors, advisory teachers, curriculum groups, Wirral Able Children’s Centre [WACC]) and outside the Authority (e.g., National Association for Able Pupils in Education [NACE], National Association for Gifted Pupils [NAGC]).

Monitoring and Evaluation

The monitoring and evaluation of provision for the very able in Wirral schools will be carried out by both the school and the Authority.

The Authority has a duty to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the provision in its schools for pupils of all abilities, including the very able.

Contacts

Deidre Smith, Principal Manager (Gifted and Talented Education). Tel: 0151 346 6503
Ionna Norris, Aimhigher Co-ordinator. Tel: 0151 346 6703
Mandi Szuplewski, Gifted and Talented Lead Co-ordinator. Tel 0151 346 6700
Sue Lang, Advisory Teacher Gifted and Talented. Tel: 0151 346 6702