1. St Mary’s RC High School
GIFTED, TALENTED & ABLE
St Mary’s RC
High School

2. MINDSET??? The concept seems to fly in the face of Mindset!
The key is not to label a pupil as Gifted, Talented or Able!!
Be aware of lavish praise!!

3. ENRICHMENT Within ‘enrichment’ there is a need to distinguish between:
ENRICHMENT FOR ADDED BREADTH:
This supplements the standard curriculum with additional work unrelated to the standard curriculum (recreational subject-related activities, after school clubs, competitions etc)
AND
ENRICHMENT FOR ADDED DEPTH:
This routinely expects from those for whom it is appropriate a higher level of technique in, a greater depth of understanding of, and a willingness to reflect on standard curriculum material. It is enhanced by supplementary topics which lay stronger foundations for subsequent learning in a planned and systematic way, but which do not pre-empt standard curriculum work from subsequent years.

4. ‘Giftedness’ can be subject-specific along the following lines :
Sporting Ability
Musical Talent
‘Dramatic’ Talent
Innovative Designers
Linguistic / Languages Ability
Creativity
Logical Mathematical Ability
Leadership Skills
Organisational Ability
Mechanical / Practical Ingenuity
High Level of Interpersonal Skills

5. CHARACTERISTICS? Emotional/Social • personal sensitivity
These characteristics give you a broad idea of what high ability might look like; however they are not comprehensive and you would not expect each student to display each characteristic:
Emotional/Social
• personal sensitivity
• compassion for others
• can be intense, with perfectionist tendencies
• moral sensitivity – judgment seems mature for age
• preference for older companions
• vivid imagination and highly creative
• tendency to question authority.

6. CHARACTERISTICS? Skills and knowledge
• good problem-solving/reasoning abilities
• rapid learning ability and extensive vocabulary
• excellent memory and unusually observant
• long attention span, particularly when engaged with an activity
• unusual curiosity and wide range of interests
• high degree of energy.

7. IDENTIFICATION Look out for the child who.......
Learns more quickly than others
Has a retentive memory
Has a wide general knowledge and interest in the world
Is exceptionally musical
Excels at sport
Creates three dimensional working models
Has an advanced moral and social awareness

8. IDENTIFICATION Look out for the child who.......
Has a well-developed, sometimes odd sense of humour
Is either unusually introverted or extraverted
Is comfortable debating with adults / other pupils
Pays attention to detail
Grasps new concepts with ease
Links areas of knowledge without specific teaching
Is very motivated / self-disciplined
Is a lateral or divergent thinker

9. IDENTIFICATION Enjoys problem solving
Can concentrate for an inordinate amount of time
Has an unusual hobby
Is inquisitive, sceptical and will argue without giving way
Has an advanced vocabulary
Shows initiative and does not follow the lead

10. WARNING!! WHAT DO MORE ABLE STUDENTS TYPICALLY DISLIKE?
• Being made to feel different
• Extra work that is “more of the same”
• Low level tasks and time filling activities
• Too much independent learning
• Not being told the lesson objective
• Unhelpful marking that does not set targets for progression
• Writing for the sake of it!
• Lack of variety in class/homework
• Waiting for others to “catch up”
• Not being allowed an “off-day”!!!!

11. GOOD TEACHING TO STRETCH, CHALLENGE & ENGAGE
Modelling top level work
Clear success criteria
Changing the format of something (eg - re-writing something for a different audience)
Debates (Devil’s Advocate!) / Decision-making tasks
Creating a revision resource for other students
Open – ended questions
WHAT ELSE???