At St James’ we aim to provide the best possible education for all our children including the exceeding, gifted and talented. We firmly believe that recognition and support for our exceeding pupils is a factor in raising achievement for all pupils. We aim to provide opportunities for each pupil to be stretched and challenged in order to fulfil their potential and to excel. This provision is an integral part of the teaching and learning at St James’. All teachers have very high expectations of all pupils and we strive to provide a secure yet challenging environment which will stimulate the development of all students to maximise their potential.

Definition of Exceeding, Gifted and Talented

Exceeding, gifted and talented children are those that well exceed the expectations for their age group in one or more subjects.

“Exceeding” is used for those capable of excelling in subjects, such as English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Computing and Religious Education.

The term “Gifted” refers to a number of children significantly above their year group in one or more academic subjects. “Talented” is applied to those children with a particular talent in areas such as Games, PE, Music, Drama or Art.

Identification

Identification of exceeding, gifted and talented pupils is an ongoing, whole-school process. Identifying these children is important in order to ensure they receive planned, personalised teaching and learning opportunities within and beyond the classroom that will challenge, support and stretch them to the full extent of their individual potential.

There is a wide range of identification strategies and it is important that no single process is used in isolation. Identification is usually made by:

Subject criteria set by the subject leaders

Teacher observation and assessment

Observation and discussion with other members of staff

Discussions with parents/carers and with specialist teachers / outside coaches

Once identified, the class teacher works alongside the Exceeding, Gifted and Talented Leader to provide challenging work in the classroom. The teacher ensures that every child achieves as highly as they can creating a culture of high expectations and aspirations within the school.

Informing Parents

We keep parents up to date on pupil’s progress and achievements through informal meetings, Goal Sharing Day and parents evenings.

We encourage parents to keep the school informed of any awards, competitions or outside school interests their children may have. Additionally we encourage parents to further develop a pupil’s interest by enrolling them in a club outside of school which will further nurture and encourage their child’s talent.