Gifted and Talented Policy
Rationale
Plymstock Science department supports the whole school policy and believes that every
student should have the right personalised support to reach the limits of their capability.
Gifted and Talented students require increased stretch and challenge in the classroom,
and the opportunities to further their talents outside school. We advocate a context of
inclusion, where underachievement and disadvantage are tackled through an efficacious
provision for all students with a special educational need.
An effective Gifted and Talented provision is a question of equity and entitlement.
Students with exceptional gifts or talents have the right to an education that challenges
and excites them, in an environment that celebrates excellence and supports the growth
of individuals who may one day themselves challenge the limits of knowledge and
understanding.
Aims
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To provide a comprehensive environment that provides fully for Gifted and Talented
students within a framework of equal opportunity
To maintain and develop a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum which offers
opportunities for innovation and flexibility
To implement strategies that address the needs of an identified cohort of Gifted and
Talented students
To provide opportunities for able students to work at higher cognitive levels and / or
develop specific skills or talents
To ensure that Gifted and Talented students are motivated to achieve the best of their
ability and set standards of excellence as examples for others to follow
To pro ide a supporti e a d ari g s hool setti g for the hole hild, here stude ts
intellectual and social needs are recognised
To work collaboratively with other schools and institutions to improve provision for
Gifted and Talented students
General Strategies for the Provision of Gifted and Talented
Students:
We support the belief that teaching styles for more able students should be open-ended
a d fle i le. Gifted a d Tale ted lear ers respo d less ell to ore dire ted tea hi g
and rigid learning structures. There is a need to allow more able students the opportunity
to take risks i their lear i g a d to thi k outside the o . All stude ts, ut parti ularl
those with exceptional gifts or talents, should be encouraged to think creatively and
divergently. Teachers in the department employ a range of teaching methods to cater for
the different learning styles of the students.
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Provision for the Gifted and Talented should include:
Enrichment (breadth of study and experience)
Extension (depth of study and experience)
Acceleration (pace of study)
General strategies:
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Class setting according to departmental policy
Withdrawal within classes for focused small group work
Parental involvement in homework activities
Enrichment activities across the curriculum
Extension activities across the curriculum
Planned activities during lessons to meet the needs of the Gifted and Talented
Schemes of Work in all subjects to address the needs of the Gifted and Talented
Provision of wide range of higher level resources for the Gifted and Talented
Extra-curricular activities
Younger students working with older students
Mentoring
Subject-Specific Strategies for the Provision of Gifted and Talented
Students
Pl sto k S hool s Gifted a d Tale ted Poli pro otes the provision for Gifted and
Talented students through departmental strategy. The expectation is for all subjects to
take full responsibility for the monitoring and challenging of their Gifted and Talented
students. Departments must:
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Mentor their G&T students ter l usi g the rele a t s hool profor as Gifted a d
Tale ted Me tori g Meeti g For s
Provide stimulating extension work in all lessons
Hold a bank of subject-specific extension activities in departments
Set termly curricular targets and action plans
Provide extended projects / extension work for outside school
Provide subject-specific enrichment activities
Departmental Enrichment:
We provide a varied selection of enrichment for our Gifted and Talented students. Some
specific examples of enrichment are:
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Biology/Chemistry and Physics Olympiad
Lecturers from Plymouth University delivering lectures to our Gifted and Talented
students
 For Physics at all key stages extensions activities are written into the scheme of work.
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 Key Stage 3 – the department is looking at how they can extent the students into Level
8. This will be written into the schemes of work and will be ready to go from
September 2012.
 G&T Trips e.g. Year 9 as part of Science week took part in Men in White. There has
been a MET Office trip. All of these are aimed at G&T students and then opened up to
the top sets which are the most able students in science.
Departmental Extension:
The Science department makes extension provision for Gifted and Talented students
through Schemes of Work which include G&T provision and teaching strategies. Some
examples of specific extension are:
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G.C.S.E. A* Booster Classes during Easter School and in run up to exams
A Le el Booster Classes for A a d A* stude ts
Extended projects / tasks for completion outside school, e.g. research task
transformed into presentation for rest of class and competition (Go 4 Set)
Cross-Curricular Provision
 STEM Club at Key Stage 3 (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Club) run by
VBS. Club has cross curricular elements. This is attended by Key Stage 3 G&T students.
They are looking into the idea of having STEM Leaders for the older students who
would support / lead sessions (like what is done in PE with sports leaders).
Monitoring Procedures for Gifted and Talented Students
The monitoring of Gifted and Talented students occurs in accordance with the school
system of Mentoring Meetings. We follo the s hool s e tori g pro edures a d use the
designated forms for termly meetings with students. The forms are copied and held
within the department and also centrally with the G&T Coordinator for whole school
monitoring. The mentoring forms require:
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The inclusion of relevant data for monitoring purposes
A review of progress by student and teacher
Current orking at and target grades or levels
The setting of Curricular Targets
An Action Plan of activities that will facilitate the meeting of targets
From September 2010 talented students will have an attainment and achievement record
which includes progress, milestones and attainment. Talented students, their parents and
their teachers will be encouraged to keep Coordinators up to date about successes.
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G&T Criteria
Pupils who are gifted in Science are likely to:
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be imaginative
read widely, particularly science or science fiction
have scientific hobbies and/or be members of scientific clubs and societies
be extremely interested in finding out more about themselves and things around
them
enjoy researching obscure facts and applying scientific theories, ideas and models
when explaining a range of phenomena
be able to sustain their interest and go beyond an obvious answer to underlying
mechanisms and greater depth
be inquisitive about how things work and why things happen (they may be
dissatisfied with simplified explanations and insufficient detail)
ask many questions, suggesting that they are willing to hypothesise and speculate
use different strategies for finding things out (practical and intellectual) -- they may
be able to miss out steps when reasoning the answers to problems
think logically, providing plausible explanations for phenomena (they may be
methodical in their thinking, but not in their recording)
put forward objective arguments, using combinations of evidence and creative
ideas, and question other people's conclusions (including their teacher's!)
decide quickly how to investigate fairly and manipulate variables
consider alternative suggestions and strategies for investigations
analyse data or observations and spot patterns easily
strive for maximum accuracy in measurements of all sorts, and take pleasure, for
example, from reading gauges as accurately as possible (sometimes beyond the
accuracy of the instrument)
make connections quickly between facts and concepts they have learned, using
more extensive vocabulary than their peers
think abstractly at an earlier age than usual and understand models and use
modelling to explain ideas and observations. For example, key stage 3 pupils may
be willing to apply abstract ideas in new situations; key stage 4 pupils may be able
to use higher-order mathematical skills such as proportionality, ratio and
equilibrium with some complex abstract ideas when offering explanations
understand the concepts of reliability and validity when drawing conclusions from
evidence
be easily bored by over-repetition of basic ideas
enjoy challenges and problem solving, while often being self-critical
enjoy talking to the teacher about new information or ideas
be self-motivated, willingly putting in extra time -- (but they may approach
undemanding work casually and carelessly)
show intense interest in one particular area of science (such as astrophysics), to
the exclusion of other topics.
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