School Policy: Gifted and Talented Policy
Development: 2011
Renewal Date: 2013
Policy
The Fraser Primary School Gifted and Talented Policy meets the ACT Education and Training
Directorates goal regarding the needs of gifted and talented students. The Fraser Primary School Gifted
and Talented Policy supports the ACT Education and Training Directorate Gifted and Talented Students
Policy 2008.
Giftedness
Giftedness refers to a student’s outstanding, innate ability in one or more of the following areas:
intellectual, creative, socioaffective or sensorimotor (Gagne, 2007). Feldhusen (1993) identifies
five levels of degrees of giftedness and the prevalence of each in the general population. These
are mild, moderate, high, exceptional and profound. A student may display particular abilities at
any stage or point in their schooling. Giftedness pertains to a very small percentage of the
population. Gifted and talented students at Fraser Primary have opportunities to access a range
of developmentally appropriate programs and may be catered for in the following ways:
Grouping
Grouping is the full-time or part-time placement of gifted and talented students, to provide
appropriately differentiated curriculum, learning opportunities, intellectual endeavours and social
opportunities. Grouping applies to those students who are significantly beyond their grade level
peers (Rogers, 2002).
Grouping models catering for the needs of gifted and talented students at Fraser Primary can
include one, (or a combination of), the following:





Within-class grouping
Like-ability grouping
Mixed ability grouping
Withdrawal groups
Cluster grouping
Acceleration
The principal at Fraser Primary School is responsible for deciding when any form of accelerated
progression is appropriate to meet the needs of individual gifted and talented students.
Acceleration is a placement process that is considered on a case-by-case basis, in which a
student is placed with an age cohort beyond his or her chronological age or school year in one
subject, several subjects or across a whole learning year.
Early Entry
Early entry refers to eligibility for early enrolment to Preschool or Kindergarten for gifted and
talented students. Early entry is a placement process, not an educational program. Applications
for early entry are considered by the Director responsible for Early Years Learning.
Curriculum Differentiation
Curriculum differentiation at Fraser Primary includes:
 permitting students to demonstrate their learning and prior knowledge and mastery and
progress at their own pace through new material

providing different avenues to acquire content, to process or to make sense of ideas and
to develop products
 providing multi-level tasks within each unit, tailored for students with differing levels of
achievement
 allowing students to choose, with the teacher’s guidance, ways to learn and how to
demonstrate their learning
 flexibility: whereby teachers move students in and out of groups based on students’
instructional needs.
Enrichment
Enrichment is a curriculum differentiation strategy which provides supplementary ideas and skills
not previously encountered by students.
Extension
Extension is a curriculum differentiation strategy which develops ideas already introduced into the
regular curriculum more broadly and deeply. It incorporates higher order thinking skills (Rogers,
2002)
Individual Learning Plan (ILP)
An ILP documents the agreed personalised learning goals and strategies to provide a quality
educational program for a student. At Fraser Primary we develop ILPs for students identified as
exceptionally or profoundly gifted.
Other programs and strategies
Fraser Primary students may also have opportunities to participate in supplementary activities
such as the G.A.T.E.WAYS program, International Competitions and Assessments for Schools.
Identification
At Fraser Primary School we use a variety of strategies and consider a range of evidence to
ensure that gifted and talented students are identified. These include teacher nominations
through the special needs process, National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy
(NAPLAN) results, student work samples and assessments and counsellor testing. The following
flow chart outlines some of the key steps and strategies in the ongoing process of identifying and
monitoring gifted and talented students at Fraser Primary School.
Responsibilities
Parents and Caregivers
Parents and Caregivers are encouraged to:
 support their child as they pursue excellence, develop mastery and become an independent
learner
 provide a supportive learning environment at home that complements the school curriculum
 liaise with teachers, Principal and other members of the school’s decision making team to
identify the student’s giftedness and to ensure that the student has appropriate and ongoing
educational opportunities.
Teachers
Teachers are responsible for
i.
nominating students for identification as gifted,
ii.
matching the program to meet the needs of the students, and
iii.
providing an appropriately differentiated curriculum
School Counsellors/Psychologists
School counsellors and/or psychologists are responsible for assisting the school Principal, as part of a
team, with the identification, planning and support of gifted and talented students.
Principals
Principals, with the support of their school staff, are responsible for encouraging gifted students to
pursue excellence, become independent learners and develop talent in their areas of giftedness.
Principals are responsible for the accountability, transparency and implementation of this policy. This
includes implementing and monitoring the policy, providing a supportive learning environment,
fostering collaborative home-school partnerships and evaluating programs employed within the
school.
Central Office
Central Office, together with Principals, is responsible for strengthening the capacity of staff and for
the collection of ongoing data to ensure gifted and talented students, to achieve to their potential.
Central Office also provides advice, support and professional learning opportunities for teachers and
Principals to assist with the implementation of this policy.
School Network Leaders
School Network Leaders are responsible for ensuring that schools adequately and appropriately
provide for gifted and talented students. In consultation with school Principals, School Network
Leaders have final responsibility for the acceleration of gifted and talented students between sectors
(i.e. primary to high, or high school to college).
The Director
The Director responsible for Early Years Learning considers applications for early entry to Preschool
or Kindergarten for gifted students.
Gifted and Talented Committee
The Gifted and Talented Committee comprises:
 Executive staff
 Literacy and Numeracy Coordinators
 School Counsellor
 Classroom teachers
The role of the committee is to support students’ identification, communication to families and program
implementation.
Status: Approved by the School Board