Our vision for able, gifted and talented pupils

We aim to provide a stimulating and inspiring curriculum for all our pupils. We encourage our pupils to be reflective learners and strive to be the best that they can be. As part of that learning process in the classroom, we use self and peer assessment. Our teachers plan and deliver lessons to support, guide and stretch pupils but it is also important to ask the pupils to evaluate their learning and consider if we are actually meeting their needs.

We use “pupil voice” to reflect on our own current practice and then where possible, adapt that practice in response to their views. When considering the needs of our more able pupils, a cross section of pupils achieving above age related expectations were asked the following questions:

• Do you find lessons interesting?
• What improvements could staff make?
• Are blue tasks challenging?
• What happens when you finish your work?
• Is there more that staff can do to extend your learning?

In the Autumn Term, all pupils said that there was enough challenge in English and ICT, that lessons were “intriguing,” fun and they enjoyed the drama. With Maths children said that lessons could be too easy, that an extra challenge was needed.

The improvements they suggested were:

• Send us off the carpet/allow us to start a task rather than sit through an explanation we don’t need.
• Give us different tasks to do like SATs revision tests
• Provide extra challenges like:

• A challenge that is endless
• Choice of tasks
• SATs revision booklet
• A Challenge Box to choose from
• Mensa problems
• Non-verbal reasoning
• SATs papers for homework

Our Response 2016/17

Our response focuses on Maths, as this was the subject pupils felt most strongly about.

• To use the White Rose medium term plans to raise teacher and pupil expectation for Maths in the school.
• For each class teacher to create a Challenge Box containing Maths problems to solve. These problems can be sourced from White Rose, Nrich or other publications which develop and engage pupils’ reasoning and mastery skills. The Challenge Box can then be used as a further challenge for those pupils who complete a blue task in the lesson. Ducklings organise their challenges in a different way.
• For teachers to consider how they manage the teaching of a lesson, whether all pupils need the same direct teaching input or if it could be staggered with differentiated warm up activities.
• Invite children to start a task when they feel ready, rather than staying for all direct teaching input if unnecessary.
• Use past SAT papers/questions as tasks and/or for homework.

Pupil Voice Spring Term

Pupil response was:

• We are enjoying the harder challenges.

Further requests included:

• Make our learning more relevant to us.
• Think of teaching us in different ways – using a trip as a stimulus.
• We want to feel, see, hear and experience our learning for ourselves.
• More drama.

Our Response Summer 2017

• Develop our use of outdoor learning – staff meeting input and monitoring opportunities offered for outdoor learning.
• Develop use of personalised learning – provide opportunities for children to direct what is being taught according to their needs or natural curiosity eg asking pupils what they feel they need more practice in for Maths, what they want to find out about the Anglo-Saxons or a line of enquiry to discuss in Philosophy.
• Try to focus learning around pupils’ common interests in all subjects, using resources based on current topics/music/games for example.
• Provide greater opportunities for creativity through drama.

Pupil Voice will also be collected in the Summer Term to keep this dialogue open and for pupils to continue to feel that their views are respected, valued, heard and responded to.

Useful Websites for Parents

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm

https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents

http://www.mensaforkids.org/