Able Gifted & Talented

The national strategy to improve the identification, education and support of able, gifted and talented children was introduced in September 1999. It currently operates in over1000 secondary schools and about 400 primary schools and provides an intensive support programme across 59 partnerships to help able children, many of whom are underachieving, to reach their full potential. The strand operates in LEA’s all over the country and it is estimated that over 200,000 students benefit from the programme.

The main elements of the gifted and talented strand are:

• Identifying the gifted and talented cohort - the 5-10% of pupils identified by each school as eligible for the teaching and learning programme
• Introducing a whole school policy for the gifted and talented cohort;
• Introducing a distinct in-school teaching and learning programme for the gifted and talented cohort
• Introducing an extensive programme of out of hours study support opportunities for those pupils, provided through local networks.

Each of the EiC areas has appointed a gifted and talented Strand Co-ordinator, as well as a School Co-ordinator for each secondary school. The schools within each partnership are normally grouped together into 'clusters' of 3 to 8 schools with a Lead Co-ordinator who is responsible for gifted and talented provision within each cluster. Each cluster of schools has formed a network with a range of external partners such as higher education institutions, libraries, museums and businesses to support the provision of out of school hours activities.

We are proud of the provision at Harton Technology College, we have a wide range of in and out of school activities to support students. Staff at Harton work with all of the secondary schools in the Borough but in particular they with St Wilfrids, Mortimer and Brinkburn Schools.

The following list offers a sample of the types of activities available to more able students.

• Visits to Universities
• Masterclass Programmes
  Special Programmes of Study
  Trips and Activities for individual development
• Support in applying for membership to the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth
• Summer Schools
• Financial Support for Talented Students (Speak to Co-ordinator for further information)

Classroom Practice

Staff at Harton work hard to ensure that the learning that takes place in the classroom challenges all students including the very able.  With this in mind, staff constantly review their teaching strategies to develop materials and activities that suit all levels of ability. 

The following contact details and web links may be useful for you:

http://www.nagty.ac.uk
The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth

http://www.nagcbritain.org.uk/
National Association of Gifted Children

http://www.nace.co.uk
National association for Able Children in Education

http://www.nc.uk.net/gt/general/index.htm
Guidance on G&T issues

http://www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/gifted/parents
An interesting site on G&T from Hertfordshire LA

School Co-ordinator – Miss Talbot cta@harton-tc.co.uk
LA More Able and Talented Co-ordinator – Ms J McShane 0191 5191909