Contact:
  • APEX
  • Address:

    Riverside, Temple Street, Keynsham, BS31 1DN

  • E-mail:
    apex@bathnes.gov.uk
  • Telephone:
    01225 394321
  • Fax:
    01225 395147
  • Minicom:
    N/A
  • Page Updated:
    19/07/2008
  • Author:
    APEX
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Schools - Abilities, Gifts and Talents

Philosophy of APEX

Creating Gifts and Developing Talents in Bath and North East Somerset

In this Authority we are working to create an inclusive educational climate which supports all children and young people generate, reveal, develop and sharing their gifts and talents.  

You may already be aware that 'Gifted and Talented' education will have an increasing national high profile this year; I have summarised a few of the details you may wish to give more urgent attention to. I appreciate this email may be rather long, but I hope you will find it helpful. The DfES is making more explicit their expectations, with respect to ‘gifted and talented’ education, that it has of schools, some are mandatory, some are not. My reading at the moment (please let me know if you make a different sense of what is expected and what is  a requirement) is that:

  • Schools are required to indicate which of pupils are gifted and talented in their School Census return (although it is not a requirement to create a register for 10% of their pupils)

and;

  • It is expected that schools will use the DCSF Quality Standards
  • It is expected that by September 2007, every secondary school will have a leading teacher and primary schools will have one leading teacher, per cluster.  Ahead of the September 2007, Local Authorities will work with schools to help identify the leading teachers in preparation for the training. 

Schools are expected to:

  • Have an agreed process for identifying 'gifted and talented' pupils
  • Ensure that all staff understand this and use it  
  • Keep an accurate record of gifted and talented pupils
  • Review the gifted and talented cohort regularly Self-evaluate and update the school's process as necessary

Details can be found on http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/giftedandtalented/

While reading this you will be aware of the need to respond with the other national strategies and agendas in mind: Every Child Matters, Personalised Learning, Thinking, Emotional Literacy, the Standards Agenda, the 14-19 Agenda, the Primary Strategy… and you may feel encouraged, as I do, when I read the details in these. For instance, the statements of, "Values and purposes underpinning the school curriculum".   An extract reads:

·         Education influences and reflects the values of society, and the kind of society we want to be. It is important, therefore, to recognise a broad set of common values and purposes that underpin the school curriculum and the work of schools. (In planning their curriculum, schools may wish to take account of the statement of values finalised after widespread consultation by the National Forum for Values in Education and the Community (May 1997)).

 The statement of values          

 The self    

We value ourselves as unique human beings capable of spiritual, moral, intellectual and physical growth and development.      

On the basis of these values, we should:

  • develop an understanding of our own characters, strengths and weaknesses
  • develop self-respect and self-discipline
  • clarify the meaning and purpose in our lives and decide, on the basis of this, how we believe that our lives should be lived
  • make responsible use of our talents, rights and opportunities
  • strive, throughout life, for knowledge, wisdom and understanding
  • take responsibility, within our capabilities, for our own lives.

 Relationships   We value others for themselves, not only for what they have or what they can do for us. We value relationships as fundamental to the development and fulfilment of ourselves and others, and to the good of the community.  

… the full document is accessible from http://www.nc.uk.net/nc_resources/html/values.shtml 

 And the document concludes:   Schools and teachers can have confidence that there is general agreement in society upon these values. They can therefore expect the support and encouragement of society if they base their teaching and the school ethos on these values.  

My focus in co-ordinating APEX is to contribute to the development of an inclusive educational understanding of the creation of gifts and talents through supporting educators and schools to research answers to two questions:

  • How am I/how is my school, helping all pupils generate, reveal, develop and share their gifts and talents?
  • How am I/how is my school, improving my/its practice and contributing to an educational environment of quality?

You will be aware of the advice and training to support challenge in the curriculum provided by the School Improvement Team, the support to develop an inclusive school through the Inclusion Quality Mark led by Chris Jones (Inclusion Officer), the work that comes under the umbrella of the Participation Sub Group of the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership chaired by Rosie Dill…   I am seeking to add to that tapestry of support and opportunity by, for instance:

  • Encouraging schools to use the self-evaluation framework offered by the NACE (National Association of Able Children in Education) Challenge Award. This a nationally recognised award which offers a framework, within which you gather evidence of the development and implementation of your policy, as you make provision to support your pupils generating, revealing, developing and sharing their gifts and talents .

 

  • Supporting educators seeking to improve their practice through practitioner research.

There are two groups running to support educational conversations and masters programme. Examples of the variety of enquiries that have been undertaken can be found on http://www.actionresearch.net

     

  • Tuesdays and Thursday 5.15pm -7.00pm, University of Bath in 1WN 3.8 led by Dr Jack Whitehead – cost to teachers £0.

Details of some of the other work will be found on this website. You may particularly like start by looking at the pages

1. Opportunities for educators

2. Opportunities for children and young people

Gifted and Talented Education references

 I will keep you up to date with the developing programme, which I hope will contribute to your possibility of creatively engaging with the challenge offered by the DfES, and to continue to improve educational practice from the bedrock of your educational values and theories.

Our programme will keep a focus on developing:

  • our knowledge base of quality gifted and talented educational practice and theory
  • student voice in their own learning, that of their school and the authority
  • supportive cultures which value people as they generate, reveal, develop and share their gifts and talents
  • collaborative and networked learning communities
  • creative, interconnecting engagement with the challenges offered by the various DCSF strategies and agendas, including Gifted and Talented Education, Personalisation of Learning, Every Child Matters, Inclusion, from the bedrock of our educational values and theories

 

and include material from the national programme which covers:

 

  • Exploring the role of the leading teacher for gifted and talented education
  • Gifted and talented provision: whole school improvement and self-evaluation
  • Taking the lead
  • Enabling change and building capacity: developing classroom provision through coaching
  • Exploring the local context
  • Making links with other training and resources
  • Inclusive identification: groups for whom provision may be difficult
  • Working with others to improve gifted and talented provision.

 

The programme will be designed in collaboration with Jenny Short (Adviser, Primary), John Beer (Senior Adviser, Secondary) and Chris Jones (Senior Inclusion Officer)