Report to: Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee Date: 1st February ,2007 Report of: Director of Children’s Services Report No: Contact Officer: Libby Mooney Tele No: 338100 Report Title: Gifted and Talented Children Confidential / This report does not contain information which warrants its consideration Non Confidential: in the absence of the press or members of the public Purpose: To inform the Committee how gifted and talented support is delivered in Bolton, together with future developments. Recommendations: Members views and comments are requested . Background Doc(s): There are no background papers to the report Page 1 of 3 Bolton Gifted and talented update December 2006 Able, Gifted and Talented pupils are those individuals who may have an exceptional ability in a particular area; be skilled across a range of subjects or have a recognised talent for art, performance or sport. Bolton’s Priorities for 2006-7 for these pupils have included supporting our schools to identify their own Gifted and talented cohort, to set school level Gifted and talented targets and for us to develop and aggregate target for Bolton as well as encouraging a greater range of in class activity to challenge, inspire and stimulate our most able young people. The use of conversion data in schools has highlighted issues relating to the progress of gifted and talented pupils particularly in KS3 and KS4. Identified pupils are being tracked more effectively in schools and in 2007 some pupils on G&T registers will be monitored for progression and curriculum entitlement by LA officers. We intend to improve the rates of progression for a significant percentage of pupils at all key stages with reference to previous attainment levels in Bolton. These targets will be set school by school; a Bolton aggregate can then be calculated. As part of the target setting process with schools advisers will use Ofsted and Specialist Schools Trust resources to help schools to set challenging targets for this cohort. Improving the transfer of data and other information between primary and secondary schools will support the progression of Gifted and talented pupils. Schools will be encouraged to participate in NACE challenge awards which links directly to their school SEF and the new institutional and curricular G&T competencies set by the DfES. These resources are being piloted by two primary and three secondary schools working collaboratively, who will evaluate the impact of the material and then role it out to all schools. A school completing this programme and gaining the award has to demonstrate that provision for Gifted and talented pupils is fully integrated into classroom practice. Examples of practice of these schools were shared at the Bolton G&T conference and included methods for identifying the cohort as well as working to support their needs in schools. Ladybridge High School is using sixth formers from Bolton School as learning mentors to support pupil achievement at KS4 and has been particularly commended for their model to involve parents and carers of G&T pupils. Addressing the needs of able pupils is integrated into the work of both the primary and secondary school improvement consultants as it fits in with developing personalized learning in schools and is directly linked to the Every Child Matters agenda The introduction of a dedicated G&T teacher into every secondary school and each primary cluster 07 – 08 alongside training and resources from the national strategies will ensure provision for Gifted and Talented pupils becomes a high priority for schools over the next 12 months Gifted and talented support is delivered in a variety of ways in Bolton. G&T coordinators from secondary schools meet half termly at Canon Slade School with school improvement officers and staff from Bolton University. The agendas are increasingly focused on embedding good practice in classrooms. An increasing number of G&T coordinators are assistant head teacher. This gives a more strategic focus to the work of this network. We attend and disseminate information from the North West G&T Local Authority network as well as NAGTY and NACE conferences. The Y9 residential field work course at Rhoscolyn in Anglesey took place with school improvement Consultant support however the onus for any future G&T residential activities now lies with schools . Subject specific master classes have been run at Canon Slade – these have included RE, geography as well as core subjects.Page 2 of 3 Bolton Gifted and talented update December 2006 A collaborative project involving design work based at Bolton TIC, focusing on Y9 has been piloted. Bolton University Design department have offered opportunities for small scale G&T projects including supporting out of school activities for Y10 pupils. Supported by staff at Canon Slade School a number of schools are teaching an AS level Critical Thinking course for G&T pupils in KS4. Researchers from Brunel University have made a presentation in Bolton about critical thinking at KS3 which has led to a number of schools expressing a keen interest. School Improvement consultant in Bolton have produced a book entitled Able Gifted and talented strategies – a guide to embedding good practice in secondary schools” – to support teachers with their work with able pupils in classrooms. The key message is that we need to lookout for the gifted and bored and address the issue effectively. Strong connections are made with the personalisation agenda. It has been well received both locally and nationally. The director of NAGTY has commended this publication and the preparation of similar publication for primary schools is now taking place. Future developments: Critical thinking programmes and thinking skills programmes are developing in more of primary and secondary schools and will need consultant support. More schools are planning to put G&T INSET as part of whole staff CPD. From September 2007 all secondary schools and each cluster of primary schools will be encouraged to appoint a dedicated G&T teacher and the national Strategies will proved training and support for these members of staff The school improvement service is to consider the reassignment of a dedicated member of staff to specifically support cross phase G&T The good practice from the NACE challenge will be cascaded. Challenge for G&T pupils will remain an integral part of the work done by all consultants in their work in classrooms. The QCA primary and secondary curriculum reviews will offer a framework for making the curriculum engaging, creative and challenging. Improving the transfer of data and other information between primary and secondary schools in order to ensure smooth progression of all pupils but of the most able in particular Improved individual pupil target setting and tracking in schools and in the LA to enable detailed evaluation of pupil progress to take place in order to monitor the effectiveness of these strategies. Key Message: Gifted and talented strategies are not optional extras which just occur out of school but are a basic foundation for effective teaching and learning. Bolton is actively pursing strategies that encourage the embedding of these ideas in our classrooms. Every child should benefit from these strategies. Libby Mooney, John Bidder Trevor Norris Advisers for Secondary and Primary Strategies Principal Officer Nick Tyldesley Strategy and Performance Unit Teaching and learning Consultant Childrens Services Ext 8100 Ext 4251 Page 3 of 3.