Gifted and TalentedGlossopdale Community College

Most AbleGlossopdale Community College

Presentation to parents November 2015

Ms S Johnson – Assistant Principal (Progress & Foundation – Most Able Co-Ordinator)

Miss L Geary – Leader of Sixth Form Studies

SOME MYTHS•All gifted children are high achievers; they don't have to work hard for exam success.

•Gifted children are self-directed, they know where they are heading.

•Gifted children enjoy serving as examples for other children and they should always assume extra responsibility.

•'Giftedness' is something to be envious of.

REALITIES?•Can be perfectionists and idealists: grades + achievement = self-esteem + self-worth. This can lead to fear of failure; a barrier to achievement and development.

•Social and emotional development may not be at the same level as intellectual development.

•High expectations = constant guilt and anxiety over achievements or grades perceived to be low.

•Boredom!

Sharing Experiences….

Aside of intellectual success, what traits do you feel your child displays…?

Have there been any challenges (you’re willing to admit?!)

Can you offer any advice or nuggets of wisdom to other parents in the room?

The Most Able (formerly known as)Gifted and Talented

• The DfE defines G&T pupils as those that are deemed to be the top 5-10% of the school;

• 'Gifted' describes learners who have the ability to excel academically in one or more subjects such as English, Maths and Science.

• 'Talented' describes learners who have the ability to excel in practical skills such as Art, Music, PE, or Drama.

Gifted and Talented

• Hard work is the number one prerequisite for nurturing intelligence

• The dedicated individual is the one who achieves.

‘Some parents will have been sorely tested by the insatiable curiosity of their very young child’Potential characteristics of a More Able child:

1. Has a wide vocabulary, talked early2. Asks lots of perceptive, insightful questions and learns more easily than others3. Has a very retentive memory. Some may have a photographic memory, though it is

the ability to use and apply what they learn that marks out the gifted child.4. Is extremely curious and can concentrate for long periods on subjects of interest; may

get bored and fidgety when not intellectually challenged5. Has a wide general knowledge and is curious about, and interested in, the world.6. Enjoys problem solving, often missing out the intermediate stages and making original

connections7. Has an unusual and vivid imagination8. Learned to read at an early age9. Shows strong feelings and opinions; may have an odd sense of humour10. Sets high standards and is a perfectionist but loses interest when asked to do more of

the same

Most Able

•What does a more able child look like?

Most Able• What does a gifted child look like? Well, that’s really an impossible question to answer. For the most part, gifted and talented young people are just normal children and teenagers with all the usual characteristics of their age group. They have all sorts of personalities and interests, and it would be no easier to say what kind of person a gifted child may be than, say, a child with dyslexia. If someone asked, ‘What does a dyslexic child look like?’, you might say: ‘That’s an impossible question; dyslexia is about how a person’s brain works, it isn’t something you can tell from their appearance or behaviour.’ The same goes for the gifted and talented.

Most Able• At Glossopdale we keep a register of our most able

students. It is likely that about 10 - 12% of any one year group will be academically gifted.

• We use a variety of data sources and information to identify students including:

• Teacher assessment and SATS from Primaries• Star Reading tests• Teacher recommendation Once students are identified, they are placed on the register for one year and this is reviewed and updated annually. Every child is identified using a range of prior attainment data.

Most Able

• All schools will use differentiation with their most –able pupils - and parents should be able to see evidence of challenging activities in their children's exercise books. At GCC we have monitoring procedures to ensure that gifted and talented pupils continue to make appropriate progress.

Expected Progress for students achieving 5B and above at primary school is now 3 sub levels per year

So, your children will be aiming for the new Grades (7 – 9)at GCSE in 2019

Provision at GCC

• Parents’ meeting• Student meeting, questionnaires• Individual mentoring• Events/activities e.g. trips• Transfer• Subject Leaders audit (SoW, differentiation, CPD)• Faculty link• Bulletin• Subject workshops• Teacher differentiation

• 68 students achieved 3 or more A*/A Grades• 100 students achieved at

least one A*/A• Some students achieved

straight A*/A grades

Our most able students at GCSE

100% of students achieved A*-E gradesResults in top 10% in Country for vocational A Levels96% of students got their first choice places at university

Sixth Form Results

Provision

• Classroom extension offer• Extended curriculum offer• Cross school enrichment• Regional and National events and coaching e.g. at

University• National provision – online and face to face• Peak 11• Calendar of Provision – both intra and extra-

curricular

Most Able Calendar – Years 7-13see our website

Student Voice- What students say• A positive-thinking teacher• Challenging things to do: not copying, not just listening• Group work• Better briefs for supply teachers• Extension materials• Exciting work• Teacher to focus on learning and leave “baggage” at the door• Good communication from the teacher• Good relationships/good management skills• Rewards .......... also for homework• Comfortable learning environment

EBacc & Beyond• Ebacc – 5 GCSEs A*-C (equivalent) in five core subjects-

English, Maths, two Science qualifications, a Foreign Language and either History or Geography

• More demanding and more appropriate for entry to best universities

• Positives for Most Able students: an upturn in language learning, state school pupils receiving the same access to traditional subjects as their peers in private schools possibly improving their prospects of places at top universities, More Able students being steered towards Languages and History and away from vocational programmes.

Most Able

• Where parents are concerned about the provision for their children it is very important to communicate immediately with the school so that any misunderstandings can be addressed and resolved. In communicating with the school the most effective approach is to:

Any concerns?

• Contact the class teacher first to register concerns and ask for the rationale underpinning the current classroom approaches. If as a result of discussion teacher and parents feel that a slightly different approach would be useful then agree the precise format of the new approach and the time frame in which it will happen. It can sometimes be worth agreeing a formal review meeting later in the term at which progress with the new format can be discussed.

Contact

• If contact with the class teacher does not resolve parental concerns then the next step would be to contact:

• Sue Johnson – Most Able Co-Ordinator• Liane Lane – Progress Leader, Y 7&8

Most Able

• Mensa• Family Education, Gifted and Talented (US website)• The National Association for Gifted Children

(NAGC)• Tomorrow’s Achievers• World Council for Gifted and Talented Children• The National Association for Able Children(NACE)

Provision at GCC • Stories to the Glossop Gazette • 15 More able students to go to The Holocaust Memorial

Museum in January• Slavery Museum (C3) – TODAY! Good Feedback?• Peak 11

– 2 x Russell Group University trips for years 9 and 10 (Leeds & Warwick)

• The Languages Challenge in school – Feb• We also do a range of activities with other Peak 11 schools –

Maths challenge, Derbyshire Literature Challenge, World-Class Universities talk, Scriptwriting workshop, debates.

Provision at GCC: The Arts

• The Arts department run Most Able days for year 7&8 students

• Year 10 Most Able Art students went on a day’s specialist workshop to the glass studio in Glossop

• Drama run ‘Shakespeare in schools’ which will involve many of our Most Able students

• Year 10 students worked with the Halle and composed a piece for the Olympics. Also involved students from feeder primary school

• Cartoon workshop for Most Able year 9 students

G and T provision: Maths/Science• Maths are entering G and T students in UKMT challenges and team challenges.• Senior Challenge took place in early November: 2 silver certificates and 4 bronze

achieved.• Senior team challenge took place at Manchester University • Year 10 team challenge was in March. (came 6th out of 20 teams). Entering 2

teams this year.• Junior team challenge is in March 2015. Entering 1 team this year.• Intermediate and Senior challenges take place in February and April 2015.

• Last year we also invited an outside speaker from a Russian space centre to talk with year 9 and 6 about his experiences.

• Further Maths support: programme coordinators came in to lead a session on the use of maths and a quiz. ( hoping to rerun this year.)

• CREST Awards Entry and Science club for all year 7 & 8 students (Most Able to take leadership roles)

Build Critical Thinking Skills…

If the answer is, “Once with a fish”, what might the question have been?

If elephants ruled the world, what changes would you see?

Build a love of learning…independently!

http://www.nace.co.uk/

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

http://www.nagc.org/abcgifted.aspxhttp://www.nagcbritain.org.uk/index.php

http://www.tomorrowsachievers.co.uk/

http://www.potentialplusuk.org/

Work related

learning

Motivational Speakers

Conferences

National Competitions

Charity Work

Community Participation

Personal Development

Work experience

www.ncsyes.co.uk

For students in Years 11 and 12

http://www.dofe.org/

Looking Ahead to RUSSELL GROUP UNIVERSITIES

•University of Birmingham

•University of Bristol

•University of Cambridge

•Cardiff University

•Durham University

•University of Edinburgh

•Exeter University

•University of Glasgow

•Imperial College London

•King's College London

•University College London

•University of Leeds

•University of Liverpool

•London School of Economics and Political Science

•University of Manchester

•Newcastle University

•University of Nottingham

•University of Oxford

•Queen's University Belfast

•Queen Mary, University of London

•University of Sheffield

•University of Southampton

•University of Warwick

•University of York

FACILITATING SUBJECTS…•The Russell Group, which represents 24 leading UK universities, defines facilitating subjects as:

•English literature History Modern languages – eg French, German, Spanish etc… Classical languages – eg Latin, Ancient GreekMaths and further maths PhysicsBiologyChemistryGeography

•In a nutshell: “Facilitating subjects don’t cover everything, but choosing one or two helps keep your options open for a range of courses and careers”.

•A few universities provide lists of ‘preferred’ or ‘non-preferred’ subjects for students. But don’t be put off by these phrases. What they usually mean is that they are happy for you to do one or two A-levels that aren't on the preferred list as long as they are taken with one or two subjects that are recommended or required for the course.

Looking ahead?

GCSE requirements:

•Medical courses may ask for 5 or more A*•Have to have Maths and English to C for any university but many now ask for at least B in both first time round for all courses

•Examples: English degree requires MFL, Business requires B in Maths, Psychology requires B in Maths and science.

•UCL introducing a foreign language requirement at GCSE

Looking ahead.•Choices at GCSE•The English Baccalaureate •English, Mathematics, History or Geography, the sciences and a language.

•At A Level select at least two of your 4 courses from the ‘facilitating subjects’: English Literature, Geography, History, Languages, Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry

Rosa Christie Lowe GCSE Results 2012French A*German A*Eng A*A*Maths A*Biology A*Chemistry A*Physics A*RS A Music A*

A Levels 2014 Biology A English Lit A* Critical Thinking A Maths A German A*

Rosa started Year 7 in 2007, her high KS2 and CATS scores identified her as a more able student

Throughout her 7 Years at Glossopdale she was involved in sports, music, charity events, trips abroad, competitions, mentoring, journalism to name just a few.

Living with the More Able ChildReal life stories, advice and anecdotes

Jack8 A*s, 1 Dist* and 1B at GCSE4 A*s at A’LevelSt Mary’s College – DurhamBSc Computer Science with European

Studies

Jack is a happy, well-adjusted teenager who has grown in confidencethroughout his school years and lives life to the full, making the mostof any opportunities presented to him. But it wasn’t alwaysthat way…….

Early YearsConcerns• Late talker – Health professionals considered a referral to speech therapist due to late development of speech He might have been later than average, but has certainly made up for it since!!• Challenging toddler – Developed intellectually but struggled to express himself verbally Jack is now happy to address individuals/groups of people from all walks of life, both on a professional and personal level.• In early years, described as a bit of a ‘loner’ at school – struggled to relate to peers Jack now has many friends from all areas of his life; school, college, scouts (including World Scout Jamboree), band, football, cricket, summer schools, holidays etc. Positives• Aptitude for working with numbers recognised at pre-school – teachers convinced he was

going to be an accountant!• Possibility of being ‘gifted’ recognised in infant school when his ability for spelling led to

him being found guilty of writing ‘I need a wee’ in the sand tray!!!

Parental Support

Every child is obviously different and will respond to different encouragement. From our – and Jack’s experience – some of the things that helped him to be happy and fulfilled were to:

• Encourage and facilitate participation in extra-curricular activities, particularly those involving physical exercise and team games, encouraging interaction with others e.g. sports, scouts etc. These in turn opened up other opportunities such as holidays, educational visits, learning new skills, charity work, involvement in the community and much more. They develop confidence, social skills and create lasting friendships with children of all ages – active child, active mind!! Later in their school life this will also be an extremely valuable outlet for stress during exam periods. However, this requires commitment from the child and the parent/carer so make sure you both have the time to see it through before making the commitment.

• Praise effort and determination, not necessarily just academic achievement – celebrate and embrace success of all kinds. When Jack was awarded Sportsperson of the Year at the end if Year 6, he pleaded for the headteacher not to mention his participation in the Netball team but she went ahead regardless!!

• Encourage them to challenge themselves and take a risk - not to be afraid of failing but to learn from the experience. Take the challenge, it doesn’t matter if you don’t succeed – it’s the experience you gain along the way that is valuable!

Parental Support

• Try not to fill every moment with schoolwork and clubs, enjoy some unstructured time – try to do things together that they enjoy and give them an opportunity to talk.

• Encourage them to organise their time and think ahead – a useful skill for those with busy minds and lives!!

• Make sure they know that no problem is insurmountable – there is always a solution if they share their problem.

• Encourage your child to be proud to achieve.

What can I do?

Complement don’t replicate what goes on at school.

Talk with your child and listen to them. Extend general knowledge with a ‘fact of the

week’, extend vocabulary with ‘word of the week’Encourage physical activity. Use ICT. Encourage sampling new activities.