Able, Gifted and Talented
At Sutton Benger School we acknowledge and strive to develop the potential of every child in our school. In order to support this, we have been a member of NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education) since 2016.
We are currently using a NACE framework to evaluate and improve our provision for able, gifted and talented pupils. We define ‘able’ as children who achieve at the top end of their year group, ‘gifted’ as children who achieve at a level significantly in advance of their year group, and ‘talented’ as children who have this gifted ability in art, music, PE, sport or creative art.
The NACE framework enables us as a school to:
- Recognise academic and wider abilities and talents
- Ensure an inclusive approach to stretch and challenge
- Draw strongly on ‘pupil and parent voice’ as part of school improvement
- Place a strong focus on tackling underachievement and creating a ‘can do’ ethos that raises standards for all
- Support transition within and beyond the school
Work on this framework leads to a nationally recognised award for quality provision – the NACE Challenge Award. Over the past few years we have been developing a number of these elements and in January 2018 we received a very positive mid-assessment.
Strengths included:
· …an inviting, vibrant learning environment - pupils consistently displayed good attitudes to learning and were respectful and eager to participate in lessons
· …a very learning focused environment where pupils are encouraged to identify and celebrate attitudes to learning
· …a systematic approach to identification of able, gifted and talented pupils
· …an aspirational approach to planning which will impact on all pupils
· …talents from outside school are identified
(January 2018)
This positive assessment has helped us to celebrate the improvements we have made as a school and to look forward to further developments.