G&T NEWS

Williams Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching
June 2008. The review makes many recommendations on Initial Teacher Training and Continuing Professional Development, particularly the requirement for a 'Mathematics Specialist' in each school. It judges that the maths curriculum should continue in its current form (although it has doubts about the user-friendliness of the Revised Primary Framework), but would like an increased focus on "use and application" and "classroom discussion of maths". Full report here

From a G&T perspective, one of the six terms of reference for this review was:
 
     "What range of provision best supports children across the full ability range, including the most gifted. The highest    
       priority should be given to those who are not progressing fast enough to reach national expectations."

Interestingly, although the review has a chapter on 'Under-attainment and intervention', it has very little to say specifically on the provision for gifted children. The few references to G&T are:

"..in-class provision is sometimes not stretching enough for the gifted and talented pupils...Part of the reason can be attributed to teachers’ lack of knowledge of what might be possible and of the types of activities that would allow the most able to flourish, for instance open-ended investigative tasks. In discussion with Ofsted, it has become clear that many primary teachers lack confidence at this level of mathematics and are often unaware of the bigger picture and network of interrelationships. As such, the review believes that the Mathematics Specialist may have a role to play in the provision for gifted and talented pupils in their school. This would of course need to take account of the school’s existing and wider provision, and would need coordination with the school’s Gifted and Talented coordinator."

"An explicit stance is not adopted on the question of setting by this review – except that it appears best to leave decisions on such matters in the hands of head teachers and practitioners and their principled judgements of what is best for their children. The problem is that forms of grouping can easily be misinterpreted as categories of children, rather than tailored provision designed to aid all children’s progress. Good ITT and CPD should help teachers to recognise the difference, to be aware of the risks as well as the opportunities associated with different forms of grouping, and to make sure children’s progress is furthered and not fettered by whatever form of grouping they choose."

Effective provision for G&T children in primary education - revised version
May 2008. There is now an updated version of this document originally published in October 2006.  The document sets out general principles for primary schools to follow in order to plan and deliver effective provision for gifted and talented learners. It also details the range of support and resources which are available through the national programme for gifted and talented education. View or download here

Young Gifted & Talented website - new information
May 2008. At the end of May, YG&T will be sending all headteachers a pack providing details about the new registration processes and identification guidelines. G&T co-ordinators will need to register online in order  to validate learners requesting full membership of the YG&T Learner Academy.
You can see the contents of the schools pack and learner membership letters  here

The tricky issue of talent
April 2008. Guardian article on  Warwick University's  International Gateway for Gifted Youth (Iggy) programme for secondary-age pupils. here

Draft 'Classroom Quality Standards' for separate subjects
April 2008. Draft 'Classroom Quality Standards for Gifted & Talented Education' for English, Maths, Science and ICT are now available for information. Downloads - English   Maths   Science   ICT

Additional e-learning modules for Leading G&T teachers
April 2008. The current list of available modules is as follows:

Access these modules at the National Strategies site here

DCSF - 3 new booklets on G&T
February 2008.
Gifted and Talented education: Helping to find and support children with dual or multiple exceptionalities
Following on from the publication: ‘Guidance on preventing underachievement: a focus on dual or multiple exceptionality’ (DFES-00061-2007), this booklet offers more detail in identifying and supporting children who are highly able with sensory impairment, learning problems, conduct issues and/or disabilities. Download here

Guidance on preventing underachievement: a focus on children and young people in care
This guidance is intended to raise awareness of the issues relating to gifted and talented children in care. It invites responses from schools and settings to contribute to the developing body of knowledge, understanding and effective practice in relation to these issues. Download here

Gifted and Talented Education - Guidance on preventing underachievement: a focus on exceptionally able pupils
This booklet highlights the main issues to be discussed and addressed in preventing the underachievement of pupils with exceptional abilities. Download here

FAQ on Identifying G&T pupils
January  2008. The South East Regional Partnership for G&T have produced a document with guidance on some 'Frequently Asked Questions' about identifying G&T pupils. Download here .

League tables to show 'gifted' at Key Stage 3

January  2008. Secondary school league tables for Key Stage 3 will be reformed to show the number of children reaching levels 7 and 8; current tables show level 5 (the required level) and level 6.

According to The Times:
The intention is to put pressure on the 300 or so secondary schools that refuse to take part in the Gifted and Talented programme, often because of ideological opposition to selection. The latest figures show that a significant minority of schools – 9 per cent of secondaries and 35 per cent of primaries – have failed to identify any exceptionally bright children, leaving the number benefiting from the programme stuck at 733,000.
..John Dunford, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the Key Stage 3 tests were not designed to test for giftedness, so it was nonsense to equate the results with this. “The Key Stage 3 test should be no more than a progress-check for 14-year-old pupils and their parents. The Government has repeatedly tried to turn it into a massive accountability exercise for schools and is already using it for too many purposes. This is one step too far,” Mr Dunford said.
But Lord Adonis said that the gifts of many very able pupils went unrecognised. “Identifying and celebrating high attainment encourages schools to focus on those who need extra help because they have particular abilities and talents, which is just as crucial as helping those who are at risk of falling behind,” he said.

Full Times article here     Guardian article here

Long lost 'nutshells' reappear
January  2008. 'Nutshells' were a set of interactive professional development resources produced by NAGTY and found useful by many teachers. They have now reappeared in a 'rebranded' form on the YG&T website here .

Local news - Brighton & Hove LEA Policy for G&T finalised

January  2008. The finalised version of Brighton & Hove's 'Policy for the support of Gifted & Talented Children and Young People' is now available. Download 'Word' document here

First e-Learning module for Leading G&T Teachers

September 2007. For those doing the 'Leading G&T Teacher' training, the first e-learning module - Core module 1:teaching & learning - is now available online here
"This module will support you as a leading teacher to reflect on your own practice and will underpin and model your work on leading the improvement of gifted and talented education across the school."

Young Gifted and Talented

August 2007. 'Young Gifted & Talented' is the new name for the National Programme for Gifted and Talented, now organised by CfBT (Centre for British Teachers) Education Trust. The new website is www.dcsf.gov.uk/ygt 
The YG&T site's aim is to bring together content from NAGTY, NACE, NAGC, London Gifted and Talented, Special Schools and Academies Trust and many others. CfBT's 'Vision for G&T Education' is here
It is now no longer possible to access any pages on the NAGTY website, although some content seems to be in the process of being  transferred to the new YG&T site (should be available after 3rd September / Nutshells not available until at least November).

Gifthorse bolts

August 2007. The Guardian has an article entitled 'Gifthorse bolts' considering why Warwick University declined to continue running the NAGTY programme, and an interview with Neil Macintosh of CfBT who are now taking over control. Article here

"Under the old contract, Warwick had little involvement with the government's official 10% G&T target beyond monitoring the statistics; its Nagty programmes were aimed at the top 5%. And while these Nagty schemes will continue under CfBT on the same lines as before, it is clear that the government wants to work harder to extend the scheme and to enforce the 10% message in schools...."
"Warwick has done some fantastically good work, but our aim will be to extend that to include a much wider group of children. By definition, a summer school can only reach a finite number of students, and we want to work more in schools and create online communities. We will also be branching out to include primary as well as secondary schools, in order to catch and develop children before they've had a chance to become disaffected.
McIntosh is aware he is entering another danger area here. Children develop at different ages and different rates. "There will be a certain amount of flexibility," he says, "as children will be joining the scheme at different ages." What he can't say for sure is whether that will mean some children leaving the programme. After all, if the government's 10% target is set in stone, if some children join the scheme late, some are surely going to have to drop out - an unthinkable scenario for many educators.
McIntosh is keen to point out that some of the details are still to be resolved. At present, there is an ongoing debate within the DCSF over G&T funding. Should, as some argue, each G&T student be allocated funding that he or she can use to buy extra resources, or should every student, regardless of ability, have access to the same funds? And if the latter, then how can this be afforded? All McIntosh can say is that, if and when the DCSF comes to a decision, CfBT will be piloting schemes in order to assess it."

Gifted & Talented in Nurseries

August 2007. EYE (Early Years Educator) magazine for September has an interesting article on providing for nursery-age children at the Chelsea Open Air Nursery, making use of the Nebraska Starry Night Protocol to identify gifted and talented children. For details of another Nursery (and Infant school) using this protocol - see 'Nurturing Gifted & Talented Children at Key Stage 1 - A report of action research projects' on the DfES site here (on page 89). 'Starry Night' recording sheet here

What Really Works in Gifted & Talented Education

June 2007. Downloadable document (previously on NAGTY site) based on speech given by Deborah Eyre (11/6/07). here

"Gifted and talented education is about making exceptional performance a reality for those children and young people who
have the ability to excel. This ‘really works’ when schools realise that encouraging and expecting exceptional performance is an on-going concern that pervades the whole school, its structures and its culture. It is an approach applied to all pupils but realised in its most complete form by the most gifted and talented."

GTC - Research of the Month - Identifying and supporting gifted and talented students

June 2007. Each month the General Teaching Council chooses a published research topic which has been appraised, selected and summarised by CUREE (the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education). This research is restructured according to a series of questions which are 'designed to bring out the messages for teachers' . and  presented alongside teacher case studies that illustrate the findings. This month the chosen topic is 'Identifying and supporting gifted and talented students'. Introduction  here.  Or go directly to case studies via these links:

              Case study 1: Identifying gifted and talented pupils
              Case study 2: Developing a policy of inclusion with differentiation for gifted and talented pupils
              Case study 3: Peer coaching between gifted students to raise achievement
              Case study 4: Improving gifted boys’ writing through enrichment
              Case study 5: Enriching students’ learning – what gifted and talented students gain
              Case study 6: Accelerating the curriculum for gifted and talented students at KS3
              Case study 7: Structuring group work

More G&T 'nutshells' on NAGTY site

May 2007. Two new 'nutshells' on primary maths are now available on the NAGTY website - 'The Hare and the Tortoise: exploring depth and breadth for gifted mathematicians' and 'Challenging practice: encouraging higher order thinking in the maths classroom'. There also three new 'nutshells' in the cross-phase section - covering higher order thinking in science, peer mentoring and gifted identities.
Three more primary 'nutshells' will be available in June - English in the classroom, science in the classroom and science:transition.  N.B. NAGTY website no longer available; 'nutshells' are now available here.

Neuroscience and Education - Issues and Opportunities

May 2007. The Teaching and Learning Research Programme has published this study considering a range of issues at the junction between neuroscience and education. Full document here.     See previous entry on Brain Gym - Bad Science here.

"Education has already invested an immense amount of time and money in ‘brain-based’ ideas that were never based on any recognisable scientific understanding of the brain. Many of these ideas remain untested and others are being revealed as ineffective. In the future, an improved dialogue between neuroscience and education will be critical in supporting the development, application and evaluation of educational programmes based on a sound scientific understanding of the brain."

The study has interesting comments on the pseudoscience used in programmes such as 'Brain Gym' and 'Accelerated Learning":

"Since the 1990’s, an increasing number of educational programmes have claimed to have a ‘brain basis’. There are few examples of such programmes having been evaluated, and they often appear to have developed without neuroscientific scrutiny.
Some of the ideas promoted by these programmes have become part of the educational culture in many schools.... ‘Brain Gym’...promotes the idea that neural mechanisms can be influenced by specific physical exercises. The pseudoscientific terms that are used to explain how this works, let alone the concepts they express, are unrecognisable within the domain of neuroscience. For example, there is a claim that, if children provide pressure on their ‘brain buttons’, they can help re-establish the brain organisation required for reading and writing. ‘Brain buttons’ are described as indentations between the 1st and 2nd ribs directly under the collar bone to the right and left of the breastbone. Other exercises include the Cross-crawl, promoted on the basis of activating left/right, top/bottom and back/front areas of the brain simultaneously, and varieties of ‘Hook-up’ for calming and stress relieving effects.
Approaches to learning that come under the broad heading of ‘Accelerated Learning’ are a more eclectic mixture of ideas from popularly-reported neuroscience and psychology, synthesised with practice derived from classroom experience. In books that promote accelerated learning, concepts from psychology and neuroscience are often introduced as a means to promote and explain learning processes. However, these too often do not survive scientific scrutiny. For example, as in Brain Gym, there is a still an emphasis on the desirability of balance between the left and right part of the brain. In Smith (Accelerated Learning in the Classroom - Alistair Smith), we are reminded ‘Remember that the synergy generated in creating new pathways between left and right results in all-round improvement’. In fact, except in the rare case of brains which have been lesioned, pathways exist permanently between the left and right hemispheres, most notably via the corpus callosum. At present, there is no scientific evidence to suggest we can voluntarily create new ones.
Accelerated learning also embraces other popular brain concepts such as Learning Style Preferences. Here, psychological evidence supports the possibility that individual preferences exist regarding how we like to learn. In education, learners may be allocated to one of three types of learning style (Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic - VAK). Some believe that presenting material in a way that suits an individual’s preferred learning style can improve their learning. (Note that it could also be argued that the reverse might also be helpful, as a remedial intervention to improve processing associated with the other learning styles.) However, there is a considerable scarcity of quality research to support the value of identifying learning styles66. A recent psychological investigation of the VAK principle tested recall of information presented in the three different styles67. This study showed no benefit from having material presented in one’s preferred learning style, concluding that attempts to focus on learning styles were ‘wasted effort’.

On drinking water and 'brain-hydration', the study comments:

"a recent adult study has shown that drinking water when not thirsty can also diminish cognitive ability. In fact, we know that our brains possess a sophisticated system by which we become thirsty when our bodies (including our brains) need water. So encouraging children to drink water when they are thirsty may be a more sensible approach than constantly monitoring the amount of water they consume."

Local school featured in Teachers TV programme

March 2007 - A visit to St Bartholomew's Primary School is included in the TTV programme - 'Careerwise - Gifted & Talented' - 'exploring what the role of the gifted and talented coordinator is and what it can bring to a career.'  Watch the video here.

Leading Teachers for Gifted and Talented

February 2007 - The 2005 White Paper 'Higher Standards, Better Schools for All' set support for gifted and talented (G&T) pupils clearly in the context of personalisation and made a commitment to provide additional training and guidance on gifted and talented education to all schools, primary and secondary, including access to an ‘expert teacher’. The National Strategies, NAGTY and other key partners are now developing a 'blended learning CPD package' to enable the fulfilment of this ‘expert teacher’ commitment, by working with local authorities to provide training for a leading teacher from every secondary school, and one for each cluster or network of primary schools. 
See here for an article expressing concern over the possible dismantling of the existing role of the primary G&T coordinator as an 'advocate and resident expert' and the substitution of a system where all primary class teachers are expected to be competent G&T teachers across all curriculum subjects, leaving the 'Lead G&T teacher' performing a purely administrative and training function - with no direct involvement with pupils.
    
DfES powerpoint on 'Support for G&T Education - Developments in 2007' here.
Details on the role of the lead teacher and training involved here.     TES article on challenges involved here.
NAGTY/DfES question and answer document here.  April 2007 supplement to Q&A document here.  

2020 Vision: Report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review Group

January 2007 - This report by the Teaching and Learning review group (the Gilbert Review) to the Secretary of State presents a vision for personalised teaching and learning in 2020. It summarises the current situation in schools and makes recommendations on what needs to happen in order to help deliver that vision. Complete document here

The following description of recommendations, and some responses to the proposals, is taken from the BBC website:

Voucher scheme for extra lessons

December 2006 - Earlier this month the DfES announced that the contract to manage England's National Programme for Gifted and Talented Education for 3-19 year-olds (NPGATE) had been given to CfBT Education Trust. CfBT will create a new scheme to replace the existing programme run by Warwick University, starting next September. A new voucher scheme intended to be 'introduced to meet the educational needs of the brightest pupils' is currently under consideration - with a decision expected in the next month or so. Link to Times article here and criticism from NASUWT in Guardian here

"Under the initiative the country’s brightest 800,000 pupils will receive vouchers to spend on extra lessons, such as 'master classes' at university-run summer schools, online evening classes or even web-based courses from Nasa, the US space agency. Every primary and secondary school will be told to supply the names of 10 per cent of their pupils who best meet the new criteria for the 'gifted and talented' programme when they complete the January schools census."    Times 28.12.06

There seems to have been some dissatisfaction with the existing scheme:

"Three in 10 secondary schools have failed to send any existing pupils on a programme already offered to the top 5% of pupils over 11 through a centre at Warwick University. One in five secondaries have also failed to identify a single pupil they believe is in the top 10% .... People involved in the existing scheme have suggested that some schools do not want to get involved in what they see as an elitist agenda, while others feel they are capable of looking after the brightest pupils on their own."  Guardian 29.12.06

Guidance for teaching pupils gifted and talented in the Arts

December 2006 - new DfES guidance covering art, dance, drama and music is available on the 'creative generation' website here

Identifying Gifted & Talented Pupils - Getting Started

November 2006 - New DfES guidance document available here

'The guidance starts from the principle that there is no single perfect instrument for identification - schools are advised to use a ‘best fit’ model that draws on a range of evidence including qualitative and quantitative elements. It envisages a continuous cyclical process of identification and review rather than a one-off process.'
 

Learning outside the classroom manifesto

November 2006 - this new DfES publication is now available here

"We define learning outside the classroom as: 'The use of places other than the classroom for teaching and learning'.
These, often the most memorable learning experiences, help us to make sense of the world around us by making links between feelings and learning. They stay with us into adulthood and affect our behaviour, lifestyle and work. They influence our values and the decisions we make. They allow us to transfer learning experienced outside to the classroom and vice versa."

Effective provision for G&T in primary education

October 2006 - The final version of this guidance has now been produced by the DfES and NAGTY and is available here
This booklet contains core guidance for primary schools on gifted and talented education, using as a starting point the National Quality Standards for gifted and talented education.

G&T..in a nutshell

September 2006 - NAGTY have launched an interactive online introduction to key topics and issues in G&T. The site initially has topics for Primary, whole-school issues and Secondary Maths. It is intended for use by G&T leaders, classroom teachers, ITT students and governors. N.B. NAGTY website no longer available; 'nutshells' are now available here.

Why should the gifted and talented be favoured?

August 2006 - Bethan Marshall has interesting criticisms of the new G&T 'register' for secondary pupils in the Independent here

"...the dangers of labelling pupils extend well beyond a threat to equality. What is so damaging about our national obsession with ability is not the idea of differential ability per se, but the implication that ability is fixed and immutable. Even the National Association of Able Children in Education, which has a much broader definition of ability, wants to sift out these pupils for special attention.
...The perversity of the "gifted and talented" register is it negates aspiration and builds into the structures of education lower expectations of 95 per cent of children. This must change."

You can listen to an interview discussing this issue with Bethan Marshall and Ken Sloane (NAGTY) here

Guidelines on effective provision for G&T in primary education

In March 2006, NAGTY and the DFES published a working document on effective provision for gifted and talented children in primary education. The report has sections on:

• principles for identification of gifted and talented pupils, use of assessment for learning, effective teaching and learning strategies and use of self evaluation and the Quality Standards as an evaluation tool.
  

• curriculum entitlement and choice - the importance of a broad and balanced curriculum, the key role of literacy and numeracy and using enrichment as a way to create breadth of opportunity.
  

• the role of assessment in recording and planning for exceptional performance, how data can be used to track the progress of the cohort and the individual and how accurate record keeping can ease the process of transfer and transition within and between schools for gifted and talented pupils.
  

• school organisation - how leadership at every level is critical in developing effective provision for gifted and talented pupils, the need for coverage of gifted and talented provision in all school policies, the importance of developing a positive school ethos that celebrates success and ensures that the social and emotional needs of pupils is given priority, how a focus on staff development is absolutely essential and how monitoring and evaluation helps a school to judge the success of its approach.
  

• guidance on strong partnerships beyond the school and focuses on how schools should engage with parents/carers and wider children’s services to ensure support for gifted and talented pupils, the role of wider-schooling in the personalisation agenda and how opportunities available locally should be exploited by schools in providing for their gifted and talented pupils.

Read the complete document here (on our web-site).

DfES G&Twise website

This website now offers advice for pupils, parents and schools. Of interest to G&T coordinators is the 'Quality Standard' developed jointly by the DfES and NAGTY as a self-evaluation tool for schools. Documents can be downloaded here  or view them on our website here for the 'Quality Standard' and here for the 'User Guide and Annexe'

There is also a draft document on 'Classroom Quality Standards in Gifted and Talented' in Word format here or on our website here

Ofsted report on Excellence in Cities - the primary extension

Some inner-city primary schools do not spend money intended for gifted children correctly, as they feel it is unfair to other pupils,  a new Ofsted report says (16/12/2004).

The main finding with regard to the Gifted & Talented strand was that:
"A small number of schools believed that the gifted and talented strand of the programme was not conducive to promoting equal opportunities. Such schools diluted the allocated resources by spending them on generic enrichment
activities rather than on raising the attainment of higher-attaining and underachieving pupils."

The relevant "points for action" were::

• LEAs and partnerships should take further steps to ensure that the programme’s strand for gifted and talented
  pupils is used for its intended purpose and that its impact on pupils’ attainment is measured securely.
  
• Schools should take further steps to ensure the principles that underpin the gifted and talented strand are understood fully and embedded in the work of the school.

BBC News report here   Read the full report here

Brain Gym - Bad Science

The 'Bad Science' column in the Guardian has recently (March 2006) featured  two articles on the 'pseudoscience' involved in 'Brain Gym' - see 'Brain gym exercises do pupils no favours' and 'Exercise the brain without this transparent nonsense'.
These articles have  provoked a lot of interesting comments here, here and on the TES website here and here.

In 2004 the DfES commissioned 'Accelerated Learning: A Literature Survey' from the Unit for Educational Research & Evaluation at the University of Bradford. This reports looks at a variety of 'Accelerated Learning' systems including 'Brain Gym' and  concludes:

From the nature of the evidence, or rather its lack ... it is clear that many AL claims in terms of causal links between brain physiology and brain-based approaches are at best premature, and at worst unsubstantiated. However, even where such causal links are questioned or refuted, it is still possible that AL techniques may contain effective teaching and learning practices that can raise achievement standards. As is also reviewed above, at present there is no substantial body of educational research and evaluation with which to test the case.

The complete report is in the G&T section of the DfES site, but, as it does not seem to be linked-to from any obvious page, we have reproduced it here.

Update - more Guardian articles on 'Brain Gym' here (June 2006) -"The claims behind Brain Gym are quite obviously silly." and here (Feb 2008) - "...peddled directly to your children by their credulous and apparently moronic teachers".

G&T LOCAL ACTIVITIES

G&T CONFERENCE 27th JANUARY 2006

Intervening in Underachievement / Pushing for Potential
AM - 'Challenging Underachieving Pupils' with Sue Hackman
PM - 'Identifying & Supporting Underachieving G&T Students' with David Camplin

COORDINATORS MEETING - SUMMER 2005

Ann Bridgland led a course entitled 'Creating Challenge for our Children'  concerned with creating a curriculum for Gifted &  Talented and more able pupils. Topics covered included: definition of 'Gifted & Talented', rationale , identification, provision and monitoring.

COORDINATORS MEETING - SPRING 2005

Coordinators spent the day working collaboratively on the creation of a range of resources – producing  questioning display materials, across the key stages and subject/stimulus specific; creating teacher-talk questioning memory jogs and specific questioning that could be utilised in, say, plenaries and starters. The Challenge Corner work will produce a range of materials, perhaps key stage or year group specific, and other materials that could furnish a ‘Challenge Club’, as well as a weekly Whole School Challenge – maybe for parents and pupils in partnership.

COORDINATORS MEETING - AUTUMN 2004

We looked at ICT activities and software that are useful for more able children - concentrating on software that is relatively easy to learn to use, but allows children freedom to develop interesting ideas. If you didn't make the meeting and get your FREE CD of freeware / demo software, then click here for a list of software and websites to download from.