High potential and gifted education

Some students learn faster and with greater ease than others. These students may demonstrate natural abilities in the creative, intellectual, physical and/or social-emotional domains.

At our school, we are committed to recognising and nurturing these strengths early. We consistently support high potential students through quality, scaffolded, targeted and intentional teaching, highly differentiated learning activities, and a wide range of whole-school programs that enable students to grow and thrive in every aspect of school life.

We understand our responsibility to educate all students to their potential and are committed to providing high-quality educational outcomes for all high potential and gifted students.

We acknowledge that high potential and gifted students are found in all communities, regardless of ethnic, cultural or socio-economic background. High potential and giftedness may occur across one or more domains, including the creative, physical, intellectual and social-emotional domains.

The high potential and gifted population may include students who are underachieving and students with disabilities. It is imperative that our school community provides effective, equitable and defensible identification processes that avoid cultural bias and deliver developmentally appropriate programs for high potential and gifted students.

As such, Vardys Road Public School offers HPGE programs that enrich, extend and challenge students, while providing opportunities to problem-solve, explore, inquire and pursue individual interests. We offer a range of external and in-school programs that allow students to discover their talents, reach their potential, demonstrate their skills and showcase their identified expertise.

Our Learning Support systems underpin these programs by systematically identifying high potential and gifted students, and by tracking and monitoring the progress of every child ensuring that together we grow and together we belong.

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

We understand the traits of our High Potential and gifted students

HPGE students may show some of the following traits:

1. Early language development

2. Excellent memory

3. Persistent curiosity

4. Rapid learning

5. Sense of humour

6. Intensity

7. Long attention span

8. Sensitivity

9. Keen skills of observation

10. Preference for older playmates

11. Perfectionism

12. Strong sense of morality and justice

If your child is showing many of these traits, please discuss this with your child’s classroom teacher.

Some students are twice exceptional, having additional needs which may interact with their giftedness in a variety of ways. If you think this describes your child, please speak with your classroom teacher.

We have strong systems to identify HPGE students

Recognising Potential and Developing Talent

The identification of high-potential and gifted students, as early as possible in their school career, is essential to ensure that their particular needs are addressed. It is important to recognise that, in some circumstances and for various reasons, high-potential and gifted students may not fully demonstrate their true abilities.

It is the responsibility of the whole school community to support these students and help them realise their full potential. The identification process should:

Be school-wide, inclusive, and culturally fair
Be dynamic and continuous, with ongoing assessments that cater to differing student strengths
Recognise varying degrees of potential and giftedness
Allow for both early identification and identification at all stages of schooling

Specialised approaches may be needed to recognise high potential and giftedness in the following groups:

Underachievers
Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities
Students from socially and culturally diverse backgrounds

Assessment for Identification and Validation

Ongoing evidence is collected to accurately identify high-potential and gifted students using a variety of measures, which may include:

Parent, teacher, or student nomination (links available on the website and in enrolment packs)
Universal cross-stage assessments, such as Essential Assessments or Acadience
Interviews
Student work
Curriculum-based assessment and reporting
Educational history
Medical history
Checklists from a psychologist or school counsellor
Cognitive assessments
Work beyond grade-level expectations
Other relevant information

We provide Individualised Learning Plans

For students identified as highly gifted who require extensive accommodations and program modifications beyond grade expectations and universal differentiation, a Personalised Learning Plan (PLSP) may be required.

When a PLSP is required, the teacher will develop the plan in Term 1 and reviewed each term. A copy will be provided to the parents. Ongoing monitoring will be undertaken throughout the year by all parties, allowing the plan to be adjusted as needed. At the end of each year, information will be exchanged with the child’s new teacher.

We build the capacity of our teachers to cater for our HPGE students

We Build the Capacity of Our Teachers Through:

Whole-staff professional learning
Coaching
Regular team meetings
Collaborative planning
Team-based professional learning

What is high potential and gifted education?

High potential and gifted education (HPGE) is how our school supports students with advanced learning needs.

We do this through:

effective teaching strategieslike enrichment, extension and acceleration

tailored supportduring lessons that stretch, challenge and inspire

access to a wide range of opportunitiesboth within and beyond our school.

There are four domains in which students can demonstrate potential, giftedness or a talent.

The four domains are;

Intellectual- Students in this domain need to be challenged and extended intellectually. These students have the ability to process information, understand complex ideas, reason, and transfer knowledge, with the ability to quickly learn new concepts or deeply understand subjects.

These students may be catered for through differentiated programs, tasks and activities. Other options may include accelerated learning, enrichment programs, higher-order thinking activities and extension initiatives.

Creative- Students in this domain have natural abilities related to imagination, invention, and originality, such as writing, art, and finding new solutions to problems. Opportunities offered to these students may include Creative and Performing Arts programs, project-based learning, problem-solving, open-ended tasks, and opportunities for original expression.

Social-Emotional- Students in this group have natural abilities in self-management and relating to others. Examples of programs may include peer support groups, mentorship, and opportunities for social belonging.

Physical- These students have natural abilities in movement and motor control, evident in sports, dance, or hands on activites.

In our classroom

[Your school's classroom level HPGE offerings - refer to HPGE toolkit]

Across our school

[Your school's school level HPGE offerings - refer to HPGE toolkit]

Across NSW

[Your school's state-wide level HPGE offerings - refer to HPGE toolkit]