The 2005 White Paper, Higher Standards: Better Schools for All, set out the Government's ambition that every pupil - gifted and talented, struggling or average - should have the right personalised support to reach the limits of their capability. For gifted and talented pupils, this means better stretch and challenge in every classroom and in every school with opportunities to further their particular talents outside school at a local and national level.
Gifted and talented children are those who have one or more abilities developed to a level significantly ahead of their year group (or with the potential to develop these abilities).
Providing for the gifted and talented pupils in our schools is a question of equity - as with all other pupils, they have a right to an education that is suited to their particular needs and abilities. They need to be presented with work that challenges, stretches and excites them on a daily basis, in an environment that celebrates excellence and is supportive of those who may, in years to come, break the boundaries of what we know and understand today.
The Government's aims are:
- To improve gifted and talented pupils' outcomes, particularly for the most disadvantaged
- Attainment, aspirations, motivation, self-esteem
- To improve the quality of identification, teaching and support in all schools and classrooms
- To improve the coherence and quality of:
- Out of school learning opportunities and support for pupils; and
- Support for parents, educators and schools at local, regional and national levels
There are gifted and talented pupils in every school, but schools define their own populations. We believe that ability is evenly distributed throughout the population, so a school's gifted and talented cohort should be broadly representative of its whole school population.
