The More Able, Gifted and Talented Programme

Winton Arts and Media College has a clear vision for developing all students to their full potential. We want the best provision for all our students and give them equal opportunities in order to achieve success. We need to involve the LA, parents, teachers, governors and others in the community in order to nurture all individual differences. Winton is committed to meeting the needs of more able, gifted and talented learners through its teaching and learning provision.

Our More Able, Gifted and Talented policy is another part of continuing our response to maximise achievement.

We believe our more able, gifted and talented learners should be seen as a whole school issue, with emphasis on the education of the whole student. Support for gifted and talented learners should be an integral part of every teacher’s aim to raise achievement and improve standards for all students.

To achieve this the College needs to pursue the following objectives:

  • To identify more able, gifted and talented students, analyse their progress and attainment, set challenging attainment and achievement targets, and identify improvement strategies.
  • To raise awareness of the needs of more able, gifted and talented students, whilst acknowledging that all children and young people have talents.
  • To ensure that specific learning skills, qualities, talents and weaknesses are recognised and followed by appropriate action.
  • To ensure that appropriate systems are in place for the tracking, monitoring and evaluation of individual student progress.
  • To review and subsequently develop the quality of provision for more able, gifted and talented learners.
  • To develop an ethos within the College which promotes mutual esteem and an expectation of achievement for all.
  • To ensure that College staff, governors and parents understand the respective roles they have to play in promoting the success of more able, gifted and talented students.
  • To assure an emphasis on educating the whole child and ensure that more able, gifted and talented students receive a broad and balanced curriculum.
  • To foster effective partnerships with parents.
  • To take account of the social and emotional needs of more able, gifted and talented students.
  • To maintain and extend the range of partners in order to provide high quality opportunities for more able, gifted and talented students.
  • To facilitate and encourage out-of-school hours as well as in-College opportunities.
  • To secure high quality training and support for teachers, senior managers and governors, disseminate good practice and promote networking.
  • To promote the acceleration of learning, the understanding that learning patterns are different for individual learners, and ensure that appropriate opportunities are in place for students to progress in line with their abilities rather than their age.
  • To maintain continuity and progression during transition and transfer from our feeder schools
  • To ensure that links are made between this policy, and borough and national strategies, especially the inclusion strategy and the equal opportunities policy.

The College will offer guidance, support and challenge to staff to:

  • identify more able gifted and talented children using National Curriculum assessments and other observations.
  • help parents to recognise their children’s learning characteristics and to support them.
  • design learning environments to develop ‘learning to learn’ skills and promote high achievement.
  • design challenging learning activities and opportunities which enable students to progress in line with their abilities.
  • strengthen the subject knowledge of teachers and the planning and organisation of learning.
  • set appropriate learning targets and monitor students’ progress.
  • identify appropriate roles and responsibilities within the school and in the partnership with parents.
  • make effective use of a range of partnerships in planning both in-College and out-of-hours provision for our more able, gifted and talented students.
  • develop and monitor policies and provision for our more able, gifted and talented learners.

Activities to support the achievement of the objectives form part of the College’s strategic planning process, and are detailed in the School Improvement Plan.