Welcome to the Gifted and Talented Department Home Page
What is 'Gifted and Talented'?
Littleover Community School is committed to comprehensive education for all. We are committed to equal opportunities and this means making provision for all pupils whatever their ability. The most able children have particular educational needs and therefore a right to encounter suitable challenges to develop their abilities.
Staff at Littleover will attempt to ensure that our most able pupils develop their potential and are cared for academically and pastorally.
Our emphasis is on improving the provision for pupils within the classroom as we feel that this is most likely to motivate pupils and bring sustained improvements in attainment.
For the purpose of identification in Littleover Community School we shall define the term ‘gifted and talented’ as:
A pupil who demonstrates a particularly high level of ability in one or more subjects.
More specifically, we would expect that a ‘gifted’ pupil would be very able in one or more of the following:
- English
- Maths
- Science
- Languages
- Humanities
- ICT
- Technology
- PSHE
A ‘talented’ pupil would be very able in :
- Art
- Drama
- Music
- PE
It is accepted that there are many variations in the definition of gifted and talented pupils However, it is hoped that staff will concentrate on identifying the ‘most able’ pupils in Littleover Community School in order that they can have the opportunities to achieve their potential.
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Identification
In Year 7, all pupils undertake Cognitive Ability Test (CATs). If a child achieves a score of 129 in one or more of the three components (verbal, non-verbal and quantitative) they will have met a nationally recognised criteria for being ‘gifted’. Their parents are informed by letter and they are then put on our gifted and talented register.
The CATs are not an accurate indicator of ‘talent’ in a child. Therefore, staff in the ‘performance’ subjects are asked to nominate their more able pupils based on subject specific criteria. These lists are passed on to the Coordinator and placed on the school’s gifted and talented register. Their parents are informed by letter.
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Provision
Although the main focus for provision at LCS is in the classroom, there are an enormous number of activities available
in which our more able pupils can take part (see extra-curricular activities section on website). There are also
activities specific to the needs of our more able. These include:
- Subject specific trips e.g. Business Enterprise
- Subject specific competitions e.g. National Maths Challenge
- Enrolment on the GOAL Programme based at Warwick University
- Access to the Derby City run Gifted and Talented Summer Schools
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Funding
The school receives a small budget to help provide for gifted and talented learners. With this money, we have been able to:
- Send pupils on sports coaching courses at county and national level
- Help fund training for the very successful ‘Newspaper in a Day’ activity
- Fund prizes for Arts competitions such as the Music Festival
- Buy specific literature and software for the gifted and talented
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