Gifted and Talented
At ESH Secondary, a central tenet of our pedagogical approach is rooted in student-centred learning. We strive to support the holistic growth of our students and enable their development at a pace that is consistent with their abilities. To help facilitate this, the ESH Gifted and Talented programme adopts a highly inclusive approach, seeking to provide enriching opportunities to all and establishing a learning dialogue between staff, students and parents. This holistic approach to learning seeks to instill the creative and critical thinking skills needed to become productive citizens of our European society.
What is Gifted and Talented at ESH Secondary?
Being identified as Gifted and Talented means the student has academic abilities, talents, and/or the potential for exceptional abilities that are so developmentally advanced that they require enhanced provisions to meet their educational needs. These students may have high achievement capabilities in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields. We aim to facilitate an environment where being identified as gifted and talented is not the final destination or the benchmark of success, but rather the starting point for nurturing and realising potential.
Programme implementation
Gifted and Talented provisions at ESH Secondary take a multidimensional approach to offer a realistic and practical individual program to suit the needs of the student.
Main provisions:
- In class provision – effective teaching is the basis for excellent provision for all. Ongoing training is being delivered to staff to support the continued differentiation of needs in the classroom, including delivering challenging material for our gifted learners.
- Assignment of a Talent Coach – each student identified as Gifted and Talented will be assigned an expert Talent Coach to work one-on-one with them in setting targets and taking ownership of their learning journeys.
- Dedicated psychosocial working space – gifted and talented students can make use of the Gifted and Talented room where they can study, socialise and find a safe space with other students. To ensure a fully integrated and inclusive approach to this program, other students who wish to work with their gifted friends in this space are able to.
- Access to extracurricular clubs, university project opportunities and cross curricular project days.
Identifying gifted and talented students
To create a systematic and rigorous identification process, and to acknowledge the multidimensionality of aspects of ability, our programme follows a multifaceted approach and considers both quantitative and qualitative data.
Key points in the identification process:
- ‘Hidden Talents’ screening (S1 and S2 only)
- Informal teacher/peer nomination
- Discussions with key teachers involved/period of observation
- Application of whole school checklist to see if the student meets the criteria set
- Analysis and consultation with teachers, students and parents after determined gifted
- Allocation of Talent Coach
Please note that being nominated by a teacher does not automatically mean students will be added to the gifted and talented register, but it will begin the process of looking closer at that student’s particular needs.