St Cuthbert Mayne
Gifted and Talented Provision

Gifted and Talented Provision within St Cuthbert Mayne is a central part of supporting the school’s ethos of “a tradition of caring and excellence”.  We of course recognise that every child is an individual, and as such, has very different learning needs.

Our most gifted learners need the same nurturing and support in order to both develop and thrive in their areas of specialism.  We view Gifted and Talented provision as key in helping each learner to reach their full potential, achieve the highest academic standards possible, increase a sense of academic independence and equip them with the skills and experiences that will allow them to thrive as important members of society.

 Provision is centred around three core concepts:

• Identification
• Provision
• Accessibility

1.Identification:

Learners can be identified as Gifted and Talented via two separate means:

Identification by achievement: following DfES recommendations all learners with a CATS score of 120+ will automatically be entered onto the G & T register.

Each department will also be required to nominate the top 5% of pupils for each year group based on achieved National Curriculum Levels.

Identification by colleagues: Learners can now be entered onto the G & T register on the recommendation of colleagues using their professional expertise. While these students may not qualify using the above criteria they will be excelling in the nominated subject or would benefit from the opportunities available to G & T students. All these nominations are supported with evidence in support.

2. Provision:

Again this aspect is divided into distinct criteria all centred around providing a variation of learning opportunities:

• External
• Internal

External:

The focus here is on provision offered by external agencies. These mainly take the form of:

• LEA workshops
• SW Grid
• G & T providers. In recent years these have included Aim Higher and Oxford University.

Over the last year the school has striven to develop links with external agencies and ensure full and active participation in all course offered.

Internal:

This is the area of most development, following recommendations provided in the National Strategy: Gifted and Talented Education.

All G & T learners at St Cuthbert Mayne will have access to the following:

• G & T Councils – with the expressed aim of developing a clear and productive student voice to inform future planning and provision.
• Personalised Learning – the unique talents of each student need to be recognised and help to inform the classroom provision for the individual.
• Peer Teaching – the aim of this project is to share the skills of our G & T students throughout the Key Stages, while providing challenges for all involved.

3. Accessibility:

To ensure continued progression for all G & T learners new structures have been implemented in order to provide formative monitoring:

• All students nominated as G & T will have this highlighted on the school recording systems.
• Progress checks, are issued each term, these will be evaluated in order to assess level of progression at year / key stage basis. Most importantly these progress checks will be used to monitor and implement actions plans for underachievement for G & T pupils and allow us to implement support
• The G & T Register / Personalised Learning Plans will be available to all staff, helping to inform planning and future provision.