How successful is your policy for gifted pupils?

Reviewing initiatives in this area to establish their effectiveness is an important part of developing good practice. Pupils' own perceptions of the usefulness of provision, and their judgements about the levels of interest and learning produced, can be gathered through discussion or written self-assessment. The policy for RE should also be linked to the school's policy on gifted pupils.

Teachers may wish to ask the following questions:

Have strategies for identifying pupils who are gifted in RE been fair and effective? For example, has pupils' motivation increased?

How have resources for this group been successfully targeted?

How have the most able pupils achieved, according to their ability? What is evidence?

How far are gifted pupils working beyond the expectations for their age group? Can this be measured?

How does pupils' achievement in RE compare to other subjects? What is the evidence?

How have pupils become more self-aware about using their talents? For example, are they more reflective in their evaluation work?

How far have they applied religious learning to new contexts, problems, issues and evidence?

Are teachers' expectations appropriately high?

How can provision be further developed, clarified or improved?

How is a portfolio of outstanding work, to which teachers and pupils can refer, maintained? Are gifted pupils encouraged to contribute to it?

How is library and other resource provision reviewed, and the quality of extension and enrichment improved through resources?

The following sample policy statement is adapted from work at Soar Valley Community College in Leicester.

The policy is written in the light of whole-school policy. We intend to work with the support of the SENCO to offer a wide range of appropriate, challenging and engaging learning opportunities to those students identified as gifted, talented or most able in RE. This intention is to be seen in the light of our general commitment to matching work to pupils' needs.

Definitions

Most-able and talented pupils in RE are those who can easily, quickly and at an expert level apply the specific skills and processes of RE, and who demonstrate high levels of understanding, insight, maturity and achievement. We will use the learning outcomes specified in the agreed syllabus and the QCA eight-level scale of national expectations in RE to identify up to 10% of pupils from each year group for the 'Most Able Register'.

A smaller number of pupils are gifted in RE. Such pupils may best be identified by teachers using their professional judgement to weigh the evidence of spiritual, moral, social or cultural development in a pupils' RE work, or through other evidence. Giftedness in RE might be evident from work produced in the classroom, or from activity beyond the formal curriculum or the school.

Identification

Strategies for identifying the most able, gifted and talented children in RE.

We will use the normal processes of classroom teaching and assessment along with this policy to develop strategies for identifying gifted and talented pupils. We will consider the evidence provided by CATS and SATS scores.

There is some correlation, though not a necessary link, between talented pupils' general attainment and RE.

Some pupils have particular aptitude for RE through their family culture or their experience of religion and spirituality beyond the school.

Talented students may show characteristics such as: particular interest or enjoyment of RE; high levels of creativity in RE; particular aptitude for raising and addressing problems or questions in RE; a fast pace in tackling work in RE; exceptional usage of religious language; confidence and expertise in discussing religious issues. These and other signs of talent will help teachers in identifying pupils with special needs of this sort.

Extending the provision of challenging learning opportunities

We will use strategies for developing the learning opportunities offered to the most able, gifted and talented children in RE, including:

Raising expectations of achievement among staff, through sharing examples of the best work done by the most able pupils.

Building up our resources for extension reading in each unit of the curriculum.

Making more and better provision for enriching the language of religion and spirituality used by the talented pupil.

Setting extension tasks based on fundamental or ultimate questions in relation to each unit of the curriculum.

Using tasks from beyond the particular key stage to provide a challenge to the most able.

Recognising and praising work which shows religious depth, profundity or particular features of excellence.

Offering and guiding differentiated choices of tasks to pupils.

Structuring classroom groups to enable the most able pupils to work together at the highest levels on suitable occasions.

Enabling some talented pupils to tackle challenging work with older pupils in RE.

Using self-assessment techniques to raise pupils' awareness of their own achievements.

Review

We will keep the names on the school's Register of Most Able Pupils under regular review.

We will make time for an agenda item on gifted and talented pupils in an RE meeting on a termly basis.

We will review the way this policy has worked after two years.

School and subject policies in the general guidance

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