This guidance provides up-to-date support for teaching gifted and talented pupils and students. It aims to help schools and colleges develop an inclusive curriculum by giving information and advice on:

establishing effective policies for gifted and talented pupils and students;

setting suitable learning challenges;

matching teaching to learners' needs;

suggesting possible units of work to support those pupils aged 5 to 16 who are gifted and talented in particular national curriculum subjects;

providing case studies which both illustrate a range of types of provision and raise a variety of issues - primarily for 14- to 19-year-olds.

Who is this guidance for?

This guidance is intended to support:

teachers of pupils or students aged 5 to 19;

gifted and talented coordinators and curriculum managers in schools and colleges;

headteachers, principals and governors;

gifted and talented coordinators in local education authorities (LEAs) and in Excellence in Cities (EIC) partnerships and Excellence Clusters;

other adults working in and with schools and colleges, parents or carers.

Although gifted and talented young people are the focus of this guidance, teachers may find it helpful to adapt some of the materials for use with other learners. Research has shown that when a school or college focuses on its provision for the gifted and talented, it raises expectations for all.

What is in this guidance?

This guidance includes:

general guidance -- this outlines institutional approaches to identifying and meeting the needs of the gifted and talented;

subject-specific guidance -- this supports the teaching of gifted and talented pupils in specific national curriculum subjects. It includes examples of units of work, building on the QCA/DfES schemes of work for key stages 1, 2, 3 and 4;

case studies -- these focus on gifted and talented provision for students aged 14 to 19. Many deal with generic issues and will be of interest to all users of this site

The information on this website will grow over time, as new findings and ideas are added. In particular, we are keen to add more examples of units of work and case studies. Please email any ideas and information to gtweb@qca.org.uk.

The original guidance (published in November 2001) has now been extended to cover gifted and talented students up to the age of 19. It has also been revised in the light of feedback on the original site and developments in the interim.

The subject guidance is largely unchanged. Although it relates to the national curriculum for 5- to 16-year-olds, there is also much of relevance to 14 to 19. Examples of pupils' work in literacy and numeracy (key stages 1 and 2) have been added to the English and mathematics sections.These are drawn from the QCA publication Working with gifted and talented children (see Resources and organisations). Also, the remaining examples for key stages 1 to 3 have been added to mathematics.

Top of page

Help