This site is well worth looking at..
Parents play an essential role in the development of their gifted and talented children, a role which the school supports but cannot displace. There are a variety of ways in which parents can facilitate the development of their children but as each child is unique then factors which help one child to develop will not always be appropriate for facilitating the development of other gifted and talented children. Nor will it always be the case that a gifted child is developing in every cognitive respect at the pace that would normally be expected. A child may well develop in some respects 'faster' than expected and in other respects 'slower' than is expected.
Below are a few general principles about how parents can support the development of their child in respect of:
• General Cognitive Development
• Language Development
• Logic and Numerical Development
• Development at School
General Cognitive Development
There is increasing evidence that the intellectual development of children is supported particularly well when they are regularly exposed to intellectual stimulation which promotes a growth of knowledge and problem solving skills. But as equally important as the stimulation is the opportunity to experience unstructured 'free time' where children have the responsibility to amuse themselves and so typically develop their imagination and creativity skills.
Parents can support their children by helping them to encounter intellectual stimulation in reading and in new experiences through visiting museums, galleries or through interacting with other venues and situations with which they are less familiar. Some parents arrange additional formal studies for their children and that too can be helpful, although it is important to ensure that the children do not become intellectually exhausted. Sometimes the most effective support that a parent can provide may be actually limiting the number of engagements and formal activities that their child is exposed to, in order to ensure that the child has the intellectual space and 'free time' in which to play, experiment and develop hobbies and interests of his/her own.
Language Development
Some gifted and talented children manifest a particular love of, and aptitude with, language. They enjoy learning new words and phrases and perhaps like to use unusual forms of expression. Parents can support their children in the development of their language skills by reading with them and in particular by talking about and discussing what they are reading.
Some children respond particularly well to different types of literature and schools and libraries are usually only too pleased to offer advice about how a child's reading can be broadened and varied. Some children enjoy and show an aptitude with oral language but are less interested in formal reading. Where this is the case the most effective support can be helping the child to gain in confidence with material he or she feels comfortable with, rather than in trying to move the child onto more complex material than he or she is ready for.
Logic and Numerical Development
Some pupils have a particular interest in numbers and logical reasoning. They will typically enjoy exercises involving these aspects and may well enjoy talking about problems involving calculations and conversions.
Parents can support their children by trying to ensure that they enjoy any additional logic and numerical work that they are doing at home. Making games and playing games are good examples of ways in which children can do this. It is also important to balance activities which acquire new knowledge and new skills with activities which provide an opportunity to strengthen already existing skills by focusing on ways of applying logical and numerical
Development at School
Schools aim to support the intellectual development of children in a holistic framework which takes account of intellectual needs as well as PSHE (Personal Social and Health Education) needs. Some gifted children have developed intellectually in terms of knowledge and understanding which would normally be expected of much older pupils. Other gifted children can show significant reading or numerical abilities in circumscribed aspects of the subject whilst others can seem to be making significant process through curriculum materials but are doing so in terms of learning to perform functions and activities rather than actually understanding the material and its application.
As every child is unique there can be no single way of meeting the needs of a gifted child, but in determining provision that is appropriate for your son or daughter a school will typically aim to ensure that the pupil is intellectually challenged and making progress in terms of understanding as well as knowledge whilst also working in an environment which meets their PSHE needs.
All schools will use differentiation with gifted and talented pupils and parents should be able to see evidence of challenging activities in their childrens' exercise books. All schools should have monitoring procedures to ensure that gifted and talented pupils continue to make appropriate progress. In some schools gifted and talented pupils are supported through the use of an IEP (Individual Education Plan) especially where they are working through materials or at a level which requires significantly different planning from the class teacher. At present there is no additional funding available for gifted and talented pupils.
Gifted and talented learners are defined those who have one or more abilities developed to a level significantly ahead of their year group (or with the potential to develop those abilities).
Gifted describes learners who have the ability to excel academically in one or more subjects such as English, drama, technology;
Talented describes learners who have the ability to excel in practical skills such as sport, leadership, artistic performance, or in an applied skill.
Providing for gifted and talented learners in our schools is a matter of equity - as with all other pupils they have a right to an education that is suited to their needs and abilities, to allow them to fulfil their true potential.
Reading of books often declines during teenage years as there are so many activities competing for young people's time - including school work, part-time jobs and their social life, as well as other leisure activities.
1. Encourage your child and their friends to talk about what they read and share good reads.
2. www.cool-reads.co.uk provides reviews of books for teenagers by teenagers.
3. Suggest older children read with younger members of the family.
4. Read yourself. Set a good example by reading for pleasure and talking about the reading you do at work and home.
5. If they say they don't have time for reading books or novels (after all, many adults say the same), encourage them to read other materials or non-fiction books that relate to their current concerns and interests - for example, biographies, true-life stories in magazines and news reports.
We were excited to have been short-listed for an award in the Outstanding Contribution category for our contribution to National Science and Engineering Week. We actually won the award for our Science Showcase at the Metro Centre - well done to Mrs Collin and all others involved!
11th March 2010 was BBC School Report day, where the BBC open up their news feeds to school pupils all across the country. We took 7 students to Gateshead CLC where they worked with professional standard TV and Radio recording equipment to produce some fantastic news reports. It was a fantastic success, we even made the 6 o'clock news!
Our students produced a video looking at education in the present, this fit into their LIVE web broadcast where they interviewed Noel Jackson from the Life centre in Newcastle.
Some of our students were involved in a news report created by the BBC and shown on the 6 o'clock and 10 o'clock national news! We also had a couple of students interview Maggie Atkinson live on the radio.
Congratulations to Year 8 pupils David Gordon, Carly Ivers, Dionne O'Brien, and Victoria Mogford who successfully won the final of Heworth CLC's Animation Competition. Competing against Cardinal Hume, Lord Lawson and Heworth Grange in the final, having battled through the earlier heats of the competition in December.
The Pupils were challenged to create backdrop's, storyboards, and Digital Stop motion animations (created using 'I Can Animate') based on an environmental theme. The completed animations were finished by adding soundtracks including sound effects and music (created using Garage band). The films were independently judged and marked; Links to the theme, Storyboard sketches, Animation Quality and originality, Backdrops, Sound Effects and Music. Each pupil received 'I Can Animate' software for the school and each other as well as a digital camcorder for the Art department. Well done.
30 year 10 pupils from G&T and Aim Higher cohort went to London for a weekend.
Activities included:
• Sightseeing - Buckingham palace, House of Winsor, Trafalgar Square and lots more
• Ride on London Eye
• Visit the Science museum
• Going to theatre to see shows- Lion king and Hairspray
• Evening meals - Hard rock café and Planet Hollywood
Welcome to my new blog powered by Movable Type. This is the first post on my blog and was created for me automatically when I finished the installation process. But that is ok, because I will soon be creating posts of my own!
Recent Comments