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Gifted and Talented pupils to receive more targeted support
28 July 2009- Brightest disadvantaged teens to get ‘scholarship’ funding - The country’s brightest and most able children are to get more and better support, as the Government further strengthens its Gifted & Talented (G&T) programme, Schools Minister Vernon Coaker announced today.The scheme will be targeted at the most disadvantaged gifted learners aged 14 to 19 to help them develop the knowledge and skills during their school careers to win a place at a competitive university. Key strands of the new programme include: • Targeting gifted pupils from deprived backgrounds with a new £250 annual scholarship for up to four years, to help them develop their particular gift or talent from 2010; • A new online catalogue of learning opportunities for G&T pupils provided at local authority, regional and national level where pupils can ‘shop’ for opportunities that suit their particular gift; • A new network of High Performing Specialist Schools that will focus on Gifted and Talented as part of their specialism to work alongside local authorities in improving the quality of support for G&T learners across the country. Since January 2009, 170 schools have been identified and will receive £10,000 pa funding. The existing flagship policy has seen hundreds of thousands of children benefit from extra support to fulfil their potential. The programme will now be improved, so that all G&T pupils will benefit directly and support for the most disadvantaged will be much more widely available. The lynchpin of the new arrangements will be the G&T component of the Parent and Pupil Guarantees announced in the White Paper Your child, your schools, our future. These will establish the right of every identified G&T learner and their parents or carers to have personalised development and support in the classroom and outside school hours from September 2010. The scholarship scheme targeted at pupils eligible for free school meals, builds on City GATES, the £15 million G&T strand of the Government’s drive to improve standards in some of the country’s most deprived areas - City Challenge. A programme developed from City GATES will now be offered to eligible disadvantaged learners in other regions.Lead schools in each area will also be funded to provide activities for G&T pupils and support for other schools. There will be an online catalogue of opportunities for G&T learning and development activities – from summer camps, to extra sports, music and drama sessions. Schools themselves will work within a stronger, simpler set of expectations. They will be encouraged to contribute to a virtual library of G&T materials, such as games and simulations, pupil project ideas and suggestions for independent study assignments.This will mean a move away from the centralised ‘Learner Academy’ model – where students were entered into a national scheme - to more local activities provided by schools and local partners. Primary and secondary schools will still be expected to identify students as gifted and talented. Those identified should form a broad cross-section of the school’s social make-up. They will include students with special talents or skills, for example in music or sport. The pupil information will be collected through the School Census.Vernon Coaker said:“We want to make sure that every child succeeds and that no child is held back by the luck of the draw in their circumstances.“By targeting scholarships at disadvantaged but gifted young people we want to open up their opportunities and raise their aspirations. Our new online catalogue will allow gifted pupils and their teachers to ‘shop’ for extra activities and the new network of schools will help them unlock the potential of all their talented young people. “Ensuring that every child does well at school and gains the knowledge, skills and qualifications they need is what we must do to secure the future success of our country and society.”Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1. Gifted & Talented Champion John Stannard, former Director of the Literacy Strategy and Inspector of Schools recently delivered a speech to stakeholders giving further details of the new direction for Gifted & Talented Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2009/0142
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