Nuturing 'gifted and talented' at Prep Schools

Ben Evans, Headmaster at Edge Grove School helps us to unpick talent. This article first appeared in Prep School magazine, Autumn 2015. More about the magazine here: www.prepschoolmag.co.uk

The definition of ‘star talent’ or ‘the gifted’ means different things to different people.To me, a child with undisputable ‘star talent’ describes a pupil who excels far beyond the ‘ordinary’ or the expected.Equally, pupils who display advanced competency in a certain subject or demonstrate a much deeper understanding than their peers, or indeed display an ability to really listen and improve rapidly, can all be defined as having a ‘gift’. But aside from the obvious, nurturing that gift or talent is also about the individual’s temperament and desire to want to progress; without this, the talent may as well not exist.

So, how do you spot ‘gifted’ pupils at prep school age?What should you look for? We call our gifted and talented provision ‘Ignite’ - because it’s all about igniting the enthusiasm and ability and ultimately unleashing the talent within; however well hidden or untapped.Academic ability is usually recognised first, perhaps somewhat superficially, but via standardised scores.Anything over an NVR of 125 is a definite ‘flag’.With this gift however, must come an ability to reason, think coherently, question intelligently and reveal a ‘spark’ – which is something that can’t be measured scientifically.

Go beyond age-related expectation

Talent is something different.Children may have a talent for art, music, drama or sport and that will be something that teachers will notice during normal lessons, observations and discussions. In some cases, these pupils may not be the best sportsman, their drawings may not be the finished article and they may only be grade 1 on the piano, but teachers can spot those pupils who have a particular talent.The signs are that they may progress rapidly during each lesson, show a keen and sustained interest (or not in some cases – yet another tell-tale sign of intelligence, boredom!), go beyond the age-related expectations and again, have that ‘something special’ that indicates they have unusual ability in whichever field.

The difficulty in spotting these children is that there is no set pattern or rule (certainly in the case of our Ignite pupils). The obvious will be particularly able whether academically or in other areas and grasp concepts and skills easily and perform to a high level.But we must be careful not to overlook others who may lack confidence or display traits of shyness (common in younger children) – because through careful nurturing and confidence-building, their higher self-esteem will allow to them demonstrate their special gifts and talents.It is not all about the articulate and self-assured children who naturally attract attention. Although these types of pupils may be precocious in their abilities and will plateau while others catch up will them and possibly overtake.

It is also important not to just focus on those who are simply ‘naturally good at something for their age’ because this is likely to be because they have developed earlier than their peers – this is particularly relevant in sport when the bigger child will run through a whole rugby team.

Bring talent to the fore

As head teachers we must lead by example and try to ensure that prep school children are given the opportunities to be able to demonstrate their talent.Therefore schools need a broad curriculum with expert teaching/coaching to bring those gifts and talents to the fore.In a school where music and drama are relegated to being simply after-school activities, the opportunities and participation will be limited as a result.

To make an informed judgement on their pupils’ ‘gifted’ ability, teachers need to know their children very well. What will motivate them and ensure the best possible levels of interest, progress and attainment? How can they be challenged to work beyond their comfort zones and therefore make the optimum progress? They may be fearful of failure and teachers will need to ensure that support is in place to help when they don’t succeed but also to build the resilience and self-confidence to keep on trying.

Likewise, children will need some reality too - progression will not always be easy and in a small school, they may appear to be very talented but when surrounded by a national cohort, they could start to feel a little more ordinary.It is important that parents are aware of this too!

Find the balance

Head teachers need to ensure the curriculum is in place that provides the creativity, academic rigour and wealth of opportunity to allow children to display talents and gifts and extend them.Our Ignite co-ordinate leads this provision and must be given the time and resources to do it properly.The Head of Departments and teachers need to be supported to be able to identify the gifted children and the time to provide additional sessions to cater to their needs.It is easy to become preoccupied with providing learning support in schools (which is absolutely essential) but sometimes it can be at the expense of the more gifted child.It is the head teachers’ role to provide the balance.

Teachers must also have high expectations but also be very aware of what motivates their children and their particular learning styles.Get this wrong and it could be a negative and counter-productive exercise. All children need to feel supported and genuinely cared for.Beyond that are they motivated by success and reward or more intrinsic feelings?Teachers may also need to balance the ‘pushy parent’ only interested in ultimate success but unaware of the journey or possibility for failure.This can be very damaging if left unchecked.

Make time

Making time for gifted children should not affect other pupils’ learning and development.Normal teaching practices (differentiation, setting, rigour and challenge embedded in the curriculum) will allow academically gifted children to succeed and improve.Other opportunities must be provided after school in the form of clubs, book groups, history of art sessions, visiting speakers, museum/gallery/theatre trips etc. These should all be inclusive opportunities for all children. Likewise, a school shouldn’t allow learning support to dictate the pace of lesson; the same principle applies.

In art, drama, music and sports lessons, teachers should be able to teach the learning objective creatively to allow all pupils to progress at their own paceand ensure their achieve their potential, giving additional support an challenge as necessary, tailoring the lesson and their support to individual needs.

Stretch and enrich minds

At Edge Grove we provide scholarships at 11+ to encourage our able children and to focus their attention and energy.This then flags their potential/talent/gifts and additional work, support and sessions are put in place to prepare them for scholarships at 13+.It’s also essential to provide additional challenge opportunities to stretch the children and enrich their experiences in whatever field.

Sporting talent has been quickly identified at Edge Grove through school practices and matches and children are supported and encouraged to follow their talents.We also run an annual Inspire and Challenge Day with local schools in the region which allows us to share our facilities and teaching expertise and provide exciting and creative academic challenges and opportunities for children to work collaboratively (not always something gifted children find easy).This year, in addition to a number of academic, sporting and music awards, we have six art scholarships to senior schools and we hold weekly scholarship classes plus high-level teaching and concentration on skills from a young age.

Children of the future

As head teachers we must recognise the need to supported gifted pupils at prep school age and beyond and to ensure they have adequate room to grow and develop those skills.This might mean creating opportunities that allow this to happen but if we are serious in our commitment to ensure that each and every child succeeds to the best of their ability we need to be able to flex and adapt to individual needs as they arise.After all, our children are the future.

www.edgegrove.com