More Able

Rationale

“Meeting the educational needs of the gifted and talented is about building on good general school provision, not about providing something entirely different.”

Professor Deborah Eyre, 2001.

The Holt School has developed an inclusive policy to drive and direct learning for all our students and, therefore, to identify and meet the needs of our more able students (MA).

At the centre of our policy is a consistent and committed approach from all staff and departments to provide a secure and challenging learning environment for all students, ensuring that no ‘ceiling’ is placed on achievement. The Holt School takes pride in achievement and hence we are encouraging all our students to become independent learners with high aspirations for their future.

Aims

The school aims to:

• challenge all students within the classroom whilst ensuring the most able are sufficiently stretched
• provide stimulating learning experiences for all pupils that encourage independence and autonomy, and support pupils in using their initiative and allow them to achieve their full potential
• provide opportunities for students to work at higher cognitive levels
• provide opportunities for pupils to develop specific skills and talents
• encourage pupils to reflect on the process of their learning and to understand the factors that help them to make progress
• foster the development of a well-rounded and balance individual, both intellectually and socially
• encourage pupils to be open to ideas and initiatives presented by others, thus promoting the importance of citizenship and cultural diversity
• encourage pupils to develop leadership potential and provide opportunities for this
• celebrate achievement

Identification Process

There are a range of strategies that are used for identification. Together these allow meaningful identification of an appropriate cohort of students who are classified as MA in general:

• Quantitative test data: this will include CATS and SATS
• Use of data bases: information from feeder schools, predicted progress between key stages, analysis of progress

The Holt School also identifies students may show ability within certain subjects. Therefore, students can also be identified as Subject More Able. This is done through:

• Assessing students against subject specific criteria, marking, monitoring and classroom observation

We also recognise that students may have talents outside of the classroom, and we recognise these students as talented in their specialism. This is through:

• Achievement of national qualifications for example in music, art and sporting assessments
• Participating in competitions at a national level and above

As a result of the high level of support provided by The Holt School, the MA students achieve high levels of success. Academically able students regularly achieve A-A* at GCSE and our A level results include students achieving the very highest grades allowing them to join prestigious universities