Organisations
National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE)
An independent charity working with schools, education leaders and practitioners to improve provision for more able learners. Has a focus on meeting the needs of more able learners and embedding an ethos and culture of high expectations for all, schools can ensure all young people have opportunities to flourish through its webinars, coaching, training, CPD and networking opportunities to share best practice and guidance.
Parents and carers have a lasting impact on their children’s lives. They can have a significant influence on their children’s achievement by providing early experiences which encourage children to enjoy and develop their learning. By exposing their children to new experiences, by engaging with them through talk and discussion, by giving them encouragement and support, parents enhance their children’s ability to think creatively and critically and stimulate their curiosity about the world (Lowe, 2022).
Social and emotional skills (SES) have been shown to influence many important life outcomes, but also to influence the development and use of cognitive skills and have attracted renewed interest from policy makers and researchers. These skills determine how well people adjust to their environment and how much they achieve in their lives (oecd.org). The quality of people’s social and emotional skills has value for overall wellbeing and happiness. The skills are connected to a range of long-term health and employment outcomes.
In the UK, the number of children with emotional and mental health issues is increasing. The organisation Potential Plus UK believes that many of these cases are amongst children with high learning potential, particularly those who find it difficult to cope with:
Why a focus on the early years? The years from birth to 5 are crucial for young children’s development. Typically, huge strides in all aspects of development are made during this period. Development, however, is not a linear process, with children developing quickly in one aspect and less quickly in another. What is to be protected is the value of each ‘stage’ on the developmental journey and to recognise and support each development phase (Langston & Doherty, 2012).
There have been relatively few empirical studies of ‘gifted and talented’ education (the prevailing term used in the literature) and, consequently, evidence-based policy and practice are scarce.
Inclusion is about addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all learners and a conviction that it is the responsibility of any mainstream system to educate every child. UNESCO views inclusion as “a dynamic approach of responding positively to pupil diversity and of seeing individual differences not as problems, but as opportunities for enriching learning.” Therefore, inclusion is not merely a technical or organisational change but a movement with a clear philosophy.
This MESHGuide provides an overview of key issues in understanding young people deemed to have high academic abilities and presents research into the educational provision for such highly able learners from across the globe. It also signposts resources and materials to complement the Guide. The intended audience for this Guide is classroom teachers, teachers leading on provision for more and highly able learners, headteachers and curriculum leaders.
Pages
