highly able learners

Some connected online communites are listed in Resources to support the education and teaching of more able learners.

Areas of potential further enquiry include: 

• Perfectionism and able children

• A.I. and high ability

• Stretch and challenge through oracy for more able learners

• High ability in curriculum subjects (ie. Music, Art, Humanities, etc).

• Supporting the wellbeing of more able children

As a co-author of this Guide, I do think there is a unique and significant evidence base here that has reflected the wealth of evidence available.  We track through the years and reveal the change in policy, changes to practice and identify common misconceptions. We also point to gaps in research and remaining areas where there is a lack of consensus, such as the definition of more able and even the actual terminology.  No other publication to date has this amount of evidence and is so current. The Guide also incorporates an international perspective.

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.