Encouraging and Celebrating Hidden Gifts and Talents

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Encouraging and Celebrating Hidden Gifts and
Talents

• Gill Palmer

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Good Afternoon

• We all have Gifts and
  Talents
• we just have to find them and learn how to
  nurture them!

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Dame Janet Community Infant and Nursery School

• Pupils begin school at well below the National
  Standard
• High Expectations and Outstanding Pastoral Care
• SATs Academic standards are below National
  Average
• But what about our GT pupils?
• GT register Hard and Soft / Gifts and
  Talents
• Statements of expectations by Subject
  Co-ordinators
• Teacher assessment / tracking
• Teacher instincts and general observations
• Informal discussions with TAs

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Everyone has a Gift or Talent!

• The question is
• How to find it?
• Then how to nurture it?
• We cant all be Academic!!!

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Building Learning Power

• (Promoting BLP with Infants)
• Super Learner says
• Are you listening?
• Are you focused?
• Are you taking part?
• Keep on tryingdont give up!

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Super Learners

• Were you listening?
• Were you focused?
• Did you take part?
• If not then keep on trying
• dont give up!

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BLP promotes

• Motivating their own styles of learning
• Involvement in their own progress
• Managing distractions and interruptions
• Boosting their self-esteem and well-being
• Peer group encouragement
• Whole school ethos

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Rewarding Super Learners

• Class celebration of achievements
• Super Learner badges / charts
• Whole school celebration of achievements
• Super Learner Certificates
• Celebration Song
• But what about the hidden
• Gifts and Talents?

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How to find hidden Gifts and Talents

• Parent /Carers Questionnaire October
• Non-Academic achievements register
• Clubs / skills / obscure interests
• Foreign Languages / EAL abilities

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Celebration Register 2010

• School Clubs
• Art
• Music
• Library
• Dance / Country Dancing
• Cheerleading
• Skipping
• Speed Stacking
• Multi-skills
• French
• Gardening
• School Council
• Brain Games

• Outside Interests
• Rainbows / Brownies
• Beavers / Cubs
• Library
• Football / Rugby
• Cricket / Golf
• Karate
• Swimming
• Horse Riding
• Ballet / Dance
• Drama / Theatre
• Majorettes
• Church
• Foreign Languages

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How to nurture these hidden Gifts and Talents

• Celebration Assemblies
• Give responsibility to pupils to teach others
  about their interests / skills
• Use their interests in lessons
• Involve Parents in Assemblies or Class based
  Topic activities

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Factors which may or may not influence the
success of BLP with GT pupils

• SEN / SL / EAL / Physical
• Social influences
• Underachievement
• Unwilling to accept failure
• Disengaged
• Lacking motivation
• Behaviour issues

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Now what can we do?
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Our School Strategies

• Creative Curriculum ( Independent Learning)
• TASC Wheel ( Learning Skills)
• SEAL (Social Emotional Aspects of Learning)
• Nurture class (Social Skills)
• Brain Games Club (Thinking Skills)
• Who can help?
• Support staff / HLTAs / TAs / Parents / Volunteer
  Helpers
• Outside support / agencies
• Liaison with other schools / services

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Be creative and flexible

• Always look for hidden gifts and talents in the
  most surprising places
• Ask other people for their observations to
  identify GT e.g. TAs who run clubs
• Ask other people for their help to promote GT
  e.g. parents with specific skills/talents
• Adapt ideas to motivate your age range

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Are you a Super Learner?

• What is your hidden talent?
• Who could help you to nurture it?
• How could you use it in school?
• Discuss how you could adapt any of
• this afternoons ideas for your age range!

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Now go andCelebrate !!!