Supporting gifted and talented children

Every School a Good School – The Department of Education's policy for school improvement sets out the four characteristics of effective schooling for all learners, including those who are regarded as gifted or talented, as effective leadership; child-centred provision; high quality teaching and learning, and strong links with the community.

What 'gifted and talented' means

'Gifted and talented' describes children with the ability or potential to develop significantly ahead of their peers:

'gifted' learners are those with abilities in one or more academic subjects, such as maths or English
'talented' learners are those who have practical skills in areas such as sport, music, design or creative and performing arts

Skills and attributes such as leadership, decision-making and organisation may also be taken into account.

Is my child gifted or talented?

If you think your child is gifted or talented, you should discuss their abilities and needs with their teacher or the school principal.

Support

Schools have a responsibility to meet the educational needs of all their pupils, and teachers should set tasks that take account of the varying abilities of children.

For pupils considered to be gifted and talented, this includes providing greater challenges in lessons, and perhaps also further opportunities for pupils to develop their gifts or talents outside of the normal timetable.

If a primary school pupil shows that they have the abilities to take full part in the next school year group, the principal may consider moving the child into that group. The child’s emotional and social development levels and needs, should be considered as well as their academic progress.

The board of governors of a primary school can decide if a child should transfer to a post-primary school a year earlier than normal. This is done on the advice of the principal and the parents must agree that the child should transfer early.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) worked on a joint project with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in the Republic of Ireland to develop guidelines for teaching gifted and talented learners.

The guidelines and a review of advice on working with gifted and talented children are available on the CCEA website at: