Education

In this book you will find:

- practical and easily implemented lesson ideas for physical movement, maths, language and music;

- guidance on how to make sure all children are given the opportunity to achieve;

- practical ideas for the identification of able young children;

- summaries of key ideas at the end of each chapter;

- a glossary of terms.


The ideas and activities have all been tried and tested by practitioners and show how to help gifted children to flourish and all children to benefit from imaginative approaches to learning. Most importantly, they are based on using resources already in common use in most early years settings which can be easily adapted.


Teachers, nursery nurses, teaching assistants and advisers will find this book a down-to-earth guide to helping able young children and all young children make the most of educational opportunities.

This book explores the way staff impact learner beliefs about ability and suggests ways that staff can support young children as they develop.


The book contains practical ideas for:

- giving feedback and praise

- structuring activities to help shape and recognise high ability

- creating a challenging learning environment

- developing citizens of the future.


Aimed at children who are gifted and talented, the book is applicable to staff seeking to shape and influence learning for all children in early years settings.

In line with many countries Scotland is seeking to develop citizens fit to deal with the challenges of the 21st century (SE, 2006). It also wants to ensure that children‘s abilities and talents are recognised and extended. One way it has sought to do this is to develop a new curriculum framework - Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). CfE endeavours to provide a coordinated approach to curriculum reform for the age range 3–18. It seeks to move away from a prescriptive model towards a more teacher centred model which relies on teacher educators adapting national guidelines to meet local needs. This paper will outline the legislative context for highly able pupils in Scotland and then consider the relative merits of the new curriculum framework for this cohort of pupils. It will examine what is considered optimal curriculum provision for highly able pupils in relation to the process model of curriculum development (Stenhouse, 1975).

SNAP staff visited the nurseries over a period of three months. During this time they worked
directly with staff and children and interviewed staff about the work carried out in each of the
establishments.
This report offers examples of good practice for all children including highly able children, which we
encountered in the nurseries. It also provides a series of anonymized case studies based on highly
able children we worked with during the project, which may prove useful in thinking about
identification in your own setting. We also provide some suggestions for addressing the needs of
highly able children in this section. During our discussions with staff a number of common
themes/concerns emerged, these are highlighted later in this report. And finally the report
concludes with a series of resources and activities that SNAP has collated and developed in this,
and previous, work which may be useful to early years practitioners.

Internationally, governments recognise that early years education is an inextricably intertwined aspect of meeting the interconnecting needs of children, families, state and industry (Iglesias & Sen,1999).  It is agreed that early childhood is seen as a critical time for development in young children (Pascal and Bertram, 2001).  This paper will explore how we can ensure that gifted and talented young children are offered appropriate opportunities for developing their abilities and interests while simultaneously developing as individuals.  Current developments within early years education will be discussed and the implications of these for gifted and talented young children will be examined.  The importance of effective, inclusive early years provision will be highlighted.

Millennium Development Goal 2 seeks to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.  Like all the Goals this was a laudable aim.  However as 2015 fast approaches we know that while some countries have improved enrolment rates, hope is dimming for the achievement of this goal.
This session will consider if the focus on Universal Primary Education has been helpful.  It will also examine the tensions between formal and non-formal education and discuss if radical different educational strategies are required if learners of all ages are to meaningfully engage in education.

'This new edition advocates an inclusive approach and updates current theories, research and best practices in the field. The text incorporates 21st century skills, cultural perspectives and international education, and focuses on how to create appropriately challenging activities for the young gifted and talented child'
Gillian Eriksson, Coordinator: Gifted Education Program, School of Teaching, Learning and Leadership, University of Central Florida. USA.


'This expanded edition builds on Margaret's approach to teaching and learning, making us think how we can best include gifted and talented children in our early years settings. By providing opportunities for young children to learn from each other and from their communities and families, gifted and talented young learners can be appropriately challenged and recognised within an inclusive setting'
-Peter Merrotsy, Senior Lecturer in Gifted and Talented Education, University of New England, Australia.


Combining theoretical perspectives with practical activities, this book offers clear guidance on how to ensure you and your setting can identify and provide for very young children in your care who are gifted and talented. With an emphasis on providing the best learning opportunities for all, there is specialist advice for all staff working in early years settings.


New to this new edition is:

- information on recent research and new thinking in the field

- international views of gifted and talented young children

- links to the early years curriculum

- new activities and ideas

- extended coverage for young children aged 3 to 6


There are lots of ideas for things to try out in your setting, and photocopiable practical activities for parents to try out at home.


Margaret Sutherland is a Lecturer in Additional Support Needs at the University of Glasgow and Director of the Scottish Network for Able Pupils (SNAP).

Countries across the globe are considering how to provide education for all. In 2000 the Dutch Government published a policy document called “Education in Place: Power and Creativity for the Knowledge Society.” At the same time the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act (2000) talked about ‘the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their  fullest potential’. Such initiatives would seem to offer a good starting point for catering for the gifted and talented. This session will consider some of the national documentation that has developed in  both the Netherlands and Scotland since the start of the new  millennium. It will argue that while strong policies are vital it is  also crucial that educators have knowledge and understanding about  inclusive education if we are to ensure that meeting the needs of all,  including the gifted and talented, become a reality in our schools.

The question of how best to identify and provide for gifted students has a long and contentious history internationally.
In contrast to other countries where there are specialist programmes and in some cases specialist teachers for gifted pupils, Scotland has chosen to adopt an inclusive approach to provision for these students and has created a legislative and curricular framework that in theory provides a strong structure for meeting their educational and developmental needs. While there are significant benefits to this approach, care must be taken to ensure that within the space between intention and practice the needs of these learners have been explicitly identified, considered and met. Each year the Scottish Government conducts a census to collect data from all publicly funded schools in Scotland. In accordance with Scottish legislation as part of this process it gathers data pertaining to pupils identified as requiring additional support for their learning, including highly able pupils. However there are anomalies within this data, for example, there are unusual and unexplained discrepancies between the proportions of pupils identified as being highly able in different geographical contexts. The purpose of the present study was therefore to examine the potential causes for these anomalies and to assess the implications for the identification of, and provision for, highly able pupils in Scotland. Thirteen structured telephone interviews were conducted with Local Education Authority personnel across Scotland. These interviews aimed to get behind the statistics and examine how highly able pupils
are identified, and provided for, in practice. Several interesting issues emerged from the interviews that may begin to help to
explain the anomalies and to help us better understand everyday practice. The results, while encouraging, suggest that there is a need for teachers, educational psychologists, schools and authorities to ensure that the needs of this group of learners are explicitly considered.