Links to Education Development Plan
Bedfordshire Local Authority (LA) is
committed to the ideal of excellence for all. The 1988 Education
Reform Act states as a principle the necessity to make provision
for pupils of different ages, abilities and aptitudes.
This policy is an annex to guidance produced by the LA and seeks to
update and clarify on issues of access, entitlement and
responsibility with regards to the provision and partnership
involved in the education of gifted and talented pupils. It is
designed to complement existing policies, guidelines and documents
which include:
- Education Development Plan
2002-07
- Bedfordshire LA Curriculum Statement
(1998);
- DfES Curriculum 2000 Inclusion
Statement;
Bedfordshire LA Curriculum Statement
Bedfordshire LA recognises that we are in a rapidly changing
society. It believes it should develop as a priority an approach to
'learning to learn'. Individual learners, organisations and the
community should develop the confidence to grasp new problems to
analyse strengths and weaknesses and to set targets for development
and improvement. This culture should be promoted throughout the
service and should permeate all levels of learning both in formal
schooling and in the wider community.
Bedfordshire
Curriculum statement 1998
Inclusion Statement
'Teachers should aim to give every pupil the opportunity to
experience success in learning and to achieve as high a standard as
possible. The National Curriculum programmes of study set out what
most pupils should be taught at each key stage – but teachers
should teach the knowledge, skills and understanding in ways which
suit their pupils' abilities.'
'This may mean [in the case of gifted and talented pupils] choosing
material from later key stages'. The effectiveness of this will
totally depend on the quality of collaboration between
phases.
'For pupils whose attainment significantly exceeds the expected
level of attainment within one or more subjects during a particular
key stage, teachers will need to plan suitably challenging work. As
well as drawing on materials from later key stages or high levels
of study, teachers may plan further differentiation by extending
the breadth and depth of study within an individual subject or by
planning work which draws on the content of different
subjects.'
National
Curriculum, 2000
Bedfordshire LEA Education Development Plan
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Bedfordshire
LEA Education Development
Plan
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Priority 5
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Tackling pupil achievement
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Rationale
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This Priority responds to a range of issues related to pupil
underachievement covering a number of underachieving groups
identified through the audit process: gender groups, children for
whom English is an additional language, Bangladeshi and Pakistani
pupils, Italian and African Caribbean pupils, Traveller children,
disaffected pupils and gifted and talented pupils. It also responds
to the national priority and reflects priorities identified by
schools.
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Activity 1
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Develop and implement an LEA strategy to take pupil
underachievement
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- All schools will include separate analyses
of specific pupil groups in their yearly monitoring report to
governors and these will inform specified targets for each
group.
- All services will be informed of trends
and patterns in pupil performance and individual schools'
performance re pupil groups, which will when necessarily be the
focus of co-ordinated support.
- Greater governors understanding. The level
of sharing will demonstrably increase as will the volume of
identified good practice. Schools will be better informed. Schools
identified as having some weaknesses show measurable improvements
via categorisation system and Ofsted reports.
- Promoting good practice through
networking, conferences and the sharing of class-based action
research.
- LEA improves school understanding of
inclusion processes and improves teacher approaches to raising
achievement.
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Activity 3
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Co-ordinate, support and enhance the performance of particular
groups of underachieving pupils
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The LA's approach to tackling pupil underachievement is
co-ordinated and ensures a comprehensive coverage of all groups of
underachieving pupils
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Priority 8
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Extending and Enriching Learning Opportunities
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Rationale
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This Priority arises from three sources:
1. The government's assertion in a broad range of policy documents,
of the place of education at the heart of its twin drives for
social cohesion and economic vitality.
2. A local ambition, evident from our own research and
future-scanning events, to push the boundaries of learning for
individual pupils, into cultural entrepreneurial and civic
domains.
3. A desire, supported by schools, to develop innovative
challenging and enriching approaches to teaching and
learning.
The government's identification of the need for agencies locally
and nationally to work in partnership is reflected in a
comprehensive range of policy documents, including those on
education, social care, economic competitiveness, health
improvement, regeneration, social inclusion, community safety,
modernisation, democratic participation, community solidarity,
technological advance, cultural vitality and the knowledge
economy.
These policy strands are complemented by a determination locally to
enrich the learning of individuals in ways which will promote
personal fulfilment, the development of social capital, the
creation of wealth and cross-community solidarity both locally and
globally. Local knowledge,
e.g. derived from our survey of views of
Looked After Children conducted in 2001 and a series of "Blue Sky"
future scanning conferences, as well as global events such as the
Twin Towers tragedy in 2001, have helped to shape our thinking and
strengthen our determination to provide better outcomes for our
children and young people based on deeper and broader learning
experiences.
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How it will help us achieve our targets
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This priority will contribute across the board to the
achievement of the LA's targets. A broad range of academic research
demonstrates the effectiveness of real-life, real-time learning
links to individual learning preferences, the wider applicability
of the learning stimulus, motivation and achievement. The
activities encompassed within this priority set out a range of
learning opportunities which extend beyond the range of learning
which is traditionally recognised as having value within the school
setting.
It will offer renewed sources of motivation for the disaffected,
new sources of stimulation for the gifted and talented, and new
routes to re-connect to the sources of learning for those at risk
of underachievement.
Subject to County Council approval and negotiation with central
government, stretch targets will include achievement at Key Stage 3
and achievements of Looked After Children.
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Activity 1
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Raising the achievement of gifted and talented
children
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Programmes will raise self-confident and achievement of
children, and overcome a sense of isolation which many gifted and
talented children face in their schools.
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Activity 2
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Development of out of School Hours Learning
Programmes including International Activities
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- Programmes will raise self-confident and
achievement of children
- Programmes will contribute to achievement
of KS4 targets
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Activity 3
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Developing innovative ways of promoting learning
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- Increased participation in Cultural,
Sporting and Extension Activities particularly pupils who are
disengaged or disaffected from learning
- Increased participation in HealthSchools
and Life Education programmes
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Activity 4
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Developing skills for the global economy, as part of a Public
Service Agreement
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Delivery of stretch targets for achievements of Looked After
Children; and Key Stage 3 for schools covered by PSA.
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