inspiring gifted and talented students

1. inspiring gifted and talented students

2. herts16plus 2010 Project overview, structure and outcomes inspiring gifted and talented students

3. herts16plus 2010 - a fourfold focus • On students • On teachers • On schools • On a group/ network of schools inspiring gifted and talented students

4. Project Overview Summer Term 2010: • Launch event on 13 or 14 July Autumn Term 2010: • Schools complete Starting Point survey • Fact finding visit by Villiers Park Educational Trust (VPET), leading to a written report being produced • Clarification of how the schools will undertake the project • Project schools receive feedback from VPET and an introductory CPD session • Schools become affiliated to VPET and receive details of subject-specific residential courses during 2010-11 inspiring gifted and talented students

5. Project Overview Spring Term 2011: • Remaining project schools receive feedback from VPET and an introductory CPD session • Half-day workshop to introduce Action Research – provisional date Thursday 13 January or Friday 14 January • Schools plan and implement their own Action Research project • School project leaders passed information about online extension activities for their students • Students in schools directed towards appropriate outreach activities provided by Excellence East inspiring gifted and talented students

6. Project Overview Summer Term 2011: • Participants disseminate action research outcomes within their schools • June 2011 – further conference at VPET to share action research outcomes between the group of project schools • Final project report produced for Hertfordshire, VPET and the Eastern Region Gifted and Talented Partnership inspiring gifted and talented students

7. herts16plus 2010 – key elements • Support and advice based on expertise and experience • Senior Leadership support • Key staff – all staff • Cutting edge resources and opportunities • ‘Bookends’ – monitoring and evaluation • The value of networking • The power of Action Research inspiring gifted and talented students

8. What will be the outcomes of the project and benefits to your school? • Improved levels of student satisfaction with their educational provision between the start and end of the project • A greater ability for teachers to challenge and inspire their post-16 students, including the very able • Experience of Action Research as a driver for school self evaluation and improvement • The scope to present evidence of a programme to raise the quality of post-16 provision for the school SEF, Ofsted, SIP and LA audits • Identification of the essential next steps in order to improve attainment at Level 3 inspiring gifted and talented students

9. Action Research In terms of solving problems in the world of education, there is one form of research that is pre-eminently suited to solving those problems where there "is some discrepancy between an educational practice and the expectations in terms of which the practice was undertaken“. (Carr & Kemmis 1986) This form of research is Action Research. Action Research is a form of problem solving based on increasing knowledge through observation and reflection, then following this with a deliberate intervention intended to improve practice. inspiring gifted and talented students