Able Gifted & Talented Pupils

What does 'gifted' and talented' mean? 

• Able learners are achieving or have the potential to achieve significantly above their peer groups.
• Gifted learners are those who have abilities in one or more subjects in the statutory school curriculum other than art and design, music and Physical Education (PE). 
• Talented learners are those who have abilities in art and design, music, PE, or performing arts such as dance and drama.

In recent years there has been a shift in able, gifted and talented education away from a narrow, sharply defined sense of a gifted pupil to a more dynamic, holistic approach. Schools in Harrow ensure that all pupils have access to high quality education and that the learning needs of pupils is increasingly personalised. Harrow believes that an inclusive approach to able, gifted and talented has clear benefits to the whole school community. AG&T policies in Harrow schools therefore support the aims of raising aspirations for all pupils, high expectations of achievement for all pupils, greater enterprise, self-reliance and independence for all pupils.

In Harrow, we endorse the use of the National Association of Able Children in Education Challenge Award Self Evaluation Framework for able, gifted and talented pupils as the means for schools to audit and action plan for whole school continuous improvement to ensure quality provision for able, gifted and talented pupils. The key principles of that Framework are contained in this guidance. We recognise that the process of schools meeting the Challenge Award criteria will also support schools in achieving "Excellent" benchmarking against the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Institutional Quality Standards for Gifted and Talented pupils.