High potential and gifted students have advanced learning ability compared to same-age students and require deliberate talent development opportunities including differentiated teaching and learning practices to ensure their unique learning needs are met.

High potential and gifted students come from all backgrounds and can have disability. Gaps in achievement, known as excellence gaps, can exist. Equitable access to quality learning opportunities, resources and support can reduce these gaps.

Principals:

• optimise talent development of high potential and gifted students across all domains of potential by leading a supportive learning environment that develops the whole student
• lead and support teachers in assessing and identifying the specific learning needs of high potential and gifted students across all domains of potential and effective differentiation for those students
• provide and support access to acceleration or advanced learning pathways and opportunities
• engage in quality professional learning to enhance their understanding of research and practice of the needs of high potential and gifted students across all domains of potential
• lead collaboration with families, school communities and the wider community to support the talent development of high potential and gifted students
• lead support for high potential and gifted students through the work of the Learning Support team and school counsellor/psychologist
• lead the analysis and evaluation of data to enable school monitoring of procedures, programs and practices for high potential and gifted students
• lead, plan and report on the implementation of the policy through specific procedures, programs and practices to meet the learning needs of high potential and gifted students
• include quality and evidence-informed teaching practices in school planning that identify explicit goals for high potential and gifted students across all domains of potential
• manage the staffing and support of programs and classes for high potential and gifted students, including specialist classes and schools.

Preschool educators, primary and secondary teachers:

• use assessment and data to assess and identify the specific learning needs of high potential and gifted students across all domains of potential
• apply evidence-informed approaches that extend and challenge high potential and gifted students beyond their current level of mastery across all domains of potential
• develop, design and teach differentiated learning programs and provide experiences that meet the advanced learning needs of students
• undertake professional learning to enhance expertise in planning and programming effective learning experiences for high potential and gifted students across all domains of potential
• collaborate with families, school communities and the wider community to support the talent development of high potential and gifted students
• communicate assessment and identification information about high potential and gifted students to support transitions.

Directors, Educational Leadership:

• monitor, support and guide the implementation of the policy in schools
• support schools to analyse and evaluate the success of procedures, programs and practices for high potential and gifted students
• promote educational opportunities for high potential and gifted students in their network, including the support of collaboration between schools.

Director, High Potential and Gifted Education:

• monitors and evaluates policy implementation in preschool, primary and secondary schools to maintain currency and effectiveness
• provides advice, support and guidance for schools in implementing the policy
• develops and provides ongoing professional learning for school leaders and teachers.

Group Director, Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation:

• monitors and reports on systemic data related to the policy
• supports the development of an evidence base for high potential and gifted education, including ongoing research.

Executive Directors Public Schools:

• monitor, support and guide the implementation of the policy across school networks
• direct the resourcing of schools for high potential and gifted students with disability, or for whom English is an additional language or dialect by offering support, adjustments and provisions that enhance their opportunities to participate in learning on the same basis as other students.

• Learn more about the guiding principles for the development of the HPGE policy standards.
• Talent development is the process or program by which a student’s potential is developed into higher achievement in a specific domain or field of endeavour.
• Underachievement is defined as a significant discrepancy between potential and performance.

• Assessment and identification practices support specific learning needs of all high potential, gifted and highly gifted students.
• Formative assessment supports and informs teaching and learning across all domains by identifying mastered content to avoid repetition.
• Signs of high potential identifies high potential in the 4 domains through looking at relative ease, speed and often early age in learning compared to same age peers.
• Learning characteristics of high potential and gifted students in the 4 domains can be used to identify learning needs.

• Advice on HPGE student diversity assists with understanding the full range of HPG students.
• HPG students who experience disadvantage may require tailored support.
• HPG students with disability report on empirical research conducted with University of Wollongong and the department.

• Talent development is the process or program in which a student’s potential is developed into higher achievement in a specific domain or field of endeavour.
• Creative and critical thinking should be embedded across the 4 domains of potential.
• Extension deepens student knowledge, understanding and skills through challenge.
• Grouping should be purposeful and flexible.
• Advanced learning pathways provide flexible responses to students’ identified learning needs.
• Acceleration can be a highly effective evidence-informed talent development strategy for gifted and highly gifted students.
• The Acceleration package provides support for leaders and teachers.
• Enrichment and extra-curricular programs can increase breadth and challenge of learning for high potential and gifted students.

• Social and emotional development and learning outlines specific challenges for students with advanced ability such as perfectionism, and asynchronous development.
• Collaboration with family, carers and community and collaboration with community organisations and external providers assists schools.
• Access supporting parents and carers for resources on supporting children at home and at school.

• Revisiting gifted education literature review is a synthesis of research and practice in the intellectual domain.
• Physical domain discussion paper is an overview of research and practice in the physical domain.
• Social-emotional domain discussion paper is an overview of research and practice in this domain.
• High potential and gifted students with disability research reports on empirical research conducted in collaboration with University of Wollongong and the department.
• HPGE professional learning summarises HPGE professional learning options.
• Guiding principles outlines the core beliefs underpinning the HPGE policy standards.
• Gagne’s adapted model explains foundational research underpinning HPGE policy standards.
• Leader and teacher knowledge and skills reinforces the value of improving expertise and skills.
• Building collaborative practice is important for small or isolated schools.
• Staff collaboration lists a range of models and examples to support collective efficacy.

• Advice on Differentiation explains this targeted process for high potential and gifted students.
• The Differentiation Adjustment Tool contains 9 deliberate adjustments to support teachers to meet the needs of high potential and gifted students.
• A Differentiation packageExternal link supplements differentiation implementation advice and explains how to use the Differentiation Adjustment Tool.
• The HPGE Evaluation and Planning Tool assists leaders to plan for effective policy implementation into school improvement plans.
• Evaluate procedures, programs, and practices supports leaders to planning and monitoring.
• Evaluate student progress assists with recognising contributors to achievement and underachievement.
• 5 key actions for schools provides a framework to support the implementation of the HPGE policy standards.

• HPGE Evaluation and Planning Tool
• Differentiation Adjustment Tool
• Illustrations of practice films and stories

• Aboriginal education policy
• Anti-racism policy
• AITSL’s Australian Professional Standard for PrincipalsExternal link
• AITSL’s Australian Professional Standards for TeachersExternal link
• Australian Government’s Disability Standards for EducationExternal link
• Inclusive education for students with disability policy
• Multicultural education policy
• Professional learning for teachers and school staff procedure
• Student counselling records and psychological tests procedure (staff only)
• School Excellence and Accountability
• School excellence policy
• Selective high schools and opportunity class placement procedures
• Student health and wellbeing policy
• Wellbeing framework for schools