The School Excellence Framework (SEF) Statement of Excellence for Curriculum, Learning domain, states:

As a school leader, you are responsible for ensuring that high potential and gifted students from all backgrounds have access to quality learning opportunities that meet their needs and aspirations.

To do this, you will need to support teachers in the assessment and identification of the specific learning needs of high potential and gifted students and consider how your leadership will promote the optimal talent development of these students within a supportive learning environment.

As high potential and gifted students can demonstrate skills that exceed those of their peers in one or more areas, establishing individualised learning goals will be essential in meeting their needs, as they develop talent and achieve mastery notably faster than their peers.

System-negotiated targets

When considering improvement measures for intellectually high potential and gifted students, an important system-negotiated target that could be considered is:

• an increase % of students achieving expected growth in literacy and/or numeracy.

It is important to recognise that underachievement is a known risk for high potential and gifted students. As a result, ensuring each of your students is engaged, challenged and shares the high expectations of their academic growth is crucial to supporting their long term learning goals.

NAPLAN online clearly identifies students achieving beyond the top 2 bands and can support the monitoring of individual student growth compared to similarly capable students.

School-determined targets

Highly gifted students, whose potential vastly exceeds that of students the same age, may require additional support beyond that needed for high potential and gifted students. They may have specific learning needs that require more significant adjustments or interventions, and could be at greater risk of underachievement and social isolation.

Using the SEF to develop school-determined targets may support you in meeting the needs of these students. For example:

'Learning, curriculum, curriculum provision: The school’s curriculum provision supports high expectations for student learning. The curriculum is enhanced by learning alliances with other schools or organisations, where useful and practicable.'

SEF assessment and improvement measures

In addressing this theme within the SEF, your improvement measure may be:

• SEF self-assessment indicates improvement in learning, curriculum, curriculum provision from sustaining and growing (S&G) to excelling.

Learning, curriculum, differentiation: Teaching and learning programs across the school show evidence that they are adjusted to address individual student needs, ensuring that all students are challenged and all adjustments lead to improved learning. Teachers involve students and parents in planning to support learning, and share expected outcomes

While this is a statement for excelling, your school can use the strategies embedded within sustaining and growing (S&G), and excelling, to identify initiatives and high impact activities that may support high potential and gifted students.

In addressing this theme within the SEF, your improvement measure may be:

• SEF self-assessment indicates improvement in learning, curriculum, differentiation from S&G to excelling.

Reflective questions

• What information does our data provide on participation, growth, achievement and engagement across domains of potential?
• To what extent do our procedures enable ongoing monitoring and evaluation of quality programs and practices?
• How effectively does professional learning support our teachers to deliver targeted programs and practices?
• How are our resources equitably distributed to support the needs of high potential and gifted students?