Schooling Central

I am aware that it is very difficult to find first hand information on which schools cater well for gifted children, particularly in Melbourne. I would encourage anyone who comes to this forum and has experience with educating a gifted child at school, to write a review of their experience using the review function on this site. The reviews can be completely anonymous, and I can link to them in this forum so that they can be easily accessible to people who are looking for a good school for their gifted child.

To write a review, find your school using the search function: http://schoolingcentral.com/Find-Schools/ . Click on the school's heading to take you to their information page, and click on the 'Write Review' Button in the bottom corner of the page.


Reviews received so far:
Clifton Hill Primary School



Annabel.

I am interested in this topic because I specialise in teaching gifted children in public primary schools in the Eastern Melbourne Area (Victoria, Australia) and I'm conscious of the difficulty of finding schools that truly and effectively cater for gifted children. Many schools are concerned about the issue but of course are struggling with so many competing priorities. Not much consolation for a parent though, I know.

I run withdrawal classes for gifted children during the school day in the schools. I also do professional development with the teachers to challenge them to better cater for the gifted children in their classes and run parent forums to provide information and support.

There is a long way for some schools to go to meet the needs of gifted children, but I am encouraged that the schools I am working with are actively working towards this goal. I figure that they are ahead of the schools are doing nothing or worse still, are not acknowledging the need for this.

Hi Penny,

It's great to have someone with some experience on the forum! I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions.

Firstly, do schools that attempt to cater for gifted kids get any special funding from the government to do so? If so, what kind of things do they spend the money on?

It seems the Victorian state government recognises the need for gifted programs at the secondary school level (through the SEAL program). Why do you think there is no similar initiative at the primary level?

At what level do you find schools start to implement pull out programs for gifted children? It appears to me that such programs seem to start in later primary years (i.e. grade 3 and up). Have you had experience with schools which start programs in the early years of school?

What features and programs would you advise parents to look out for when searching for a school for their gifted child? Do you have any specific questions they should ask to help assess whether the school really is committed to implementing any gifted policy they might have.

I hope you don't mind all these questions. I would love to hear your opinion on any of them, if you don't have time to answer them all.

Thanks so much,

Annabel.

Dear Annabel,

I love all your questions as they are of interest to me and are similar to the questions I receive from the parents I work with. Very happy to answer as many as I can, time permitting!

Victorian government funding
As far as I know, there’s no specific government funding for gifted education in primary schools. One of the schools I work with obtains funding from its school council and another is looking for ways to obtain funding through grants (government and private). A school could also choose to spend some of its budget in this field but that is rare in the areas I work. On the whole though, the pull out programs I run are parent funded with some schools choosing to subsidise. The schools pay for specific staff development in this area and the parent forums are generally free.

Lack of initiatives in primary schools
I think there are a few reasons why we lack gifted education initiatives in primary schools. Firstly, the low numbers (2 or 3 children per class) are easy to ignore and the parent ‘voice’ is relatively quiet due to uncertainty and a fear of being criticised. Secondly, the benefit of developing our gifted children is undervalued and too long term for the State Government. (The Federal Government is becoming a little more active I think.) Thirdly, the level of underachievement and frustration is underestimated. Finally, gifted education is seen to be in competition with other apparently more urgent priorities such as low literacy levels.

Starting level for pull out programs
The schools I work with support pull out programs for a few hours a week from grade 1 up and would consider including a prep child if the situation warranted. This is unusual though.

Questions to ask prospective schools
I agree with a comment I think you made elsewhere, that many schools pay lip service to gifted education. (It’s almost a standard line they put in their documentation!) Even schools with good intentions find it difficult to do well. Parents could ask schools if specific teaching time is devoted to gifted children. (Not just chess clubs and advertisements for external programs, which while being good, aren’t specific and don’t address the bulk of the child’s time being bored in the classroom.) Ask the schools what support and professional development they give their teachers to cater for the gifted children in their classrooms. Find out if they group children according to ability for specific subjects the child is talented in such as Maths, Literacy or Science. Also ask what assessment is done above the grade level. For example, if a child gets 100% in a test, does the school assess them at the next level up and what do they do if the child is performing at the higher level? This is just a start, but hopefully helpful.

I would be happy to answer other questions from you or parents.

Penny.

HI Penny,

Thanks so much for your reply. Can you tell us the name of the program you run and a little bit about it?

I wonder if you could also give your opinion on the relative value of pull out programs versus differentiation in the classroom. The school my son attends seem to do a good job of differentiation within the classroom as well ability grouping for certain subjects. I can't help but wonder though if a special interest pull out program would help to spark an interest in learning within the classroom, something my son currently seems to lack.

Annabel.

I'm just bumping this up as we have our first review (I have edited the original post to include a link)

Please reply here or pm me if you do write a review about a school that caters for gifted children so that I can include it in the list.

Annabel.

Dear Annabel,

Sorry it's taken so long for me to reply! There are lots of exciting things happening here but it means I'm short on time.

Thank you for your questions... (24 March 08)

I run a program called Thinking Outside The Box which has recently been extended to several, local schools (Tecoma area) and which will hopefully be set up in some new areas in the next 12 months. The children travel to a central school which hosts the classes for two or three hours each week.

Each term I offer a range of programs for grades 1 to 6 - some general and some subject specific (eg. English, Maths, Science). The programs are designed to develop the children’s thinking abilities in a small groups of gifted children (top 10% of ability). The children are selected by the schools with assistance from me. I aim to challenge the kids’ perceptions of what they can achieve and help them learn how to manage their own learning. The intention is to compliment the classroom programs and extend rather than accelerate the children’s learning.

If you would like more detail the website address is www.thinkingoutsidethebox.com.au

My opinion on pull out programs is that in an ideal world you possibly wouldn’t have them at all. This would be possible if classroom programs were truly differentiated and gifted children were challenged sufficiently. In addition the school culture would have to be genuinely supportive of academic excellence so that gifted children would not be afraid to explore their potential. The work I do with schools aims for this goal. The UK organisation, N.A.C.E. (National Association for Able Children in Education: www.nace.co.uk) is working towards this goal and believes it is possible.

In the absence of this utopia I think pull out programs can play a critical role in drawing out children’s interest in learning. They can get such value out of being with other like-minded children. They don’t feel embarrassed by their intelligence and in fact are challenged when they realise everyone else is as clever as they are. It can bring some children alive, developing their confidence and sense of self-worth.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards, Penny.