Gifted and talented education

We do not have so many talented children that we can afford to make it difficult for them to emerge. (Rowlands, 1974:25)

Recent years have seen a radical change in both policy and practice related to the education of our most able pupils. The issue of education for the most able pupils in schools has moved from the margins of the educational arena towards centre stage. Central government has introduced a series of initiatives aiming to raise the profile and substantially improve the quality of experience of these children, and it has made clear its expectation that schools and local authorities will support the education of their able pupils (Dracup, 2003). These changes are, in part, in response to calls from schools and parents that there was a group of children – the most able – whose needs were not being met, and also following on from inspection reports that have indicated that, in general, talented pupils were not being sufficiently challenged (OFSTED, 2001).