Supporting High-Ability Students

Planning a whole-school approach to high ability

A whole-school approach considers the needs of high-ability students in all levels of school planning. It recognises that everyone in the school community plays a role in helping these students thrive.

A school culture that values and celebrates high-ability students includes:

• supporting teachers to use the VTLM 2.0 to develop effective whole-class instruction that embeds challenge and extension opportunities. The VTLM 2.0 practice guides provide a starting point to engage with and reflect on evidence-based teaching practices in the context of schools and student cohorts
• tools, time, and training to help teachers identify and support their high-ability students
• encouraging teachers to see that high ability can be hidden in some groups (like disadvantaged students or those with other learning needs) and that even those students ‘already doing well’ may need more support to reach their full potential
• specific goals and actions for high-ability students within their 4-year School Strategic Plan (SSP). These will shape the Annual Implementation Plan and staff Performance and Development Plans over the 4-year cycle
• establishing a process for collection and analysis of data for the identification of high-ability students
• supporting teachers to use the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) framework to routinely collect and unpack student learning data to inform instructional decisions and the incorporation of opportunities for extension and challenge into teaching and learning sequences at the whole-class level
• sharing success stories and highlighting support for high-ability students via platforms such as the school website and newsletter.