Inspire – High potential and gifted education
At Bardwell Park Infants School, we are proud to align our approach with the NSW Department of Education’s Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) policy, which recognises the diverse strengths and needs of gifted and high potential students.
We know that some students pick up new things quickly and find learning easier than others. These children might shine at being creative, thinking about new ideas, leading others, or playing sports. We make sure to notice these strengths early and help students develop them. We support advanced learners with experiences and opportunities to enrich and extend their learning.
Our approach focuses on four key domains:
- Physical: Recognising the importance of physical development, we support students in enhancing their coordination, health, and physical skills through targeted activities and sports.
- Intellectual: We challenge students with enriched learning experiences that promote higher-order thinking, deep inquiry, and advanced knowledge across the curriculum.
- Creative: We provide opportunities for students to develop innovative thinking and artistic expression, encouraging originality and problem-solving through diverse creative activities.
- Social-Emotional: We prioritise the emotional wellbeing and social development of gifted students, fostering resilience, self-awareness, and positive relationships to help them thrive within our school community.
We are dedicated to implementing the NSW Department of Education’s HPGE policy by providing a comprehensive, student-centred approach that nurtures the potential of every learner across these four domains.
What is high potential and gifted education?
Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) is how our school supports students with advanced learning needs.
We do this through:
- effective teaching strategies like enrichment, extension and acceleration
- tailored support during lessons that stretch, challenge and inspire
- access to a wide range of opportunities both within and beyond our school.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.
Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?
Identifying Strengths and Nurturing Abilities
Our small class sizes ensure our teachers identify and cater for each student’s strengths and talents.
Explicit, differentiated lessons
Every student learns in their own way and has different abilities. Teachers differentiate learning to meet each student's needs, giving support or offering challenges as required. They also try to make learning fun and engaging.
Variety of learning opportunities
Students have access to a wide variety of learning opportunities to further develop their talents in the arts, sport and leadership.
Creating pathways to new experiences
Our students can join a wide range of state-wide programs and experiences that aim to extend and enrich their talents and potential.
Our classroom practices support and extend high potential and gifted students. We nurture potential across the four domains - intellectual, creative, physical and social and emotional to ensure every learner has opportunities to further their strengths.
- staff engage in professional learning to identify learning needs and use evidence informed practices to address students' needs.
- differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking
- strengths-based feedback and individual learning goals.
- advanced learning pathways, including compacted curriculum and rich tasks
- supportive learning environment to encourage risk taking, collaboration and creativity.
Our school offers a range of whole-school programs that support student growth across the four domains. We offer:
- creative and critical thinking: coding/STEM
- student leadership roles: K-2 buddy support program
- environmental education via our green team
- specialist music program: Jellybeans Music
- gymnastics with ex-Olympic coach
- visual arts opportunities such as Operation Art workshops, the Young Archies, Not just a Brush
- school public speaking
- wellbeing programs: Worry Woos
Our students participate in a wide range of programs to extend their potential such as;
- coding and STEM share
- Premier's Sporting Challenge
- regional public speaking through the Beverly Hills Public Speaking Network
Help for your high potential child
If your child shows signs of high potential, contact us. We can share how our HPGE support can guide their learning journey.
Student opportunities and activities
Discover the opportunities our students have at our school.
Learning
Find out about our approach to learning and supporting students to progress