High potential and gifted education

Some students learn faster and and more easily than others. These students may shine in creativity, thinking, leadership or sport.

At our school, we recognise and nurture these strengths early. We support advanced learners with great lessons and activities to help them grow and thrive.

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

Recognising potential and developing talent

Our teachers find potential and nurture our students to be the best they can be.

Tailored lessons

Each student has different abilities. Teachers respond to each student’s ability by providing extra challenges and extension activities to keep learning exciting and engaging.

Rich opportunities and activities

Students can take part in programs in the arts, sport, leadership and more.

Opening doors to wider experiences

Our students can participate in a wide range of state-wide programs that aim to extend and enrich student potential.

What is high potential and gifted education?

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.

Learn more about HPGE at NSW DoE.

Our high potential and gifted education opportunities

Lapstone Public School endeavours to maximise learning growth for all students. For those identified as being ‘High Potential’, ‘Gifted’ or ‘Highly Gifted’ (as defined by the Department HPGE Policy) Lapstone Public School offers a variety of talent development opportunities, programs and content differentiation. These are provided across all four HPGE domains: academic, creative, social/emotional and physical.

Our students can take part in HPGE opportunities in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.

In our classroom

Differentiation: In order to optimise learning opportunities for all students, Lapstone Public School applies a process of rigorous differentiation to all teaching and learning programs. This allows students of all ability levels, including those identified as HPGE, to engage with content at their level of instruction to maximise potential growth. For HPGE learners specifically, the types of differentiation align with the Department of Education’s ‘HPGE Differentiation Tool’ and are used flexibly depending on identified learning needs.

Flexible Grouping Structures: Students are supported through dynamic grouping practices that allow movement between groups based on readiness, interest and learning needs. This applies to all curriculum areas and is based on continual formative assessment.

Acceleration Opportunities: Where appropriate, students are offered opportunities to accelerate their learning, including compacted curriculum and extension programs, to ensure continued engagement and challenge. This has been highly successful in the academic domain and has allowed for greater flexibility in content delivery at point of need for HPGE learners.

Adjustment Documentation and Individual Education Plans (IEPs): For students requiring further targeted support or adjustments, the school develops and implements personalised learning pathways to ensure equitable access and optimal challenge. Lapstone Public School’s own HPGE policy outlines a streamlined and consistent approach to the identification of HPGE learners.

Students who are identified as ‘High Potential’ are given a personalised ‘Adjustment Document’ that stipulates additional alterations, outside of normal differentiation, that are to be made to further their learning.

Those students identified as either ‘Gifted’ or ‘Highly Gifted’ receive a ‘Individualised Education Plan (IEP)’. This is developed in consultation with students and their parents/carers and sees the creation of individualised learning goals focused around achievement in their domain/s of giftedness.

Across our school

Cross Stage Mentor Programs: Students across different stages are encouraged to work together through mentorship programs, fostering peer learning, collaboration and leadership. These programs are currently functioning in the academic domain, however, expansion of these programs into other areas is planned for future implementation.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities & Competitions: Lapstone Public School’s extensive list of extra-curricular programs has been developed to provide students with opportunities to thrive across all four HPGE domains. They are as follows (although this list is ever expanding):

Academic: Tournament of Minds, Premier’s Reading Challenge, Multicultural Public Speaking Competition, Mathematics Olympiad, Premier’s Debating Challenge, Film by the Eucalyptus and the Premier’s Spelling Bee.

Creative: School Band, instrumental programs (incl. Cool Kids Music), choirs, visual arts showcases, Operation Art, drama groups and dance groups.

Social/Emotional: Student Representative Council (SRC), leadership programs (incl. School Leaders, Class Leaders, Sport Leaders, Tech Leaders & Library Leaders), and student mentor programs.

Physical: PSSA Sports, Zone Representative Teams, athletics carnival, swimming carnival, cross country carnival, school sport gala days and specialised coaching clinics.

Across NSW

Statewide and NSW Department of Education support is available for high potential and gifted students, and we help with entries, preparation and reflection so every experience feeds back into learning.

At Lapstone Public School, our students participate in a wide range of statewide programs to extend and enrich student potential. These include the Premiers Debating Challenge, Premiers Spelling Bee and the Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition.