High potential and gifted education

At NNPS, we are committed to identifying and nurturing students' high potential from an early stage, providing tailored opportunities and support to help their abilities flourish. We believe that recognising these strengths early is essential in guiding students to unlock their full potential and develop exceptional skills.

Our approach focuses on fostering growth across four key domains: creative, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional. By addressing each of these areas, we aim to support the holistic development of every student, ensuring they are equipped with the confidence, resilience, and skills needed to succeed both now and in the future. Through a combination of specialised programs, challenging learning experiences, and personalised encouragement, we strive to create an environment where high potential students can thrive and reach remarkable achievements.

Karen Reid
HPGE Coordinator

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

Recognising potential and developing talent

We use objective, valid and reliable measures to assess and identify high potential and gifted students’ learning needs

Tailored lessons

We know that potential exists along a continuum, where different levels of potential require different approaches. Evidence-informed teaching supports all students to achieve personal excellence.

Rich opportunities and activities

Our school identifies and supports students with high potential through targeted enrichment, extension and extra-curricular opportunities.

Opening doors to wider experiences

Our students participate in a wide range of wider community and statewide programs 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. Our targeted support helps students to build confidence and develop the skills they need to succeed.

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.

In our classroom

Narrabeen North Public School’s (NNPS) dedication to challenging students to think, create, lead and grow every day is aligned with the NSW Department of Education’s High potential and gifted education (HPGE) Policy. This policy commits to supporting every student to achieve their educational potential, using assessment and data to inform teaching across creative, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional domains. High potential and gifted students from all backgrounds have access to quality learning opportunities tailored to their needs and aspirations at our school:

Teachers identify students' learning needs in the classroom and use evidence-informed teaching practices to challenge and extend students. We provide learning pathways, including enrichment and extension programs and acceleration.
Our supportive classroom environments promote a sense of belonging and encourage risk-taking, creativity and collaboration.
Evidence-informed teaching practices are vital for challenging and extending students, and learning pathways such as enrichment, extension programs, and acceleration are supported by the HPGE policy.
We enable the policy recommendation for professional learning to build teacher capability and leadership, ensuring that staff can meet the diverse needs of all students, including high potential and gifted learners.
At NNPS, differentiated programs, purposeful grouping, advanced learning pathways and collaboration with other schools and organisations are recommended as effective strategies. Tasks promoting choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking further support engagement and challenge for our students.

Across our school

HPGE standards emphasise equity, excellence, and high expectations, offering a framework for implementing and evaluating talent development across creative, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional domains. The policy thus underpins and guides the everyday practices at NNPS to ensure all students, including high potential and gifted learners, are supported to reach their full potential.

High potential and gifted education
High potential and gifted education standards

Students deepen strengths through debating, competitions, critical thinking workshops, and STEM and coding pathways in clubs such as Robotics.
Talent is celebrated through school showcases such as NNPS Talent Quest, Dance Concerts, School Bands, music ensembles, Junior and Senior Dance, and Boys Dance, supported by student roles in our digital leaders teams
Leadership grows through SRC, Year 6 Leaders, mentoring and peer coaching, and wellbeing is made visible with our NARRA Awards and our Therapy Dogs.
Daily life invites curiosity and belonging, with open Library and Eco Warriors at lunch, plus clubs like Chess Club and Minecraft Club.
Sporting activities are plentiful including PSSA sport, training and coaching that include differentiated Physical Education and SiSA, as well as annual Swimming, Athletics and Cross-Country Carnivals.

Across NSW

Our students benefit from a variety of high-quality statewide development experiences, including extension and enrichment programs, as part of the NSW Department of Education's commitment to developing high potential and gifted learners. We assess and identify individual potential and implement evidence-informed practices tailored to challenge and extend each student beyond their current level of mastery. Through comprehensive collaboration with families, students receive support and guidance in talent development. Our school provides ongoing assistance with program entries, preparation, and reflection so that every experience helps to advance student learning, ensuring all high potential and gifted students have opportunities to connect, succeed, and thrive.

Students participate in opportunities such as DoE Arts Unit Arts Alive, Schools Spectacular, APSMO Maths Olympiad, Premier’s Spelling Bee, Premier’s Multicultural Public Speaking, Premiers Debating Challenge, NSW Schools Mountain Biking Championships, Australian Interschool Snowsports Championships.