Special Reading Initiatives

In addition to the Signature Programme and the Department of Education’s Count, Read: Succeed strategy (described in the Reading Policy section), a number of smaller scale initiatives have been undertaken with the aim of raising standards in literacy and numeracy. These include the Achieving Belfast and Achieving Derry—Bright Futures programs; the Extended Schools and Full Service Schools programs; the Department of Education’s Special Educational Needs Resource File; the Education and Training Inspectorate’s Promoting Improvement in English and Mathematics program; and the increased focus being placed on whole school staff development and support in effective literacy and numeracy by the Education Authority and other employing authorities.⁵¹

The term used in Northern Ireland for high achieving students with the ability or potential to develop significantly ahead of their peers is “gifted and talented.” “Gifted” learners are those with abilities in one or more academic subjects, such as mathematics or English. “Talented” learners are those who have practical skills in areas such as sports, music, design, or creative and performing arts. Skills and attributes such as leadership, decision making, and organization also may be taken into account.

Decisions as to whether a child is gifted and/or talented is delegated to schools, and parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s abilities and needs with their teacher or the school principal. Schools have a responsibility to meet the educational needs of all their students, and teachers should set tasks that take account of the varying abilities of children. If a student is considered to be gifted and talented, his or her teachers should provide greater challenges in lessons and perhaps offer further opportunities for the student to develop his or her gifts or talents outside the normal timetable.

If a student in primary school shows the abilities to take part fully in the next school year group, the principal may consider moving the student into that group. The student’s emotional and social development levels and needs should be considered as well as his or her academic progress. The Board of Governors of a primary school can decide if a student should transfer to a post-primary school a year earlier than normal. This is done on the advice of the principal and the parent must agree that the student should transfer early. Advice for schools on working with gifted and talented children is available from the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations, and Assessment.⁵²

For students at risk of underachievement, a key initiative is the Delivering Social Change Signature Programme, described in the Reading Policy section. The Education and Training Inspectorate’s 2015 evaluation of this program found highly effective practices that included:⁵³

More effective use of data to identify more accurately students at risk of underachieving
The development of quality individual “learning plans” to support the learning of students identified as needing support
Active involvement of students in setting personal targets that improved their awareness of what they are learning and why