ABSTRACT

Being able to recognise and assess high ability in children is not about ‘talent spotting’ as an end in itself. The purpose of recognising and assessing children's abilities is to determine what children know, understand and can already do, in order to plan appropriate learning opportunities. It is important for all children, whatever the level of their ability, that teachers understand the way they learn and have a good idea about what they are capable of doing. If teachers are to be able to provide for all children in their classes, they need to be alert to those pupils for whom more challenging work is appropriate.