Ministry of Education Guidelines

Ministry of Education Guidelines
We are impelled to adhere to the following legislation, principles and practices, as outlined in Ministry of Education documentation regarding Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) in New Zealand.

“Each board, through the principal and staff, is required to, on a basis of good quality assessment information, identify students and groups of students who have special needs (including gifted and talented students)”.
National Administrative Guidelines 1.iii.c
“From term 1, 2005, it will be mandatory for all state and state-integrated schools to identify their gifted and talented students and develop and implement teaching and learning strategies to address the needs of these students.”
‘Sharpening the Focus’, Issue 9, June 2004, p2
“The New Zealand Curriculum provides all students with equal educational opportunities. The school curriculum will recognize, respect, and respond to the educational needs, experiences, interests and values of all students: both female and male students; students of all ethnic groups; students with different abilities and disabilities.”
‘Principles’, The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, p6-7
“The curriculum will challenge all students to succeed to the best of their ability. Individual students will develop the essential skills to different degrees and at difference rates.’
‘Essential Skills’, The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, p17
“All children have a right to an education that acknowledges and respects their individuality and that offers them maximum opportunities to develop their strengths and abilities. Gifted and talented children will flourish in a society that acknowledges and respects individual differences and recognises and celebrates the abilities of its most able.”
Working Party on Gifted Education: Report to the Minister of Education, p16


“Gifted and talented learners are those with exceptional abilities relative to most other people. These individuals have certain learning characteristics that give them the potential to achieve outstanding performance.”
Initiatives for Gifted and Talented Learners, p2
“Giftedness and talent can mean different things to different communities and cultures in New Zealand, and there is a range of appropriate approaches towards meeting the needs of all such students. Schools need to develop multicategorical approaches to giftedness that are flexible enough to include the many characteristics that are typical of gifted and talented learners.”
Initiatives for Gifted and Talented Learners,p2
“As definitions of giftedness have broadened, so too has the diversity of characteristics included in each concept. Each gifted and talented student is unique, with his or her own set of behaviours and characteristics. It is important for schools to note behaviours and characteristics that are valued by different cultural groups. It is also imperative that schools develop a set of characteristics that reflects their individual definition of, and approach to, giftedness and talent.”
Characteristics, Gifted and Talented Students: Meeting their Needs in NZ Schools, p25
“Students who exhibit characteristics of giftedness or talent have learning needs that are significantly different from those of other children. They require different learning opportunities and may need emotional and social support to realise their potential.”
Initiatives for Gifted and Talented Learners, p2
“The purpose of defining and identifying giftedness is to uncover individual abilities, qualities, and interests, and the objective of differentiation is to further develop them. Gifted education, in its simplest form, is about enabling gifted and talented students to discover and follow their passions. It’s about opening doors, removing ceilings, and raising expectations by providing an educational experience that strives towards excellence.”
Differentiation, Gifted and Talented Students: Meeting their Needs in NZ Schools, p35
“One of the great joys and privileges of being a teacher is sharing in the development of a young person’s exceptional ability. It is equally gratifying to then observe that special ability being realised in adult achievement. Many eminent adults, when asked to identify the critical factors contributing to their outstanding accomplishments, point to support that teachers provided.”
Introduction, Gifted and Talented Students: Meeting their Needs in NZ Schools, p6