High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE)

At Oran Park Public School, we are committed to nurturing the talents and abilities of every student. In alignment with the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) Policy, we strive to create an inclusive and challenging learning environment that recognises and supports students with high potential across the intellectual, creative, social-emotional, and physical domains.

Our school values the unique strengths of each learner and provides a range of opportunities to ensure high potential and gifted students are identified early, supported thoughtfully, and extended meaningfully. Through differentiated teaching, enrichment programs, and targeted support, we aim to empower students to achieve their personal best and thrive both academically and personally.

At Oran Park Public School, we believe that high potential is the starting point and with the right support, it can become exceptional performance.

What is High Potential and Gifted Education?

High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) is an inclusive and evidence-based approach that recognises and supports students who demonstrate the potential for high performance. These students may excel in one or more of the following domains identified by the NSW Department of Education:

• Intellectual – advanced learning capacity in areas such as reading, writing, mathematics, problem-solving, and abstract thinking.
• Creative – exceptional ability to generate original ideas, think critically, and express themselves through innovation or the arts.
• Social-Emotional – strong leadership, empathy, and interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate and influence others effectively.
• Physical – outstanding physical abilities and talent in areas such as sport, dance, or movement-based activities.

Students with high potential perform or have the capacity to perform at levels significantly beyond those of their peers. With the right support, learning environments and enrichment opportunities, these students can achieve outstanding outcomes.

At its core, HPGE is about ensuring equity and excellence in education. It involves the early identification of students with high potential and the delivery of differentiated teaching that challenges, engages, and extends their learning.

At Oran Park Public School, we are committed to providing all students with access to opportunities that nurture their strengths and talents. Through targeted programs, enriched learning experiences, and a supportive school culture, we help students grow into confident, capable, and self-motivated learners.

HPGE is not just for academically gifted students it values a wide range of abilities and ensures that every student has the opportunity to realise their full potential.

Our approach at Oran Park Public School

We use a whole-school approach to HPGE at Oran Park Public School:

• Early identification through teacher observation, assessment data, and parent input to ensure timely support for students with high potential.
• Differentiated learning in the classroom to align with each student’s readiness, interests, and learning pace ensuring appropriate challenges and support is given. This includes the use of personalised Learning Pathways for identified high potential and gifted students.
• Enrichment opportunities to extend learning beyond the standard curriculum, including project-based learning, competitions, clubs, and specialist programs.
• Wellbeing support to ensure high potential students are challenged while still feeling safe, valued, and emotionally supported.
• Professional learning for staff to build teacher capacity in identifying and catering for high potential and gifted students across all four domains.
• Flexible grouping and acceleration options when appropriate, including subject-based extension or grade-level advancement.
• Use of student voice to guide learning goals, interests, and pathways, empowering students to take ownership of their learning journey.
• Partnerships with families to maintain open communication and collaboration in supporting student development both at school and at home.
• Culturally responsive practices that ensure high potential students from diverse backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and EAL/D learners are recognised and supported equitably.
• Regular monitoring and review of student growth and engagement to adjust support as needed and celebrate student success.
• Leadership and mentoring opportunities to nurture social-emotional development and real-world skills in authentic contexts.

Opportunities for High Potential and Gifted Students

At Oran Park Public School, we provide a wide range of opportunities to extend and enrich the learning of high potential and gifted students across all four domains: intellectual, creative, social-emotional, and physical. These include:

• Challenging, open-ended learning tasks that foster critical thinking, creativity, and complex problem-solving, supported by the Differentiation Adjustment Tool to ensure tasks are tailored to meet the needs of high potential learners.
• Extension groups and differentiated programs that deepen understanding and accelerate learning in targeted subject areas, including enrichment classes for students in the upper grades to further challenge and engage high potential learners.
• Participation in academic competitions such as ICAS, Network Debating, Public Speaking Competitions, Mayor for the Day, HPGE Competition Day.
• Creative arts workshops, performances, and exhibitions to nurture and showcase talent in visual arts, music, dance, and drama. Opportunities in School Spectacular, Choral Music Festival, So Youn Think You Can Dance, Lunch Clubs, Koori Club.
• Leadership programs and student voice initiatives that empower students to lead, contribute, and collaborate within the school community, including our Future Leaders Program and other opportunities that amplify student voice and agency.
• Sporting development pathways and representative opportunities for students demonstrating high physical potential, the representative school sport pathway, PSSA Knockout Competitions, Gala Days.
• Enrichment experiences beyond the classroom, including excursions, guest speakers, and specialised projects.

As a school, we are committed to creating engaging, inclusive learning experiences that help every high potential learner flourish and reach their personal best.