High potential and gifted education

Murray Farm Public School teachers are committed to identifying high potential in students by using objective, valid, and reliable measures as part of formative assessment to support and inform teaching and learning across the creative, intellectual, physical, and social–emotional domains.

Teachers actively assess and identify the specific learning needs of all high potential, gifted, and highly gifted students, ensuring that every student has access to tailored programs and support that meet their unique learning needs.

Our planning is shaped by the belief that teachers must hold high expectations for all students, recognising that every student requires differentiated and evidence-informed learning opportunities to optimise growth and achievement.

We collaborate with families, our school community, and the wider community, and engage in ongoing professional learning to build teacher capability and enhance growth and achievement for all high potential and gifted students. Through these actions, our teachers are dedicated to being the catalyst for high performance and talent development for every student.

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

Recognising potential and developing talent

Our teachers find potential and nurture our students to be the best they can be.

Tailored lessons

Each student has different abilities. Teachers respond to each student’s ability by providing extra challenges and extension activities to keep learning exciting and engaging.

Rich opportunities and activities

Students can take part in opportunities to develop their talent in the arts, sport, leadership and more.

Opening doors to wider experiences

Our students can participate in a wide range of state-wide opportunities that aim 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.

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, including offering challenge class program across primary classes in Years 3 to 6
and Japanese Bilingual and LOTE classes Kindergarten to Year 6

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

Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking.

Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
Explicit teaching of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth.
Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
Flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentation.
Differentiated movement tasks and skill refinement in PDHPE.
Supportive learning environments that enable exploration and self-assessment.
Strengths-based feedback and goal setting.
Opportunities for leadership within the classroom.
Structured peer collaboration and reflection.
Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance.

Across our school

Debating
Bilingual education
Academic competitions
Dance groups
Choir
Music ensembles including band and strings
Creative writing competitions
Sport K-6, including PSSA groups 3-6
Student leadership (SRC)
Wellbeing programs
Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.

Across NSW

The Premier’s Spelling Bee promotes our students’ vocabulary development and attention to detail in competitive settings.
Participation in music ensembles (e.g. State Wind Orchestra, State Choirs) hones our students’ musical skills, discipline and ensemble awareness.
The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA and CHSSA events enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration.
Involvement in the Game Changer Challenge empowers our students to solve future-focused problems using design thinking.
Involvement in the Minister’s Student Council is the peak forum for interaction between NSW public school students, NSW Education and the NSW Minister for Education.