This session explores how schools can design intentional, equitable, and high-impact provision for Gifted and Talented / Exceptional Learners while simultaneously improving stretch, challenge, and ambition for all students.
Grounded in educational research and theory, and translated into practical, school-ready strategies, the session supports leaders and teachers to move beyond labels and towards sustainable systems that raise standards across the school.
Participants will engage with current debates around giftedness, learn how to identify high-potential learners more accurately, and explore whole-school approaches that ensure provision is coherent, evaluative, and inclusive rather than ad hoc or elitist. Session Structure
Part 1: Understanding Giftedness – Theory, Debate, and Identification
Participants will:
Explore what educational research says about giftedness, talent, and exceptional learning
Examine debates around:
Fixed vs. growth conceptions of ability
Equity, access, and under-representation
Cultural, linguistic, and contextual bias in identification
Learn practical, school-friendly methods for identifying gifted and talented learners, including:
Data-informed approaches
Teacher observation and professional judgement
Student voice and performance over time
Avoiding over-reliance on single measures
Part 2: Designing Provision That Raises the Tide
This section focuses on implementation, not theory alone.
Participants will explore:
Developing Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) that are purposeful rather than performative
Building staff capacity through targeted CPD, so stretch and challenge are embedded in everyday classroom practice
Using support staff effectively to enhance, not dilute, high-level learning
Creating meaningful opportunities beyond the classroom:
Competitions and academic challenges
After-school enrichment
Super-curricular pathways and student leadership
Establishing regular, constructive communication with parents
Evaluating provision:
What is working?
What needs refinement?
How do we know impact is real?
Approaching difficult conversations with students and parents around expectations, pressure, underperformance, or misalignment of perceptions
This session reframes Gifted and Talented education not as an exclusive add-on, but as a driver of whole-school excellence—where raising expectations for the most able improves outcomes for everyone.
Workshop Leader
Josh Preye Garry
I am an educator, historian, and school leader with a national and international profile in curriculum development, educational equity, and strategic leadership. I hold a BA (Hons) in History from Queen Mary University of London, a PGCE from the UCL Institute of Education through Teach First, and the NPQML, and I am currently completing the NPQSL. I also earned an MSc in Teaching and Learning from the University of Oxford (St Peter’s College), specialising in high-impact pedagogy and widening access to elite universities.
I have served as Head of History, Head of Humanities, and as part of the Extended Leadership Team at Arcadia, where I contribute to whole-school strategy, staff development, and exceptional learner provision. With nine years’ experience as a GCSE and A-Level examiner and work as a consultant for Pearson, I have helped to shape national standards, assessment practice, and widely used educational resources.
In 2022, I was honoured with the ITV National Diversity Award for my contribution to representation, inclusion, and transformative educational practice. I have collaborated with leading historians, including Dr Miranda Kaufmann, Onyeka Nubia, Professor Hakim Adi, and David Olusoga, and my writing has appeared on Sky News and the BBC, amplifying scholarship on Black British and global history.
I am also an experienced public speaker, having delivered talks and workshops for the Historical Association, the Schools History Project, and major global companies such as Goldman Sachs and Kantar.
Across my work, I am committed to academic excellence, equity, and expanding access to top-tier universities, championing high achievement through rigorous teaching, research, and leadership.