High potential and gifted education (HPGE)
At Byron Bay Public School, we proudly align our approach with the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) policy, recognising the diverse strengths and needs of high potential and gifted learners. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive environment that challenges and extends all students, ensuring they remain engaged, motivated, and able to reach their full potential.
Our programs identify and nurture talent across multiple domains, reflecting the Department’s focus on the whole child. By embracing a broad view of giftedness, we aim to support excellence academically, creatively, physically, and socially, preparing students for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
We focus on four key domains:
- Creative Domain: Opportunities for innovative thinking, artistic expression, originality, and problem-solving.
- Intellectual Domain: Enriched learning that promotes deep inquiry, higher-order thinking, and advanced understanding.
- Physical Domain: Activities that build coordination, physical skills, and healthy habits.
- Social-Emotional Domain: Support for emotional wellbeing, resilience, and positive relationships.
At Byron Bay Public School, we are dedicated to delivering the HPGE policy through a comprehensive, student-centred approach that nurtures the potential of every learner.
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.
Learn more about HPGE here.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.
At Byron Bay Public School, HPGE lives in everyday practice. We challenge our students to think, create, lead and grow every day.
- Teachers identify students' learning needs in the classroom and use evidence-informed teaching practices to challenge and extend students. We provide learning pathways, including enrichment and extension programs and acceleration.
- Our supportive classroom environments promote a sense of belonging and encourage risk-taking, creativity and collaboration.
- We provide tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking.
- Our teachers engage in professional learning to support the diverse needs of all students, including our high potential and gifted learners.
Every student is unique, so our opportunities are flexible and diverse.
- Academic and intellectual growth: Students can deepen their strengths through debating, competitions, critical thinking workshops, and STEM and coding pathways.
- Celebrating talent: Achievements are showcased in school spectaculars and events, including the Arts Extravaganza, Art Exhibitions, Band performances, and Junior and Senior Choir.
- Leadership and wellbeing: Leadership skills are nurtured through the SRC, Year 6 Leaders, mentoring, and peer coaching, while wellbeing is recognised and rewarded through our PBL reward systems.
- Sporting opportunities: Sport is valued with PSSA competitions, in-school teams, and regular lunchtime games.
Our students engage in a wide range of statewide programs designed to extend and enrich their potential.
- They take part in opportunities such as the DoE Game Changer Challenge, Premier’s Spelling Bee, Premier’s Multicultural Public Speaking, DoE Arts Unit Festival of Choral and Instrumental Music, and the Premier’s Debating Challenge.
- Statewide and NSW Department of Education support is available for high-potential and gifted students. We assist with entries, preparation, and reflection, ensuring that every experience contributes meaningfully to student learning.