High potential and gifted education

At Irrawang Public School, we are committed to creating inclusive and supportive learning environments that recognise and cater for the diverse learning needs of all our students. We are proud to implement the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) policy by adhering to its standards, which ensure equity, excellence, and high expectations for every student. This commitment drives us to provide a framework of evidence-informed talent development, enabling our high potential and gifted students to aspire to and achieve personal excellence.

Our approach to High Potential Gifted Education focuses on developing students holistically across the four key domains: Intellectual, Creative, Social-Emotional, and Physical. We ensure engagement and challenge through deliberate talent development opportunities and differentiated teaching and learning practices that meet the diverse needs of each student.

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.

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

Intellectual Opportunities

We enhance students’ knowledge and thinking skills through a range of stimulating activities and programs, including:

Quality differentiated explicit teacher and enrichment classes

Project-based learning and personalised pathways

Debating and oral speaking competitions

Mathematics competitions

Aboriginal pedagogies and cross-stage learning

Through these opportunities, we cater to and challenge the unique intellectual talents of each child.

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Creative Opportunities

We ignite curiosity and inspire creativity by providing diverse avenues for self-expression, such as:

Participating and performing in local school and community events

Writing, filming and starring in student-led video productions

Opportunities for students to create and run small businesses at school

Students have access to guitars, drums and pianos with support from skilled teachers

Opportunity to participate in School Spectacular performances

These activities enable students to explore and develop their creative potential in vibrant and engaging ways.

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Physical Opportunities

We provide varied physical activities to develop strength, coordination, and agility, including:

Sporting programs, including PSSA and regional or state-level competitions

Opportunities for school representation, including Zone carnivals

External physical programs conducted at our school

Learn-to-swim programs for students

These opportunities promote physical health and resilience, complementing academic and creative growth.

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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.

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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

At Irrawang Public School, HPGE lives in everyday practice.

Our practices align with the NSW Department of Education’s HPGE policy, which highlights the importance of supporting students across four essential domains:

Creative Domain: Supporting students to develop original ideas and express themselves through creative thinking, problem-solving, and artistic pursuits.
Intellectual (Cognitive) Domain: Offering challenging learning experiences that nurture advanced thinking, deep inquiry, and intellectual development.
Physical Domain: Encouraging physical growth and wellbeing through activities that improve coordination, health, and physical skills.
Social-Emotional Domain: Promoting emotional resilience, self-awareness, and positive social interactions to support the wellbeing of gifted learners.

At Irrawang Public School, we are dedicated to fostering the whole child by recognising and nurturing each student’s potential across these four domains, ensuring every learner is empowered to succeed. 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.
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

Across our school

Every student is individual, so opportunities are flexible and diverse.

Students deepen strengths through public speaking and debating competitions and STEM and coding pathways like Robocup and makerspace projects.
Talent is celebrated through school musicals and showcases such as Casula's Got Talent, School Spectacular preparations, drama, visual arts, music ensembles, choir, Ukulele Group, and Boys and Mixed Dance, supported by student roles in tech and crew.
Leadership grows through SRC, Student Parliament, mentoring and peer coaching, and wellbeing is made visible with PBL awards, our on-site wellbeing officer and Therapuppy.
Daily life invites curiosity and belonging, with Open Library at lunch and Breakfast Library, plus clubs like Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer Miniatures.
Sport matters too, with PSSA sport, training, coaching and house competitions that include differentiated PE.

Across NSW

Our students participate in a wide range of statewide programs to extend and enrich student potential.

Students participate in opportunities such as UNSW academic competitions, Multicultural Public Speaking.
The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA and events enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration.

gifted students, and we help with entries,
Statewide and NSW Department of Education support is available for high potential and gifted students, and we help with entries, preparation and reflection so every experience feeds back into learning.

Help for your high potential child

If your child shows signs of high potential, contact us. We can share how our HPGE support can guide their learning journey.

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Student opportunities and activities

Discover the opportunities our students have at our school.

Learning

Find out about our approach to learning and supporting students to progress