Inspire - High potential and gifted education

At Oatley Public School, we 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 students. We nurture potential across the intellectual, creative, social-emotional and physical domains through enriched learning and higher-order thinking, opportunities in music, dance, drama, film and STEAM, a strong focus on resilience and positive relationships, and pathways in PDHPE and sport. In an inclusive environment that challenges and extends all learners, we help every student achieve excellence and lifelong wellbeing, true to our motto, every child a success.

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

Recognising potential and developing talent

At Oatley Public School, we believe every child can succeed. Our teachers take the time to know each student’s strengths, interests and learning goals, helping them grow in confidence both inside and outside the classroom.

students holding the maths olympiad awards

Tailored lessons

Every child learns differently. At Oatley Public School, teachers provide targeted support, enrichment opportunities and engaging learning experiences to help students feel challenged, supported and successful at every stage of their learning.

Rich opportunities and activities

From coding and STEAM projects to sport, creative arts, environmental programs and leadership opportunities, our students are encouraged to explore their interests, discover new passions and connect with the wider school community.

Opening doors to wider experiences

Students at Oatley Public School take part in a variety of enriching experiences including competitions, performances, excursions, sporting pathways and community events that help broaden their skills, confidence and future opportunities.

What is high potential and gifted education?

At Oatley Public School, we believe every child a success includes stretching and challenging students with advanced learning needs. We identify high potential learners using PAT assessments, classroom data and teacher observation, and support them through:

We do this through:

effective teaching strategies such as enrichment, extension and acceleration, so students can explore ideas in greater depth and move ahead when they are ready

tailored support that stretches, challenges and inspires, including open-ended tasks, higher-order thinking and problem solving

access to a wide range of opportunities, including SMART STEAM projects, debating, public speaking, band, choir and representative sport through PSSA.

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 Oatley Public School, high potential learners are challenged and supported every day in the classroom. Our teachers use explicit teaching, ongoing assessment and a strong focus on learning dispositions and character strengths to tailor learning so every student can grow. This includes:

Differentiated tasks that adjust pace and complexity and incorporate higher-order thinking
Regular formative assessment so teachers can monitor growth and adapt learning
Explicit teaching of learning dispositions and character strengths to develop critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and intrapersonal and interpersonal skills
Open-ended investigations, design tasks and cross-curricular projects that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking
Opportunities to innovate, imagine and express ideas through visual arts, dance, music, drama, writing and STEAM projects
Personalised, strengths-based feedback, goal setting and reflection
Leadership opportunities, such as our Student Representative Council (SRC)
Structured collaboration, peer mentoring and flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentation
Differentiated movement tasks and skill refinement in PDHPE, including opportunities to lead demonstrations or team strategy
Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking and perseverance

Across our school

At Oatley Public School, we recognise that every student is unique, and we believe every child a success means helping each child discover and grow their strengths. We provide flexible and diverse opportunities across the intellectual, creative, social-emotional and physical domains, through individual, group and whole-school programs that extend learning beyond the classroom. These include:

Band
Choir
Chess club
Debating
Public speaking
Dance
STEAM investigations and projects
Maths Olympiad, Maths Games and Maths Explorer activities
School musicals
TalentFest end-of-year showcase
Film by the Sea short film program
External visual arts and drama showcases
Inter-school sport representation
Sport House competitions
Student leadership (SRC)
Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.

Across NSW

Oatley Public School students also have the chance to extend their learning and represent our school in statewide programs and events. These include:

The Premier’s Spelling Bee, which promotes vocabulary development and attention to detail in a competitive setting
The Premier’s Debating Challenge, which helps students build logical arguments, teamwork and confidence in public speaking
The Schools Spectacular, an iconic performing arts event celebrating the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across NSW public schools
The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA events, which enable students to trial and compete at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration

student winning the public speaking competition

Public Speaking - Students develop confidence, clear communication and persuasive skills by preparing and delivering speeches to their peers and wider audiences.

Sporting Opportunities - Students build skills, fitness and teamwork through PDHPE, Sport House competitions, inter-school sport and representative pathways through PSSA.

Performing Arts Opportunities - Students express their creativity and talents through band, choir, dance, school musicals and TalentFest.

SMART city STEAM project featuring students

STEAM – Students investigate real-world problems and design creative solutions through hands-on SMART STEAM projects.

students solving maths challenges in Maths Games

Mathematics Challenges – Students extend their reasoning and problem-solving through Maths Olympiad competitions, Maths Games and Maths Explorer activities.