Gifted kids are curious, creative, motivated, sometimes challenging, often quirky and always hungry to learn. They inspire us as teachers and, with you, we want to ensure that all 47,000 of the gifted primary school students in Aotearoa grow up to achieve their extraordinary potential.
For Teachers
You may be working with one or two gifted kids in your own class, or you may have picked up responsibility for running your school’s gifted programme.
You may see that a student in your class needs more than you can give them at school, or you may be confident that you would be able to meet their needs at school with a little help.
You may be keen for just a little information to help you get on with things, or you may be clear that giftedness is an area where you’d like to build a specialisation.
Whatever it is, we’ve got you covered.
Build your knowledge
We bring together over 1500 teachers, learning support staff and principals throughout NZ in Gifted NEX - our network of expertise.
Joining Gifted NEX is easy and free, and gives you access to online learning opportunities including symposiums, one hour workshops and - coming soon - online learning modules on topics including:
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Culturally responsive gifted teaching
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Identifying twice exceptional learners
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Social and emotional learning for gifted kids
Refer students to MindPlus
"I feel awful that I can’t provide effectively for the gifted kids in my class. I know that they need - and deserve - more, but I’m flat out trying to meet the needs of kids with learning and behavioural difficulties that dominate my class"
- Classroom teacher
Referring kids to us at MindPlus is a powerful way you can help the kids you teach get the specialist support they need. You have a really important role in sharing with parents that you think their child is gifted and that MindPlus could help. Your observations on the student and their qualities are critical for our entry process. Once your student is at MindPlus, we keep in touch with you with weekly updates and termly learner profiles, and we are always available to talk about effectively working with your student back at school.
We have a range of MindPlus programmes to meet the needs of different students, schools and families, and we offer scholarships to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Teach with us
We are always looking for confident, curious, capable teachers keen to build a specialist teaching expertise in gifted education.
All our new teachers take part in a two year certificate programme which including group learning, online modules, observation, peer support and coaching that ensure you can hit the ground running, taking the latest research and thinking straight into your classroom.
At the end of two years, you have a Certificate in Specialist Gifted Teaching from us and can either continue with MindPlus or take your talents back into the mainstream.
Become a YourSchool Partner Teacher
Keen to stay at your school and build your expertise working with us?
MindPlus YourSchool lets your school establish a ready-to-go specialist gifted education programme with you as the lead teacher - right away!
Our tried and tested programme gives you plug and play resources on our dedicated MindPlus learning platform, the support and input of our specialist teacher beside you, and a professional learning programme involving online workshops and and do in your own time modules.
"We have phenomenal staff at our school, but our professional development doesn't even begin to scratch the surface on this particular topic. Being able to have time and resources dedicated to up-skilling our staff - is going to be a huge influence in all of our classrooms and make sure that those kids are catered for "
- YourSchool Partner Teacher
What’s it like working with gifted kids?
“They bring a whole new perspective on learning and the way they form connections. … I feel like we're on this journey together and we're all learning and growing. ”
- MindPlus OurSchool Teacher
“Teaching gifted kids is intense, it’s fun, it’s challenging - and it is frankly different from teaching regular kids”