GT Voice

Dear Prospective Members

The working group has committed GT Voice to supporting the Hungarian Presidency of the EU in its efforts to strengthen European partnership and collaboration in G&T education. You can find details of Hungary’s plans here. We have decided to link the start of GT Voice’s online service to the first EU Talent Day celebration on 9 April. NAGC is also developing its own contribution and we invite other prospective members to consider whether they wish to mark the event in their own way. If you do decide to ‘brand’ an activity as a contribution to the Talent Day, do please let us know via enquiries@gtvoice.org.uk, so that we can build up a full picture of what is taking place.

Thanks

The Working group has today written to all prospective members of GT Voice. The text of the letter is reproduced below.

Please return your Founder Member, Supplier Registration and Event Booking forms to enquiries@gtvoice.org.uk

Dear colleague,

As the interim Steering Group tasked with setting up GT Voice, we are writing to bring you up to date with what has been happening during the past three months as well as immediate plans for the future.

We have been working hard to develop the structure and framework for the new network and, as part of this, it was decided that the name will now be GT Voice as we felt it was important that the network should present a consistent name and image across both the website and email addresses we use.

At the core of GT Voice is Charter 2011, a set of principles and beliefs which underpin the initiative and which will help to guide its work (copy attached). Over the next few months, we will be inviting individuals and organisations to sign up to the principles of Charter 2011 and to help develop this important initiative in the G&T world to support children and young people with high learning potential.

The initial framework for delivering GT Voice will be a new website which will help to link together and signpost information about G&T issues in the UK. In the first instance this site will bring together:

• Charter 2011 – if an individual or organisation signs up to the principles of Charter 2011, this constitutes membership. Members will be able to use the GT Voice logo on their own headed paper as well as in their marketing materials and on their website. Members will also have access to ‘members only’ pages on the website.
• UK G&T news
• Resources including examples of interesting practice
• Discussion forums
• Opportunities for collaboration and partnerships
• A Directory of individuals and organisations that are providers of services
• Information about other countries’ G&T work

As new ideas are developed and people and organisations volunteer to help, GT Voice will be able to extend what it is able to offer. As GT Voice gets off the ground and for the next twelve months all of this will be free to access; after which it may be necessary to look at how it can be underwritten in the long term to make it sustainable.

We are now starting to collect details of individuals and organisations who wish to become Founding Members of GT Voice, so please contact us with your details using the Founding Member form attached. The website will go live in March and individuals and organisations will be able to sign the Charter from this date, There is also an email address enquiries@gtvoice.org.uk and individuals and organisations can write to G&T Voice now with any questions or to volunteer their services.

In terms of organising GT Voice, the interim Steering Group is keen to ensure absolute transparency in the next stage of the network’s development. In view of this, we plan to launch the election process by the end of March and will remain in place to ensure that this proceeds smoothly and an elected board is in place as soon as possible, after which the interim Steering Group will disband. We are keen to make GT Voice a UK-wide network and are planning to engage with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to seek their input as we develop a draft constitution for the new body.

To prepare for this new organisation, a meeting will be held between 11am-3pm on Thursday 17^th March at:

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund

The County Hall

Westminster Bridge Road

London

SE1 7PB

Telephone: 020 7902 5500

If you would like to reserve a place at this meeting, please complete the attached booking form and send it to enquiries@gtvoice.org.uk. At this meeting, we will be discussing issues such as the constitution, membership and the future Steering Group.

Once GT Voice goes live, therefore, we urge you to do four things:

• Sign up to Charter 2011
• Take GT Voice into your own organisation for it to formally adopt the principles and sign the Charter
• Positively raise the profile of GT Voice with others
• Visit and contribute to the website

Without your support, the G&T community’s response to supporting these children and young people will be that much weaker. We strongly believe that only by working together can we ensure that those with high learning potential will have the best chance of being acknowledged and their individual needs met.

We hope we can count on your support as we launch this partnership initiative and we look forward to welcoming you as a member of GT Voice.

The GT Voice working group signed off the final version of the GT Voice charter at its meeting of 28 January (agreeing in the process that the name of the network should be GT Voice).

The final text is reproduced below. The working group will be writing to all members very shortly with further information, including the timetable for further developments. The letter will also be posted on this blog.

GT Voice – Charter 2011

A network to foster excellence amongst all able, gifted and talented children and young people.

What is GT Voice?

GT Voice is a network open to all individuals and organisations with an interest in gifted and talented education in the UK. It is independent, not funded by central government and non-profit making.

Shared beliefs of those signing up to the Charter

• The potential of G&T learners must be positively encouraged

• All learners – including all G&T learners – have an equal right to inspiration, challenge and support to maximise their potential.

• All learners - including all G&T learners – have an equal right to be confident, happy and fulfilled in who they are and to feel good about letting others see what they are capable of achieving

• Effective G&T provision is essential for securing educational excellence, narrowing achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged learners, and supporting social mobility

• Effective G&T education will make a valuable contribution to the overall quality of our education system, our economy and our international competitiveness

Why GT Voice was formed

GT Voice was established to enable the sector to work together to develop:

• the significance and quality of gifted and talented identification, learning and support
• networking within the G&T community including organisations involved in G&T learning, both nationally and internationally
• improved access by G&T children and young people and their families to opportunities for learning, networking and support
• positive dialogue and collaboration to share knowledge, evidence and experience including an annual ‘G&T State of the Nation’ survey
• opportunities for members of the network to join together to strengthen advocacy of the need for an effective G&T strategy and provision across the UK and internationally

This is the first stage of the development of GT Voice. It was undertaken by ten individuals in the G&T sector who volunteered their time following two open workshops exploring the community’s response to G&T. Following discussion, members may decide at a later stage to extend the role and remit of the network to address other priorities, including advocacy for the needs of G&T learners, parents/carers and educators. This Charter will be reviewed annually to ensure that it reflects the purpose of the network.

GT Voice is a response to the changes in government education policy and funding. It seeks to build on past achievements; to ensure that existing expertise and resources are retained and to collaborate and offer mutual support. It also wants to develop imaginative, network-led ways to share knowledge and experience; to ensure the development of cutting edge projects and to improve services and support for the benefit of all gifted and talented learners.

• If you believe in the importance of inspiring excellence in our G&T learners…
• If you want to become part of our network and help take a new strategy forward…

then sign this Charter to become a network member of GT Voice and help improve provision for young G&T learners across the UK.

To join GT Voice or for more information: Go to www.gtvoice.org.uk or email enquiries@gtvoice.org.uk