PEAC - Westcoast Education District

Background

The Department of Education has a strong tradition of providing for gifted and talented students in government schools. At the primary level, withdrawal Primary Extension and Challenge (PEAC) programs have operated since 1983. Other special focus programs such as FUTEC and SPICE operated before this. During the 1980's PEAC programs operated using centrally established guidelines. Students from schools in a district travelled to a PEAC centre for specialised programs.

In 1987 management of these programs was devolved to districts. Since then a degree of variability between districts has emerged in the operation of these programs. Some districts opted to offer programs to a broader group of gifted and talented students and differences in resource allocations within districts emerged, particularly where the demographics of districts altered.

The State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education requested a Departmental Review of PEAC. This was undertaken in 1995. The review revealed that few districts operate programs in the same manner, especially in the country.

While it was recognised that districts may have differing students needs, the need for a 'shared understanding' of the identified gifted and talented cohort was also noted. This resulted in a 'profiling' process that enables gifted and talented students to move anywhere within Western Australia without the need for re-assessment.