Honouring Elaine Le Sueur MNZM

Elaine Le Sueur, MNZM, has been a quiet but powerful force in gifted education in Aotearoa New Zealand - a writer, educator, practitioner and advocate whose work has helped teachers, parents and schools better recognise and respond to talented learners. Her articles, conference presentations and local programmes have focused on practical classroom strategies (talent spotting, differentiation, managing stress for able learners) and on helping communities translate theory into everyday practice.

Her career has been wide-ranging, including being the inaugural director of information technology and gifted education at Lincoln Height Primary School in West Auckland, serving as associate principal at Remuera Primary School, and acting for six years as an advisor to schools on gifted and talented education.

She also initiated and organised a national conference on gifted education to feature an international speaker, namely Professor Françoys Gagné, making an innovative use of technology to bring him to the audience via a bank of television schemes. It was an event which actively helped to raise awareness of gifted children. ”Suddenly people were looking at their kids as individuals instead of groups.” she said.

Looking back, Elaine’s contributions helped fill gaps at times when few local resources existed. She authored accessible pieces (for example on stress in gifted children, and on using sophisticated picture books with able readers), ran professional development and school programmes, and actively supported sector organisations - helping shape a national conversation about fit, wellbeing and teaching for higher potential. These efforts are noted in sector histories and Ministry summaries of gifted-education development in New Zealand.

Her service within professional networks modelled the collaborative leadership the sector needed: practical, grounded, and focused on supporting children and the adults who teach them. Her recognised contribution to education was marked by national honours and professional acknowledgement.

In 2017, Elaine was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM), a fitting tribute to someone who is one of the pioneers in this field in this country. 

The honour was a shock for Le Sueur, whose career in education includes being the inaugural director of information technology and gifted education at Lincoln Height Primary School in West Auckland.

She also helped to organise a major national conference which hosted several international experts in gifted education.  “Suddenly people were looking at their kids as individuals instead of groups.” she said.

What inspired Le Sueur to pursue an education program for gifted students was the first class she taught. The class was filled with students who were eager to learn and who were able to make special connections when learning. “I thought that’s how all kids were, because when you start teaching you have a vision of what it was going to be like.” Elaine was also associate principal at Remuera Primary School and for six years acted as the advisor to schools on gifted and talented education.

Looking Back to Move Forward invites us to carry forward Elaine’s emphasis on translating good ideas into day-to-day practice so that all children with advanced learning needs are seen, supported and challenged. Looking forward, Elaine Le Sueur’s legacy urges us to keep the same practical, learner-centred focus: continuing to build teacher capability, to publish clear, classroom-ready guidance, and to ensure the emotional as well as intellectual needs of gifted learners are part of everyday school planning.