Teaching and Learning Journal January 2014-2015

Learningand

TeachingJournal

Issue 4 Jan 2015

King George V School英皇佐治五世學校

T h e P e r f o r m a n c e C o a c h i n g I s s u e

ForewordI am delighted to be able to introduce this Journal. I have always believed that people only take sustained action when they own the act and it is so easy in leadership to resort to developing plans and ensuring they are carried out without taking the time to engage all the community in the thinking. Now I have been privileged to have been able to coach other colleagues I can appreciate just how powerful it is for someone to commit to something and how powerless I am to make people do things they don’t want to do! So performance coaching is a key to unlock the door of intrinsic motivation. The conversations are always fascinating, always productive and always useful. As the culture of coaching has permeated the school I can begin to see its impact not only on the individuals who are being coached but on relationships and a growing sensitivity about actively listening to people rather than interrupting and hijacking conversations. As a naturally impatient person who constantly feels obliged to be getting on with tasks, performance coaching is an invaluable reminder that sometimes taking time is a much more developmental activity than getting things finished.

PrincipalEd Wickins

Table of Contents 1 Foreword & table of contents 2 Vision for coaching 3-4 How has coaching impacted learning at KGV? 5 Coaching strategies to give feedback 6-7 Year 13 student coaches 2014-15, Coaching at KGV-Our journey 8 Year 12 student coaches - reflections and plans 9 Coaching strategies for peer and self assessment 10 Year 12 listening skills 11 Coaching for parents and parents information-evening 12 New staff reflections on the performance coaching strand 13-14 Newly trained coaches 15 Traditional and coaching performance management pathways at KGV 16 Coaching at ESF schools

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Vision for Coaching

This quote sums up what we are aiming to achieve at KGV:

Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

- Mario Andretti

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By Judy Cooper

The coaching journey at KGV School has been an exciting one. The strategies we are developing are starting to transform the way we have one-to-one conversations across the school focusing on the enhancement of learning. Coaching strategies are no longer used solely by our outstanding team of trained Performance Coaches; coaching strategies are being used in the classroom, by students and between colleagues to impact on learning.

The vision is clear. We are looking for a shift in culture, which is quite an ambitious goal. The coaching culture will facilitate learning of all students and staff at KGV School through a variety of means. We want to empower people through asking good questions to define and achieve their own goals. We want to raise levels of self-awareness and make time to listen actively to people finding their own solutions. We want to build relationships and trust, to truly realise the power of coaching in a supportive environment. We want to be known as the coaching school.

“When you learn; teach. When you get; give.”

- Maya Angelou

Coaching is changing the way we have conversations across the school in a variety of ways. Colleagues reflect on how they think coaching has impacted learning.

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How has coaching impacted

Coaching to me is about how to move forward in a positive way. This might include just learning about yourself. While we have students who are very good at setting themselves goals and achieving them, we have many that have never been guided through this process or don’t have people who sit and listen to them for half an hour or more to help work out what they are prepared to do and what they want. For me personally the opportunity to voice what I think then listen and assess the truth of it, is something that I really value.

- Catherine Muir

I think it is a really good way to make you organise your thoughts. Also, if you are accountable to a person (as in, you are going to meet again and so ought to have some news about what you have done to move things forward) it does make you do something. I am trying to think of ways to better organise myself and it has made me think about what is the best way to organise me in school – ie, do I work best with a calendar on line, or a paper diary, what do I need and when etc?It has made me try out new things and really think about the areas where I would like to be more organised – reporting etc. It is also great for other members of staff to get an insight into the kinds of issues we face as teachers and to have maybe a greater understanding of each other’s areas in school. I like it – I like chatting, so it suits me to talk things through!

- Helena Murchie

When I started out on the coaching program my personal objective was to become fluent in the questions used so that they flowed as a natural part of a conversation with both staff and students. I spent quite a lot of personal time learning these, researching more questions, picking out my favourites and focusing on using them – it felt pretty artificial to begin with. However, over time I found I was using the questions without thinking, my fluency was increasing and along with that the quality of my listening skills. I now find most days have snippets of coaching conversations.

- Karen Abell

learning at KGV?

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.

- Andrew Carnegie

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We have embraced this amazing learning opportunity for ourselves as teachers but more importantly as an aspirational achievement tool for students. The coaching model has become the benchmark gold standard for the conversations that lead to the agreeing on and setting of university predicted grades in Y12 and Y13 for Economics and Business.Students are asked to reflect on their Goals, Realities, Options and Way forward (grow model), the responses are then collated through a google form laying the foundation for the constructive reflective discussion between student and teacher.

.- Ian Goff

I found it very useful to revisit and practice again active listening skills in a formal training environment. I am using the coaching model in my role as a performance manager to three colleagues, who have fed back that they find it to be a valuable and supportive process. I am also attempting to apply the skills more in classroom delivery. I have found the training a very useful reminder of the power of shutting up and giving students space to think when asked a question. It is fascinating to observe the change in quality and nature of students’ contributions to class discussions when I manage silences more effectively and allow them more time to respond. Most teachers love the sound of their own voices; shifting that dynamic is a very beneficial tool for enhanced learning and interaction.

- Ray Heath

The training I received from the Coaching course has given me fresh perspectives on challenges and opportunities in the classrooms. This was highlighted by the Year 7 students-led parents evening last term. I simply taught my students how to use GROW to set targets. In lessons, I feel that the teamwork was greatly enhanced as a result of students understanding the main coaching principles such as active listening, blame free and taking turns. They seem to have become more positive, encouraging and respectful towards one another. As a new coach, I am greatly inspired by the small beginnings made last term and am looking forward to serving more students and teachers in this capacity in future.

- Connie Hu

I have found the training a very useful reminder of the power of shutting up and giving students space to think when asked a question.

- Ray Heath

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How can coaching strategies help?

Coaching gives students a voice to express their own opinions about their own learning in a safe, non-threatening environment. The process gives the student ownership of their learning and empowers them in their own development.

The session should start by thanking the student for completing the work/performance/project etc.

Possible coaching questions to form a feedback session● What did you notice about the work/performance?● What did you like about the work/performance? Opportunity to praise “sounds like your have moved your learning forward”● May I tell you what I liked?● What might you do differently next time?● What will it look like when you do that?● Can I make a (couple of) suggestion(s)?● Is there anything else?● How will you apply this in your next piece of work/performance?● What did you notice about this feedback session?

The words ‘Tell me more’ and ‘Anything else’ can be used at any time if you think the student could elaborate more.

Following the feedback session

● If a goal/actions is set, offer a follow-up coaching conversation and calendar it if this is realistic. If the targets are recorded on the corkboard, then the tutor can follow up in the one to one discussions and Student Led Conferences.

Coaching strategies to give feedbackThe feedback session is an opportunity for the student to reflect on their work and performance, giving time and space to think about the learning which has occurred either at school or at home. The feedback should be dominated by the student, with the teacher facilitating the thinking through coaching style questions. Questions are open and are neither leading nor judgemental. The teacher may comment on what they have noticed in the work or performance towards the end of the feedback session.

Some student reflections on coaching strategies used in the classroom

The impact of the coaching has been really helpful in allowing me to develop my effectiveness in being able to evaluate the way I work and my work itself. The one to one’s mean I am also able to set myself goals regularly to help me keep on improving and makes sure that I am constantly evaluating where I am in my work. - Tania Poelmann

Coaching has had a positive impact on my learning, especially in Spanish. The one to one support I have received has allowed me to explain my point of view and get feedback on all pieces of my work. - Siddharth Jain

I think reflecting on the way we learn and revise is really helpful as it allows us to understand why it does or does not work for us, such as after a vocabulary test to see if the amount of revision we did matches the marks we get. Marking our own work gives us a chance to really pin point what we have done well and what we need to improve on to get a better mark, such as the written task where we use the rubric to self assess. - Alica Parkes

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Year 13 Student Coaches Coaching at KGV - Our journey

Coaching is very different from what we year 13s first anticipated. If you had asked us about what coaching meant last year we would have told you about sports coaching but now we can talk about personal performance coaching. Our perspective has definitely changed regarding coaching. Coaching is all about overcoming situations through being open minded and finding the best possible route forward. It is almost like an obstacle course that must be completed one obstacle at a time, yet gaining more and more with every step forward. Our three days of training helped us to develop skills in communicating effectively, how to listen actively and how to guide coachees towards achieving their goal. As Student Coaches is a relatively new role at KGV the school probably hasn’t quite got the best out of coaching yet. However, it’s definitely getting through initiatives this year like our involvement with the peer mentoring group. We have been teaching them the basics of coaching so they can mentor the younger students starting with the year 7s. We have also had the opportunity to coach both

Year 13 student coaches reflect on their learning journey describing how coaching has had an impact on their lives and the lives of others they have worked with.

By Year 13 Coaches Supported by Catherine Muir

teachers and students in school. Helping each individual with, not exactly their problems, but with reaching their personal goals.By going through this learning process of what makes a good coach, and knowing what to say or what not to say in order to receive trust from coachees, has helped us with our lives outside our coaching role. For example, it has increased our confidence and we have become more outspoken during conversations with other people that we aren’t so familiar with. It’s almost like knowing the key points to what makes a conversation flow and what makes it successful; not only does it help the coachee, but helps us coaches as well. From coaching, we have also learnt what the best questions to ask are and how to guide an individual along their chosen path. In a way we have had a taste of mentoring different students, without needing to advise them after but simply by questioning them to discover their chosen direction.

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Coaching skills will definitely be a valuable asset for our futures. In the future, we can use the particular skills we’ve learned to coach, not only peers and family members, but also colleagues or superiors. Not only will it strengthen our relationships with others but it should also aid understanding between individuals thus raise work ethic.

Throughout this whole coaching experience, we have expanded our knowledge and our abilities to interacting with others as well as developing that unique bond between coach and coachee. The satisfaction of knowing you’ve guided a person in the right direction through listening and questions, makes an impact on that person and on the coach. Ultimately both parties can achieve their goals. Our journey from when we first started, which was stumbling over our words and not knowing what was the best thing to say has led to sophisticated conversations that continue to impact the many paths of our lives.

Student coaches working wtih Peer Mentors

The training provided by the year 13 coaches to the new peer mentors made a big impact. The coaches cascaded listening skills down to the peer mentors in a series of weekly sessions during tutor time, demonstrating listening techniques and the grow model and facilitating practice sessions.

Some Reflections

Through the past few months, I have been going to the weekly Peer Coaching session, which were useful for me as I’ve learnt how to be a better listener through the GROW model. Whether I would use this skill in Peer Mentoring or not, I believe this would help me in the future. The coaches were all very welcoming and friendly, and would guide us through if we did or said something inappropriate. Thank you for this opportunity!

Joyann Leung

Overall, I thought the coaching experience was really rewarding as I learnt how to be a more active and effective listener. One of the most important things that I felt that I learnt was the power of silence as a pause may be even more effective than asking a questions as it allows the student to reflect upon themselves and provide information.

Priyanshi Shah

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“You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it for himself!” Performance coaching makes people think; it involves a coach and a coachee. The purpose of coaching is to enhance the performance or well-being of someone. This is done by the coach and coachee having a series of conversations in which the coach guides the coachee to set, then move towards, achieving goal. The coach uses mostly open questions. Coaching often seems to be confused with counselling, but they are not the same. Coaching is different from counselling because coaches simply guide and motivate the coachee to find their own solutions. Coaches are required to keep information confidential, as it could be personal, and are equipped with the skills and characteristics to guide the coachee to a possible solution to an issue they are facing. Student coaches at KGV follow a very structured model known as the GROW Model; a model for development towards one’s goal which consists of ‘Goal’, ‘Reality’, ‘Options’, and ‘Will’. This Model allows coaches to discover more about the coachee and guide them towards their’ goals. During the sessions the coachees themselves become able to see their goals and aims, their current situation and constraints, their options, and the steps they could take to achieve their goal. Coaches are there for the coachees to talk to, because a lot of the time coachees become too overwhelmed with their thoughts and ideas to have in their minds a path towards their goal, or even a goal at all. Coaching has recently become very popular in both working and educational environments due to the way coaching benefits the coach, coachee and the Stakeholder - in this case KGV. Coaching is beneficial in the KGV community because coaches can encourage coachees to go beyond their current levels of abilities and thoughts in coaching. Our values as coaches are to have a fundamental belief that people can achieve whatever they believe is achievable along with continually raising that level of belief. Coaching can also help our community by building strong relationships and focusing people in the

right direction. Coaching is a partnership of sorts between the coach and the coachee, where the coachee does most of the talking and the coach confirms and urges the coachee to plan their steps towards their goal. Both students and teachers at KGV have been working on making the coaching process more known throughout the school. We will be responsible for helping to promote and create informational posters, we will be training student coaches and we will be meeting with other groups of students that introduce the concept of coaching and work out how the skills can aid people within the KGV community. This is a response on coaching from a Student coach, “Personally, I have found coaching very useful as it allowed me to view myself in a totally different way and to accept certain areas of my personality which previously I had considered as weaknesses and now as strengths. Coaching has enabled me to have more confidence to assert myself in school where I am now capable to recognize and accept other personality types. My coaching sessions have helped me develop my leadership skills not only in the aspect of being productive but also in building successful relations with my peers.”

Year 12 student coaches reflect on what they have learnt as newly trained coaches and what they plan to do with their new skills.

Year 12 Student Coaches - Reflections and plans

By Year 12 Student Coaches

Assessment for Learning and Reflection on Academic Progress are integral parts of our teaching and student development support here at KGV. Opportunities for students of all age groups and abilities to reflect on their own work, and the work of others, allow them to grow as learners as they themselves become the experts and assessors of their attainment and progress. Issues arise when students struggle with how to peer and self assess, becoming vague and distant from the needs of the assessment and moment of reflection. Too often we hear students comment that, “I’m not very good at…” or “I can do…” without understanding the skill set required.Coaching Strategies, such as use of the open questions, can help in this case. At its essence, Coaching facilitates thinking and helps us consider our true reactions and responses to situations. Applying Coaching Questions to peer and self assessment gives students a structured scaffold with which to reflect in a thoughtful, insightful manner. This can be used in 1:1 contexts and in whole class feedback sessions where students can start to articulate their interpretations of work without the constrictions and worry of ‘right or wrong’ answers. Thus, the process becomes an open, fluent development of ideas that leads to high standard target setting for future learning.

Coaching questions can have a positive impact on student learning in a variety of ways. A range of questions which can be used in the classroom are shared here.

Coaching Strategies for Peer and Self Assessment

By Caroline Payne

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Coaching Question Effect of this question in practiceWhat do you notice about [the work]? This is the most powerful question to ask. Used throughout all

year groups, I find students feel confident in answering about their own and other’s work as they have a ‘blank canvas’ and can mention anything they desire. I have found it particularly powerful with older students in examining model IBD examination answers. Here, they are able to articulate both the needs of the mark scheme and understand how it is achieved in the work. This has led to strong developments in skill sets in further work.

What do you like about what you’ve done? What are you proud of?

Too often students (and staff!) are quick to criticise themselves and identify negative aspects of their work and projects. This question allows them to reflect on aspects of process or production, allowing them to positively gain confidence in the work they have achieved. It also allows them to give a personalised response about a project, for example how they’ve worked in a team, or home. They have worked to understand and overcome a particular problem in Maths.

What are you impressed with? What makes you impressed? This gives a signpost to students to identify a specific aspect of the work. By focusing on ‘what’ they can articulate their thinking in relation to the work as a whole, bringing in ideas from the learning that has occurred previously.

What have you achieved so far? Again, a focus on positive, with the understanding that there is room for further achievement. This allows students to see the bigger context, perhaps of a long term project and on going learning of particular skills.

If you could do this work again, what would you do differently? A key evaluation question, this gives students the opportunity to articulate next steps, which could include process or productive stages of learning. Answers to this question could transfer easily into targets for learning.

What will your work be like when you can do that? Again, a visualisation technique which allows students to see success and aim towards it in the future. This is very helpful in motivating students to particular targets.

What do you need to do to ensure further success in your next piece of work?

This is target and goal setting, giving students tangible processes to implement as they take ownership of their learning in preparation, process and production contexts.

Where else could you apply this / these skills? This allows students to think across the curriculum, allowing a cohesive sense of learning to be appreciated by all students.

In January, all our Year 12 students received input on effective listening skills from trained staff coaches during tutor time. Almost all recognised bad listening habits such as interrupting, hijacking and wading in with advice, in themselves and others, and were able to identify skills and habits which would lead to more positive listening such as asking questions to clarify ideas and reflecting statements back. Many saw the potential for using effective listening and questioning both within and outside the school context and many particularly liked the idea of pushing responsibility back and forcing the coachee to work and think hard in the quest for solutions, rather than offering help and advice.

Tutors followed up after the coach-led session, and it is hoped that Year 12 will play a role in suggesting further input and practice which will be useful to them and which can then be delivered further down the school.

Year 12 students spent time reflecting on the use of effective listening skills both within and outside the school context.

Year 12 Listening skills

By Louise Kadri

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James is a trainer at Performance Coach Training, London, and visits Hong Kong regularly to train the ESF staff coaches and also work with the student coaches. Last year he published Kid Pro Quo™ – Essential Parent Coaching Skills for Growing Confident, Cheerful Children, and took time out of his promotional tour to visit a number of ESF schools to talk about using coaching skills and techniques when dealing with our children and teenagers.

For his visit to KGV, James focused on talking and listening to teenagers, basing much of what he said

Last year James Wright, from Performance Coach Training, London, came to speak to parents about coaching skills for parenting.

Coaching for parents and parents

By Lousie Kadri

information-evening

on personal experience with his own sons, and eliciting smiles and groans of recognition from the audience as he outlined all too familiar ‘teenage’ situations and issues. The presentation suggested techniques and ideas to help conversations remain open and positive and was very well received by the audience, who took the opportunity to share experiences and ask questions at the end.

We very much hope that James will return this year to remind us that these conversations can be pleasant and rewarding! Keep an eye on the parent bulletin!

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In the past, in line with other ESF schools, Performance Management has been carried out in the on the basis of three meetings per year, setting and checking targets linked directly to the school development plan. This year, with 24 teachers trained as performance coaches, it was decided to offer staff an optional alternative whereby their Performance Management would be structured as a series of coaching meetings, with goals related to their own development. New staff were automatically opted for the coaching strand, to be coached by members of SLT, all of whom are trained coaches.

Initial and second meetings took place before Christmas, and the process is being monitored on a termly basis.

The first stage of monitoring was to ask for feedback from new staff, being coached by SLT. Responses were varied; many positives were suggested, staff feeling it was ‘refreshing’ and ‘more effective’ to set goals that have been decided on by yourself. Staff recognised how goals which mattered to them on a personal level, and were linked to their own teaching aspirations were more likely to be achieved, with less procrastination! They also commented on

the positives of being coached by someone who was not in the same department, and therefore not directly senior to them. The idea of more but shorter meetings, which were more personal was also cited as a positive of the coaching route.

Some issues were raised as concerns to be ironed out. One related to the choice of coach, and the possibility to choose for themselves. As new staff, this was not appropriate or possible, but now they have settled, an option to change might be welcomed. Some staff also felt that the coaching route was too time-demanding for the task, and that they did not need to explore their goals in the amount of detail coaching demands, and would therefore opt for the old route next year.

The next stage of monitoring will be to ask the trained coaches for their feedback, and the other staff who opted for the coaching Performance Management. Informal conversations suggest that the route has been met with general positivity, but that there are certainly issues which need to be addressed in order to make the route as productive as possible.

New staff reflections

New staff reflect on their first impressions of coaching including how useful it has been for them to how we could further improve the systems for next year.

By Patsy Harder

on the Performance Coaching Strand

Another cohort of KGV teacher coaches completed their coach training this year, following the Performance Coach Training course introduced in 2012. The trainees included SLT and subject leaders, as well as support staff, which means that at KGV trained coaches are represented from students to Principal.

Feedback from the trainees was very positive, with much reference to the challenging, exhausting, but highly rewarding nature of the course, as well as the power and value of the types of conversations the techniques encourage and applications for the classroom and meeting room.

The course is a highly practical three day experience where trainees learn by doing, and it was a revelation to see the coaches’ development and improvement which took place over such a short period of time. On completion of the course the coaches practiced for a few weeks and then took an assessment, which they all passed, qualifying them to work as coaches within and outside school.

One of our new coaches, Ian Goff used coaching strategies with fellow Business and Economics teacher Sean Wray to help students reflect and take responsibility for their performance in the subject.

Working with year 13, the teachers gave feedback on how the students had performed in all their previous assessments and then grouped them by strengths and weaknesses. Students were then asked to reflect in their group on what UPG they wanted to be given, and then, bearing in mind the feedback they had received on their performance, where they actually were, using prompt questions based on the GROW model.

After reflecting in the small group, the students then added notes to a googledoc modelled on GROW so that when they later had the conversation with their teacher about their desired UPG they were able to suggest options and evidence of how they were going to get from where they were at ‘now’ to their desired level. An agreement was made with the teacher as to when and how the student was going to raise their grade, and the approach resulted in a change in UPG for two students. After year 13 exams follow up conversations will take place to see where students are at and the progress they are making.

Newly trained coaches

KGV is continuing to train new staff coaches, and continues to have high levels of staff interest in the course. As the coaching culture develops in the school, staff coaches are actively exploring ways to use their new skills.

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By Louise Kadri

Ian and Sean plan to use this approach with year 12, giving those students a longer timespan to reflect and keep tabs on progress through discussion based on GROW.

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Goal Write down the level you expect ultimately (might not be your UPG).

How will it make you feel to achieve this?

Reality Where do you realistically sit now?

What’s stopping you doing what you need to do to achieve your goal.

Options What could you do (options) if the above constraints were removed?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?

What do you need to stop doing in order to achieve this goal?

Way forward When will you start working on the options you have taken from above.

Think about the following points, after the feedback from Mr Wray + discuss in your group (5mins). We will visit this with you individually before Christmas.

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Traditional Performance Management has been maintained with staff members opting to have their line manager or a TLR post holder within their department completing their performance management meeting. SMART (specific manageable achievable realistic time specific) targets linked to the department development plan and the staff member’s own professional development needs are generated during a specified Performance Management meeting. As an alternative staff were given the option to follow a Performance Coaching Performance Management pathway. In this pathway staff members complete their Performance Management session with a trained Performance Coach who could be a member of any department and not necessarily a post holder. The coach guides the coachee toward setting EXACT (Exciting Accessible Challenging Time Framed) goals using the GROW model, a framework for establishing goals and working towards them. The Coach uses the GROW model to guide the coachee towards creating a plan to achieve their goals. The coaching pathway is suited to staff members who are searching for a more holistic self-directed approach.

Traditional and Coaching

In the academic year 2014-15, KGV set a goal to improve the range of Performance Management offered and make the current experience more personalised. In order to achieve this, KGV has run two pathways side by side for Performance Management.

By Cassie Hall

Performance Management

Pathways at KGV

Traditional Performance Management at KGV Coaching Strand Performance Management

• Performance Management to be completed by line manager or TLR post holder

• Performance Management forms from ESF must be completed

• SMART goals for the year framed with performance manager. ESF Teaching and Leadership Capabilities Frameworks to be referenced

• A minimum of three meetings with performance manager throughout the year with a line manager or TLR

• Performance management sessions completed by trained Coaches

• EXACT goals set during the first or second coaching session

• DISC profile available for all choosing the coaching pathway

• On-going coaching sessions to review and develop goals throughout the year

• All coaches are trained in Performance Coaching

• All new staff will try the coaching pathway

• This pathway is open to all other members of staff on a voluntary basis

• ESF Performance Management forms completed with key goals

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“Coaching is a process for helping others move forward, based on forming goals and having intentional action” (Kristopher Needham). As an organisation, ESF first embarked on a strategic approach to embed coaching into schools and the foundation in 2011. The approach began with the training of 30 coaches across a number of schools and ESF centre which involved a 3-day intensive experience followed by 4 hours of coaching practice and a live coaching assessment. By January 2015, over 160 coaches had been trained across the foundation. This included teachers, support staff, students and parents from 19 of the 21 ESF schools and kindergartens. We also now have 5 Master Coach trainers who carry out the majority of coach training across the organisation and lead coaching in their respective sites. As a result we now have pockets of coaching innovation and practice across the foundation, which is changing the way we operate and communicate with each other. Schools such as KGV and RCHK, as well as members of the Education team at ESF centre, have now integrated coaching with other people-management processes such as performance management. With the significant investment in coaching combined with the innovative practices emerging in schools, it would make sense then to plan for the further embedding of this coaching culture across ESF so that it becomes part of who we are. What then are the next steps for further embedding a coaching culture across the organisation? The first logical step would seem to be to link coaching to performance management or performance development, which is probbaly a more appropriate term for our approach to performance. A system-wide review of performance management is currently taking place and coaching is certainly at the forefront of discussions. A number of schools have now also linked coaching to job descriptions and in some cases, job titles. In recent years, schools have appointed teachers to positions such as literacy and numeracy coach and e-learning coach and an advisory position of Learning and Teaching Coach has just been advertised across the primary sector. Further embedding of coaches in schools along with ensuring coaching forms part of all job descriptions for TLR holders, would seem achievable in the next few years. So what next for coaching in ESF? In 2015 we will train another 40-50 coaches and look to upskill the existing coaches we have in the Foundation through tailored professional learning. The review of performance management in ESF involves an exploration of how coaching can best be used as part of the PM process and we should see changes in this area in 2015/16. Coaching, it would seem, is here to stay in ESF and that can only be a positive thing for our students, our staff and our organisation.

Focus on Renaissance College

KGV is not the only school to develop a coaching culture and experiment with a new performance management system. Like KGV, the primary phase at Renaissance College, headed by Jamie Schmitz, has a Performance Coaching pathway as part of its performance management system. The Renaissance College primary section has five performance management options, one of which is a Performance Coaching pathway. Members of staff are offered the opportunity to be coached by a trained Performance Coach who facilitates EXACT goal setting for performance management using the GROW model. The secondary section also offers coaching as a developmental option for teachers. Like KGV, all new staff follow a developmental coaching pathway, and at Renaissance College all the new staff coaching is carried out by the Head Teacher. Other performance management pathways at Renaissance College include Design Thinking and Higher Level Research. - Cassie Hall

Coaching at ESF schools

David Fitzgerald, School Development Adviser at ESFC, has a commitment to developing coaching across the schools and his passion is shared by colleagues in schools other than KGV, such as Renaissance College where Jamie Schmitz is Head of Primary.

By David Fitzgerald

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