Professional Coaching Partnership

Monkton runs a dynamic and growing coaching programme available to all staff. Based on the Graydin Coaching model, a series of courses are now delivered in-house by trained facilitators, and teaching staff are encouraged to coach one another as well as to use coaching techniques with pupils to enable them to develop their ability to solve their own problems and work through challenges.

This initiative is about extending this opportunity to the wider community, and inviting initially the leadership teams of our neighbouring schools, but ultimately possibly a wider range of schools with whom we have links, to take part in the courses together with Monkton staff. 

Aims

To share the skills and approaches of coaching with a network of local partners, strengthening our local relationships and working together to develop solutions to common problems. Building a community of schools with coaching at their heart.

Immediate beneficiaries include the individuals who will take part in the courses and then become part of the coaching trios that develop, but also the pupils in each school who will benefit from their leadership teams and teachers using these skills to help them problem solve and learn.

Background

This partnership arose because of a vision for how powerful the coaching approach would be for bringing schools together and equipping them to bring out the best in their pupils. This is not just about skills, but about communities of coaches working together across schools to drive a culture of reflection and constantly improving practice.

Resources

Critical to the success of this was the support of Graydin in training the Monkton staff and empowering them to deliver the courses to internal Monkton staff but also in opening it up more widely.

It does not involve additional school facilities or costs as the courses would run in-house anyway, and are merely being extended to small numbers of partner schools. The agreement is such that no fee can be charged to participants from other schools.

Critical to its success will be the interest of senior leadership teams in engaging with the courses and promoting them amongst their staff. Additionally, the willingness of staff to develop coaching trios and build a regular coaching point into their working year will be critical to how effectively this vision develops.

Impact

Quantitative impact: numbers of new cross-school coaching trios that are meeting and how frequently they are doing so. 

Qualitatitve: testimonies of impact and stories of how coaching has improved situations 

Assessment should be annual. The aim is to invite one individual from the leadership teams of each of the three schools for the next coaching course available at Monkton this autumn. Following this, the impact and viability of an ongoing partnership will be assessed.

Frequency

Initially, this is a trial of one coaching course (two day session) but the hope is that it will lead to an ongoing mutual coaching relationship, and the possibility of further joint courses.