Finding the time to share and plan lessons is always tricky. Staff who are trained in coaching skills and who share an understanding of their role as professional learners are well equipped to make effective use of the little time available. Recently CUREE has been involved in training support staff in coaching skills and introducing them to a range of resources which enable them to work collaboratively with other staff (both teaching and support) and ensure that they can recognise when and how to access specialist expertise to further their own learning. Three schools in Hartlepool built upon development that had first supported their leadership team to create a focused development session for support staff. They were given the opportunity to develop their skills in co-coaching and explore how their work might benefit from using a coaching approach to everyday activities.
As well as working with support staff in co-coaching, we are also exploring some interesting opportunities to develop support staff in a mentoring capacity. An unusual role for a member of the support staff one might think, but some innovative schools are asking support staff to mentor new teachers in some of the pastoral and cultural aspects of integrating into a new school community. Equipping support staff with the skills to do this effectively is key to bringing real value from this investment in time.
CUREE provides a range of coaching and mentoring materials and training for a wide range of situations in schools and colleges - please contact gillian.spence@curee.co.uk if you are interested in exploring any of these ideas in more detail.