How can coaching mean more to a school than just having the

hard conversation?

Jeremy BeardSenior Adviser

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development0419 349 934

beard.jeremy.a@edumail.vic.gov.auVictorian President, Australian Council for Education Leadership

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Workshop structure

• What is whole school culture• Key responsibilities of stakeholders• Different interactions in a school• Accountability• Feedback• Protocols• Coaching

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Whole-school culture

• Who or what is the ‘whole-school’? Who are the key stakeholders

• What is culture?• What does whole-school culture look like?

3 mins to discuss

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Who are the key stakeholders in a school

• Students• Staff• Parents• Principal / Head• Leadership teams• School council / School board• School council sub-committees• Affiliated organisations

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Culture:The network of beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and histories that are prevalent among communities of people.http://www.mindmatters.edu.au/verve/_resources/Community_Matters_2012_8_19_section1.pdf

Whole school culture:That is who we are.That is what we doThat is how we do itIt can grow an organisation or it can hinder the growth of an organisation.

PRE-CONDITIONS FORA WHOLE-SCHOOL CULTURE OF

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

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Catholic Education Office2.2 A rigorous and respectful learning cultureDescriptionA culture of learning refers to the environment within a school, among students and staff. The Catholic school’s central focus is on the development of the human person. Its core work is teaching and learning. The school culture is marked by respectful relationships among teachers and students, respect for learning, and commitment to social justice. In a school characterised by a culture of learning, students accept responsibility for investing high-level energy in their work, and teachers are themselves learners who demonstrate a passion for student learning. In classrooms and across the whole school, support for high levels of student effort and achievement is apparent.Additionally, a culture of learning is characterised by an environment of trust and safety. Therefore, an important responsibility of school leaders is to ensure that students and staff alike are certain that their ideas will be courteously received, and that ‘errors’ are recognised as opportunities for learning.http://web.cecv.catholic.edu.au/publications/leadership/vision.pdf

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A WHOLE-SCHOOL CULTURE OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS

• CLEARLY ARTICULATED VISION• CLARITY OF ROLES• A WHOLE-SCHOOL CULTURE OF

ACCOUNTABILITY• PROTOCOLS• A WHOLE-SCHOOL CULTURE OF FEEDBACK

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CLEARLY ARTICULATED VISION

• Developed by community• Clearly defined terms in layman language• Shared by middle management• Regularly articulated by leadership team• Role modelled by principal

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ROLE CLARITYWhat are the top role descriptors for each?

What are the big picture reasons for these people being involved in the school

The recorder is to note 3 roles for the principal, teachers and students – 5 mins

• Principal – eg maximise resources to facilitate teaching and learning

• Teachers• Students• Leadership team• Parents• School council

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Who is accountable to who? Add an arrow ― ↔ ← →

• Principal ― school council/board• Principal ― leadership team• Principal ― Staff• Leadership team ― Staff• Staff ― staff• Staff ― parents• Student ― student• Staff ― student• School council/board ― parents

Whole-school culture of accountability.

What would you see if ACCOUNTABILITY processes were

working very well, or

working very poorly

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Very Well Poorly

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Who should give feedback to who? Add an arrow ― ↔ ← →

• Principal ― school council/board• Principal ― leadership team• Principal ― Staff• Leadership team ― Staff• Staff ― staff• Staff ― parents• Student ― student• Staff ― student• School council/board ― parents

Whole-school culture of feedback.

What would you see if it was working very well,

orworking very poorly

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Very Well Poorly

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Protocols provide a frame work for coaching within a school.

PROTOCOLS

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Protocols can

• Provide a structure around which to provide feedback eg Tuning protocol

• Provide an accountability around which to provide feedback eg Staff code of conduct

• With protocols coaching conversations are about the issue and are depersonalised

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What are the common values, beliefs, we would like to see in ACCOUNTABILITY inter actions across the

school?

• Eg collaborates

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What are the common values, beliefs, we would like to see in FEEDBACK inter actions across the school?

• Eg trust

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There is no point having accountability without giving

feedback.It is hard to give valuable feedback without good feedback processes.

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What feedback processes suit which interactions, and can you build coaching

into these processes?

• Principal and teachers• Teachers/students• Principal/parents• Teacher/parents• Students/students• Students/teachers

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Who in my school would benefit by doing parts of this workshop

• Leadership team?• Staff?• School council?

Coaching is an integral part of a whole-school culture of feedback

Coaching is a necessary component for a whole-school

culture of high expectations