Many accounts of coaching and mentoring highlight the impact these make on leadership practice. Coaching often contributes to significant changes in leadership style and approach, encouraging deeper reflection, and prompting someone to take a more critical stance and make changes. Coaching can actively encourage educators to take ownership of their own problems and sharpen leadership focus on what matters in a situation. Importantly, coaching also demonstrates confidence in the potential of individuals to learn and develop, whether they are peers, parents or pupils.
This section contains accounts of coaching from a number of leadership perspectives.
Judy Brotherton, Depute Headteacher, describes how coaching helps develop clarity and empowers individuals to take ownership and act on their issues.
Jane Holmes talks about her learning experience as a new leader and being given the opportunity to develop her coaching skills.
Coaching has provided this school leader with an opportunity to reflect critically on her practice in a coaching partnership with one of her colleagues.
This headteacher employs coaching and mentoring as part of her leadership practice. Coaching is also used with pupils as an empowering thinking skill in the classroom.
An experienced headteacher working across four rural schools describes the range of situations in which she has used coaching and talks about her personal learning as a coach.
Coaching has made a significant impact on Mike Sutton's development as a school leader, the culture of his school and levels of student achievement, and has enhanced the abilities of professional peers to work together on improving classroom practice.
Jan Robertson has carried out research and practised as a coach with educational leaders internationally. She offers some key leadership coaching principles and practices developed from her research and provides some commentary on Mike Sutton's reflections on coaching.
Jim Keegans provides details of this new pilot for headship and Barbara Lindsay shares her thoughts around her role as coach.
In association with Education Scotland