Why work with an education coach or mentor?
An experienced education coach or mentor, brings a unique outside perspective to your team, building trust and rapport to support professional growth. Focused coaching is a powerful way to boost the confidence of early career educators, while mentoring also encourages more experienced educators to engage in ongoing reflective practice to add to their professional toolkit. Regardless of career stage, thoughtful sessions with an education coach or mentor, stand to boost professional skills and confidence.
At Phoenix Support for Educators, our team of experienced ECEC (Early Childhood Education & Care) coaches tailor their support according to each client's needs, working one-on-one to identify priorities for professional growth and opportunities to develop skills in a supported and engaging way. Educators working with our coaches report tangible positive effects on wellbeing, for themselves and as well as the children and families in their learning communities.
Here's 5 ways educators are supported when working with a coach.
1. One-on-one support
Our coaches and mentors offer customised support to individual educators, as well as observing the service holistically to identify key areas where support can be focused to achieve the best results. Our team is committed to encouraging the learning journey while offering guidance, understanding, positive intent, respect and compassion to the individual educator.
2. An individual game plan
No two relationships are the same. That's why our coaches work hard, taking the time to get to know you personally to create a learning environment where you are respected, safe and motivated to learn.
Together, we will collaborate to create a goal setting and action plan, and then identify and develop professional skills to meet those goals and support positive outcomes.
This is an iterative process characterised by open communication, adaptation and reflection along the way.
3. Personal development
Educators working with our coaches report the value of having someone in their corner, supporting, encouraging, and being a champion of change, leading to a huge boost in their confidence, work performance, and overall wellbeing.
Our coaches and mentors, make it a point to listen deeply, support each educator according to their needs, and encourage growth within. As a result, educators feel genuinely recognised for the hard work they do; their feelings and motivations are validated, and they typically notice positive flow-on effects throughout all aspects of life.
4. Professional development
Working together with a coach or mentor, gives educators opportunities to look at what is inside their professional toolkit, identify areas for learning and growth, and the ongoing support needed to generate practical skills in those areas.
Throughout this process we work with each individual to explore their unique needs, motivations, desires, skills and thought processes to create a well-managed plan.
5. Increase career satisfaction and workplace culture
Mentoring and coaching has been shown to enhance individuals' feelings of competence and career efficacy, dramatically increasing their enjoyment and overall workplace satisfaction. The flow-on effect to this can be linked to positive changes in workplace culture, and a higher level of wellbeing across the team.
That all sounds great but what does it look like?
Well, as mentioned previously, our coaches work individually with each service to tailor support according to their needs; actively listening and collaborating to create a customised coaching package designed to optimise the outcomes for each visit. This custom approach can make it hard to know exactly what a ‘typical’ visit will look like, but let’s look at a recent visit to give you an idea of how we put the above points into action.
Here's a sneak peek into a day in the life of one of our education coaches:
8.00 AM: Our education coach Jay arrives at the service and meets with the leadership team, educators, and children. Jay tours the service and is given a run-down of the day’s specific circumstances.
8.30 AM: Jay meets with the leadership team for an open and honest discussion about the current concerns and challenges facing the team. In this instance, Jay identifies that some of the educators are feeling extremely burnt out, leading to low job satisfaction, higher than average sick days, and low motivation. Other educators are being challenged by children’s behaviour and need some strategies to help them positively guide behaviour.
9.15 AM: After some on-the-spot observations and analysis, Jay works alongside the educators on the floor, building relationships with the team to hear first-hand their struggles. Jay provides practical strategies for connecting with a highly active child and models effective communication with the "Say what you see and ask a question" method.
10.15 AM: Jay moves to a different room and meets with educators who confirm they are experiencing many signs of burnout. Jay actively listens to the concerns of the educators and provides support by acknowledging their work with the children and identifying the need for a Cup Filling plan.
11.00 AM: Jay addresses educators' concerns about a child impacted by trauma. Together, Jay and the educators role play the PACE model for supporting children through escalation, (part of the online training offered by Phoenix Support for Educators).
12.00 PM: Jay meets back with the leadership team for a debrief of the day. Jay discusses the Cup Filling plan he has generated with educators and confirms the team’s preferred next steps for support.
1.00 PM: Jay leaves the service and collates findings, feedback, and recommendations for the team. His recommendations for further support include online training for complex trauma and attachment, provided by Trent Savill through Phoenix Support for Educators, as well as an educator wellbeing workshop, where educators and the leadership team can work on Cup Filling Plans.
At Phoenix Support for Educators, our team of education facilitators, coaches and mentors work with children's services right across the country, including remote Australia.
If you are interested in finding out more about what a coach and mentor can do for your career, or for your service, contact us for a free needs assessment and goal setting consultation on 1300 361 243.