Why is Coaching a Great CPD Option?

Paul Douglas, one of Music Mark’s accredited and qualified Coaches, shares how his group coaching programme has empowered and delivered tangible results in Birmingham.
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Around 3 years ago, there was a realisation that our Music Service CPD wasn’t always scratching where it was itching for some of our more experienced staff. They had, in the words of a local Midlands phrase, been ‘Going Around the Wrekin’ a few times. The Wrekin is a well-known Shropshire stand-alone hill, and going around it makes a nice day out, but ultimately just gets you back to where you started.

In practice, this meant that important topics were coming up in training for the third or fourth time or more. I began to consider what my training and experience as an accredited, professional Coach could bring as an alternative, which would breathe new life and unlock some fresh insight for staff.

Like many services, our staff fall into 3 groups:

1. New Practitioners. These staff members are newly arrived and have limited experience. For these staff, there is a very developed and thorough rolling programme of induction and support. The learning curve is steep, and there is a lot to assimilate, but there is a programme designed to give every opportunity to grow into the role, through specific training, mentoring and support.
2. Developing Practitioners. These staff have been around for 3-5 years. They know the basics and are developing experience and skills through Peer Observation, Professional Support Visits, regular training and department meetings. They start to develop their own teaching style and schemes of work, and become confident and settled in the role.
3. Senior Practitioners. In this group are staff who have clocked up thousands of hours of Music Education delivery, and they have been to many CPD days and department meetings. Whilst there might be a mindset of Life-Long Learning present, most knew what they were good at, and where their weaknesses lay. I wondered how much of what was being offered would give them the energy and spark needed to go around the academic year again.

What could be offered to Senior Practitioners that is insightful, valuable and brings something fresh to their work?

How could we prevent the feeling of just ‘Going Around the Wrekin’ one more time?

The answer we came up with is INSIGHT – a Group Coaching Programme. The name is important, as there is a mantra referred to at the start of all 6 sessions:

The best insights are your own, not somebody else’s

INSIGHT is a dynamic programme spread across an academic year, designed to be uniquely helpful to each participant (as they gain their own personal insights along the way). On the programme, the cohort (which remains the same through the year) agree to:

• Be fully present and engage with the programme
• Be discreet and maintain strict confidentiality
• Be curious and not allow the offering of advice to each other*
• Be open and get away from thorny issues such as pedagogical theory, exam syllabus preference or behaviour management

*this is a key difference between Coaching and Mentoring, where you are considered the expert in you

The programme, especially designed for instrumental and vocal teachers (where some key common themes tend to emerge) brings together a cohort of 8-10 experienced staff from across all departments. A safe space is created to explore things away from line managers, school stress and the hum-drum of daily work life. The rapport and trust that is built goes way beyond the sessions, and connects staff in a deep and profound way.

Over the course of several months, many fresh and purposeful insights get uncovered and new skills and levels of self-awareness emerge. Amongst the topics we explore together are:

• How can I experience, embrace and extend psychological safety?
• What is the reality of the balance of my life right now, and where might I need to make some adjustments?
• What are my Core Personal Values, and how do I experience them being honoured or violated?
• How can I make better decisions and set well-formed goals that are lead to greater fulfilment, alignment and purpose?
• How can I cage the Gremlins that whisper my Limiting Beliefs into my mind?
• How can I build greater resilience into my life?
• How might I manage conflict and difficult situations better?
• What are some basic Coaching techniques and principles that I could introduce with my pupils?

My role as Coach in the sessions is to open up topics, facilitate discussion and, most critically, hold the space for the participants. There are a few bits of homework between sessions (these are optional, but everybody seems highly motivated to do it), and at the end of the programme, I offer a 1-hour 1:1 wrap-up coaching session to help individuals solidify their own learning from it all.
We are about to embark on a 3rd year on this programme, fully committed to helping staff unlock more of their potential. This is an investment into our staff that is warmly welcomed, appreciated with a level of transformation that surpasses expectations.

It has really helped me to understand myself and the pupils I work with better, and to see that the impact we have on them isn’t always the one we expect

An inspiring time to think about the changes I want to make and goals I want to set on how I want to develop as a person

The course was well structured and clearly delivered with a helpful variety of tasks and exercises to complete (individually and as a pair) as well as being coached altogether from the front with some very helpful visuals

The process of Group Coaching within a team like this adds several profound and deep layers to the experience. The mindset shifts and synergy gained add a lot of value to the wider team as the individuals grow deeper and stronger in purpose, which in turn inspires and encourages both their pupils and their colleagues.

Paul Douglas is a Deputy Head of Birmingham Music Service at Services for Education, as well as being a qualified and accredited Senior & Executive Coach. Music Mark members can take the opportunity to work with Paul, through our 1:1 Members’ Coaching Programme.

For further information about the Insight programme contact coaching@dhrecords.com