I had no idea of what coaching entailed until attending The Coaching Academy's initial two day course. The two days changed my career path and the mini coaching sessions made me realise that I had to move on and so I went into work the day after and handed in my notice.
I have been teaching business and economics for just over fourteen years and have been an assessor for almost the same amount of time. During the two days I kept on reflecting on my role as a teacher and saw how I had a wealth of coaching experience as my teaching style was predominantly a coaching style allowing my students to set their own goals, find their own solutions and build their confidence, self-belief and motivation to achieve beyond what may have been expected of them.
I signed up for The Coaching Academy's Life Coaching Diploma immediately as I could see the real value in coaching.
In my capacity as a teacher I have always been complimented for working well with disaffected students and when I was given the opportunity to complete a teacher research project I decided to focus on using the GROW model to improve pupil premium students' performance in business and economics.
It was amazing at how positively receptive the students coached on the project responded to this form of intervention and the change in their demeanour when they finally discovered the solution to move themselves forward. One Year 11 Business student wrote:
“…Coaching made me feel more confident about both myself and my upcoming exams. Ms Hastings helped me think about the stages I need to prepare for and how to prepare for them. She made me realise that I had to think ahead and question myself more i.e. when I get my results how would I want to respond to the grades I see on my paper. Also she made me question myself about what I would do between now and my exams to express happiness on my face in August rather than tears. Before the sessions, I felt conscious and scared about how to overcome my exams. But after the sessions, I felt more positive and hopeful. Ms Hastings motivated me and made me believe in myself in order to become successful and overcome my exams successfully. I believe that Ms Hastings’ support was very beneficial to me as I picked up on many things that were outstanding which I could develop on. With the support Ms Hastings provided to me, it makes me feel that I can overcome my exams without having any stress or fear. Furthermore, I am very grateful for Ms Hastings for doing the session with me as it encouraged me and has prepared me for my future.”
As my Yr11 student has highlighted she has become more confident not only in her forthcoming exams but for her future also. The research project has proven to me that there is without a doubt a place for correct effective coaching within educational institutions.
Furthermore, coaching has and continues to be used to improve performance and productivity in the business world. Therefore, why would coaching not help to improve performance of educational institutions as they are also businesses?
I have a real passion for empowering young people so they are able to make right choices, which is why I went into teaching and with my knowledge and experience, I can see how coaching compliments education and the positive impact the two combined has on the outcomes of young people. Since enrolling on the Life Coaching Diploma I have realised that coaching in education is for me and I have begun to contact schools to offer my coaching services.
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
