Coaching at Heathmont College

When coaching is mentioned most people might think of someone with a whistle telling you to ‘drop and give me 20’.  That’s not the type of coaching I am talking about. In the workplace, and in our case in education, coaching is a little different. Growth Coaching International define coaching as ‘a conversational activity that aims to support people to learn and develop, thereby enhancing their ability to achieve more of their untapped potential. ‘

There is much research about the benefits of coaching. Coaching can:

• increase self-efficacy
• allow teachers/students to take responsibility for their learning
• support wellbeing
• facilitate collaboration
• improve focus and motivation

We are just starting out on our coaching journey at Heathmont College. We have 6 Teaching and Learning coaches who are developing their coaching skills. Currently, they are working with our English and Maths teachers in Years 7-10. The aim is to use coaching as a strategy to improve learning outcomes by improving teacher practice.  The coaching team is also coaching teachers of VCE through conversations that facilitate reflection on data and their practice.  We are building the capacity of our Leadership Team to use a coaching approach for professional learning, mentoring and collaboration. 

Students in our EEP program have been assigned a coach and meet regularly to have coaching conversations where they can reflect, set goals and articulate next steps for growth. Our Year 12 students choose a teacher mentor who they meet with regularly to have ‘coaching conversations.’

We will be continually growing and improving our coaching program and one day, we aspire to a time when coaching will be just the way we do things, how we cultivate improvement for all members of our Heathmont College community.