Hands On Heads Literacy Coaching
Dear Principals,
Happy Week 8! Well done to you and your leadership team for the preparation and completion of NAPLAN.
Recently, I’ve been coaching a Middle Leader who has been asked to lead literacy improvement across her school, but like so many leaders in middle leadership, she ‘fell’ into this position via default.
When she first came to me, she was deeply committed to the work - but she wasn’t confident in how to lead it, especially in literacy.
She wasn’t sure how to drive change in a way that would be sustainable. She worried about how to get teachers on board with change.
And like many middle leaders, she felt the pressure to have ‘all’ the answers.
So her approach was to prepare presentations, share resources, and explain what teachers should do, which is something I see often- leaders delivering literacy improvement rather than leading it.
I began coaching her, and there was a significant shift in her leadership. Instead of presenting more information, we focused on how she could facilitate conversations using a coaching approach, guide literacy planning, and coach teachers to improve practices.
That included:
- learning how to lead collaborative literacy planning sessions
- identifying the right questions that prompt teacher thinking
- developing trust amongst team members
- using student data to guide conversations
- building shared understanding of what the purpose, pedagogy and practice for strong literacy instruction
As her role shifted from telling to facilitating and coaching, a shift took place:
- Teachers became more engaged during meetings and planning sessions, with more voice and choice
- Planning conversations became richer and more rigorous
- The responsibility for improvement and accountability became shared
Her confidence grew because she had learnt the effective structures for leading her team. Middle leaders are often asked to lead significant literacy initiatives, now more than ever, yet many have had limited opportunities to develop their leadership practices, especially through a coaching approach for sustainable impact.
If your Heads of English, Learning Specialists, or Literacy Leaders are leading literacy improvement but need support to build confidence, influence teachers, and drive sustainable change, next term I have limited availability to coach middle leaders in a 1:1 capacity.
This coaching focuses on strengthening leaders’ capability to facilitate planning, guide teams and embed consistent, high-impact literacy practices across your school, just like the Middle Leader I’ve described. I would welcome the opportunity to support your team. If this is a priority for your school for Term 2, let’s start with a conversation at amanda@handsonheads.au.
To your literacy success,
