Articles

Coaching - the Game Changer at the Alice Smith School

Published by SchoolAdvisor | May 14, 2018

Coaching is not just a set of skills: it is an attitude and mindset that forges and strengthens relationships, decision making, strategic planning and performance. In the field of education, it can be the foundation of powerful learning and teaching, empowering students to be independent minded and resilient thinkers and fostering a goal-centred and collaborative approach to professional learning for teachers.

As the Alice Smith teaching community continually seeks out opportunities to grow and learn professionally, with the aim to lead in education both within and beyond the classroom, the school has been developing a coaching culture during the last 18 months. Over half of the teachers are now trained and accredited coaches. Working in partnership with Culture at Work in the UK, the Alice Smith School is the first accredited Culture at Work Coach Training Centre in South East Asia.

Coaching has provided the teachers and students alike with a language and mindset of growth and a belief in the ability of self and others to work through challenges, thereby building resilience. With such enthusiasm and expertise in teachers, what resulted at this point was a philosophical shift towards peer support, collaboration and professional growth, enhanced pro-social values and an ethic of care, all of which began to impact upon classroom practice and the quality of relationships across the school community. Student reflection, assessment, feedback and learning as a whole has been enhanced. As mentioned by some secondary teachers, “Coaching has changed how I teach and my students are now more critical and effective thinkers because of it. By using coaching in the classroom, the students are becoming more independent learners.”

Parents and students have also been introduced to coaching through workshops, which have proven popular and highly effective. Eighteen secondary students in Years 11-13 have already been trained as part of the Student Coaching Team.

Bradley Lewis of Year 11 who is part of the team said, “This opportunity has been a life-changer for me. It has changed the way I view social situations with my friends and the personal issues that I face. It has enabled me to develop a certain mindset that has helped me through different situations in life. It has impacted my life positively! Coaching has raised my emotional intelligence. I am more empathetic now and this has enabled me to help my peers which has always been my dream.”

Shania Chakravertty adds, “It has been greatly rewarding! I have been able to practise coaching with my friends and it has helped me to think out situations. Coaching has taught me to be more empathetic to situations, communicate better, more understanding and do self reflection to be a better person. For that I am really grateful to have coaching in my life!”

Internationally-acclaimed author, humanitarian, coach and coach trainer James Mackenzie Wright was in school last month to deliver the keynote address at the inaugural KLASS Community Coaching event. In attendance was Mr Paul Rennie OBE, the Deputy British High Commissioner to Malaysia, who delivered the opening remarks. The event was well attended by the parents and community who not only had the opportunity to learn more about coaching at Alice Smith and coaching in general but they also took part in a selection of coaching workshops and talks and even experienced a 1:1 coaching conversation with one of the trained coaches in school.

Dr Sarah Howling, the Secondary Principal, performance coach and coach trainer said, “Trust, respect and self-belief are three important principles of coaching. Our aim is not just to benefit students, teachers and parents but we will also extend this to our non-teaching staff, colleagues from other international schools and the wider community with the aim to connect, inspire and grow with the community.”

Click here to find out more about The Alice Smith School.