Coaching and Mentoring Staff in Schools: A Practical Guide - Softcover

Coaching and mentoring are increasingly recognised as being important in order to enhance professional development, embed changed practice and encourage the transmission of teacher learning to pupil learning within classrooms. It also strengthens the culture and ethos of the school by promoting an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. The book draws extensively on literature and research findings, to provide an extremely comprehensive and practical resource that will be of benefit for those interested in introducing coaching and mentoring or those who want to reflect on progress already made and plan for further development. The content includes: definitions of coaching and mentoring: similarities and differences; the benefits of coaching and mentoring and, barriers to implementation and how to overcome them; different coaching models with tips on best practice and skills needed for delivery and to evaluate their impact. There are case studies and activities such as audits and questionnaires on topics including 'finding the time', the benefits of coaching and mentoring and overcoming the threat of supervision, which help to reinforce theory and emphasise the practical application in all school settings. The book also highlights that introducing and developing coaching and mentoring can be difficult. However, the message is clear that the benefits far outweigh the difficulties. The book is supported by a CD-ROM which includes a staff development PowerPoint and all the copiable practical resources.

Dr Michael Hymans has 26 years experience as a Psychologist, latterly as Principal Educational Psychologist in a local authority Children's Services Department. He has also taught in secondary schools and pupil referral units. He has been a part-time lecturer in Child Development with the Open University. Michael has facilitated a fathers group of children with special educational needs for 13 years. He chairs a voluntary sector nursery admissions panel and is a governor, with specialist responsibility for 'safeguarding', and an additionally resourced (autistic) provision at a secondary school. Michael continues to practice as an Educational and Child Psychologist and works in a private capacity in three different local authority schools, that is mainstream primary and secondary schools and a special school for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Michael has presented seminars at the annual conferences of the AEP and DECP for the past 20 years and regularly delivers training for Educational Psychologists, Trainee Educational Psychologists as well as staff in schools on a range of topics that covers child development, special educational needs and school-based interventions.