Schools

Jill has developed and led on a number of high profile coaching and mentoring programmes for school pupils both in her former role at the University of Hertfordshire and as an independent consultant demonstrating impact such as:

• increased academic attainment
• improved school attendance
• decrease in unwanted behaviour
• improved motivation
• raised aspirations

Both teaching and support staff have also benefited from the range of courses and consultancy services in setting up or improving their own mentoring practice or coaching provision. The guidance and training for Learning Mentors is also invaluable for both those who are experienced or who are new to the role. Jill can help deliver a tailored programme for individual schools wishing to develop the coaching or mentoring provision within their own school.

A range of options are available:

6th form mentor training
Volunteer mentors usually from Year 12 or 13 are trained to support younger pupils with academic and/or behavioural difficulties. A comprehensive training programme is delivered that engages the young people to develop their listening and communication skills. The service can be extended to include an introductory talk to promote the opportunity to 6th form pupils and/or to facilitate the mentor/mentee matching to kick start the programme towards success. This training has been particularly effective and rewarding for all the pupils involved. A full day of training is included plus all the resources needed for a sustainable programme

Learning Mentor training
Suitable for those who are new to the role or looking to develop their mentoring skills adding to their mentoring toolkit. A variety of approaches will be explored and the provided resources will meet the specific needs of your school and pupils. The materials and resources provided will enable a sustainable programme to be established. The costs can be shared with neighbouring schools.

Staff training
Develop your teams leadership and communication skills so that they can support each other and have more constructive conversations with pupils and parent. Developing their coaching and mentoring skills will promote pupil and staff learning and improve teaching methods too. 

Setting Up a Mentoring or Coaching Programme - half day workshop
The workshop will take participants through the whole process from designing your scheme to developing the resources. A range of example resources and materials will be provided to ensure that your scheme not only adheres to best practice but meets its objectives. Evaluation methods will be included to ensure that the impact is demonstrable for the purposes of accreditation (if required) or for regulatory governing organisations such as Ofsted. Alternatively you can book a consultancy day rate for one to one help in setting up your programme whereby you can be supported with the implementation of the programme and resource development.

One to one coaching for individual members of staff can be invaluable for overcoming obstacles or improving work performance. It can also help at times of transition or when starting a new role.

Inset Day - Coaching & Mentoring Introductory Talks
Your staff may benefit from a brief introduction to best practice mentoring or coaching and hear how it can improve pupil performance, behaviour and attainment. A one hour engaging and informative talk.

One to one mentoring with pupils

Rather than employ a Learning Mentor full time it might be more cost effective to commission one to one mentoring for the pupils who may benefit most ensuring that resources are targeted appropriately. This can be offered to pupils with a variety of objectives to ensure they are better engaged with education and achieve their full potential. The service is available for both primary and secondary school age pupils although 30 minute sessions are recommended for under 12s. Mentoring is particularly useful in the support of pupil premium students and the impact should be demonstrable within an 8 week period.