Virtual Coaching - Our Why

During Coronavirus, we have launched a series of free measures to support schools during this uncertain time. This includes pro-bono executive coaching for school and social leaders, a partnership with SSAT to run a project based learning scheme via Google Classroom where pupils can think about their future aspirations, a donations campaign supporting local food poverty charities and transferring our 1-1 coaching programmes online which will be free for any school for 7 sessions who signs up in April. Our Head of London, Patricia Mbangui explains the reasoning behind that virtual coaching decision.

For millions across the country, this has been a time of high anxiety, confusion, pause and uncertainty. For pupils that has been amplified tenfold. The anxiety that they have faced over the past few weeks is one that as school leaders, teachers, and staff in that school community has been unlike any other. For the first time, all of us find ourselves unable to give definite answers, unable to assure them of their academic future, academic success as we ourselves do not know the answer. And it is in this time of uncertainty that we have worked hard to ensure that we can still be a support to all our  school communities through virtual coaching.

Coaching has always been for us the best way to engage pupils as it encourages them to take action, be independent and confident learners. To gain resilience in the face of academic challenges. This is why we have now moved this online. We believe that it would be a disservice to those pupils not to encourage them to be independent, not to help them gain confidence in their academic abilities and also keep up those important skills that without the daily intervention of school may be lost.

This generation of pupils will face the biggest challenge going forward and we hope we can be a support through virtual coaching in preparing them for those challenges. We believe, now more than ever, our approach of helping pupils to develop a growth mindset, improve their metacognition and become that bit more self-aware as to what they want to achieve is vital.

Virtual 1-1 coaching with a university student will be focussed on:

• Independence: helping pupils build and restore academic confidence and cement independent learning skills

• Resilience: helping year groups bridge the learning gap to their next level of learning whether that is transitioning year groups or Year 10 to Year 11.

• Intrinsic Motivation: encouraging students to consider what their future options are in terms of university or apprenticeships and what really drives them

• Subject-specific support: tutoring around key topics and areas pupils need support in

The sessions will take place over Zoom over seven weeks for an hour each week where pupils will be coached 1-1 in a subject of their choice. The day will be selected by them but the time will be 3pm-4pm (unless a school specifies otherwise) from Monday to Friday. We ideally want to focus on Years 9-13. For year 11 and year 13, we recommend they choose a subject that will help as a bridging gap toward their next level of study. 

They will be coached by one of our amazing community of university coaches who will be trained and DBS checked by us and be paired according to subjects. These sessions will be recorded by safeguarding purposes.

During April, for any school that signs up this will be free for 7 sessions. Our aim is to do our best to support schools up and down the country as much as possible during this time of uncertainty.

If you have any questions, please check out the FAQ attached as well as the mock coaching video which should give a sense of what the session will feel like.

If you still have any questions beyond this or of course you want to get signed up, feel free to get in touch at patricia@coachbright.org.

Why Being a Coach is Not Just About Coaching

Coaching with CoachBright supports students’ work ethic, improves their attitude towards their studies, and boosts their confidence in their learning. The students are able to nurture their academic abilities and receive a helping hand to reach those higher grades.

However, being a coach goes beyond school. It involves being a role model to a younger student to enable them to see that they can become reflective, independent and strong spirited learners and pave their own path for the lives they want to steer.

Consequently, being a role model for the younger generation is an extremely important role to play in our society. This is even more significant for students from disadvantaged backgrounds such as low-income families and young people who are on free school meals [1]. The attainment gap in education identifies the concern that in secondary education young people from low-income backgrounds do not perform as well as students from other backgrounds in the UK [2], thus reflecting the social mobility issue. Therefore, it is vital for these young people to have a role model who is able to guide them and boost their results and self-belief. This kind of support provides them with new opportunities to take a further step towards closing the attainment gap.

The qualities of being a role model as well as a coach are inherently intermingled in the very nature of the programme. One-to-one coaching allows university students to share their personal experiences, revision techniques and advice from when they were in school. This motivates their coachees and helps them realise that hard work really does pay off. Such guidance is tailored for the student as the relationship blossoms throughout the seven weeks of the programme.  With 89% of CoachBright pupils going on to study at university in 2018 and progressing by more than four times compared to their non-coached peers [3], it is clear that CoachBright has been life-changing for young people.

Coaching is therefore about merging the direct academic support of a tutor with the life skills and encouragement of a role model. These life skills cannot be taught in the classroom. They can only be learnt through experience, with CoachBright’s programmes generating a platform for these opportunities to grow. 

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[1]https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Annual_Reports/EEF_Attainment_Gap_Report_2018_-_print.pdf

[2] http://38r8om2xjhhl25mw24492dir.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/WP-Working-Paper-Bristol-Mentoring.pdf

[3]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/550ab440e4b0bb7b11b3fa60/t/5c40b1f5562fa7b3d41604a0/1547743738624/CoachBright+Annual+Report+2017-18.pdf

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Blog post by Reema Chauhan, Coach on our Erdington Programme, Birmingham

Why CoachBright?

I was an Academic Coach on the GCSE Bristnall Hall Programme in Birmingham last term and have progressed to be Head Coach on the Year 13 West Walsall programme this term, whilst also coaching in A level biology.

CoachBright has been an extremely valuable experience for my professional development as an aspiring teacher by giving me the opportunity to work with students of different age groups in two different schools. This has developed my critical skills in a teaching context, such as how to motivate students and help facilitate their learning and progression.

CoachBright has opened the doors to this personal development by providing excellent training sessions, and the programmes involved me delivering 1:1 coaching sessions with another pupil for a total of 7 weeks, allowing me to witness how students develop their skills and knowledge to achieve their end goal.

The Head Coach role has improved my leadership skills by allowing me to lead and motivate a successful team of 14 coaches on my programme, partly achieved through organised socials. The task of monitoring 14 coaching pairs has really widened my perspective when it comes to finding successful teaching techniques and provided me with a lot of experience in organisation management and problem solving.

I also feel extremely passionate about tackling social mobility issues through working with students from ‘underprivileged backgrounds’ like myself and helping students aspire to achieve their long-term goals such as university degrees and beyond, irrespective of any social mobility barriers. I strongly believe social mobility should not be a factor preventing an individual to succeed to their strongest potential. It was only because of the excellent outreach support I received as a school student myself, from University of Birmingham students with UCAS applications and my studies that I felt confident in my personal and academic abilities to achieve my future goals.

CoachBright has been my first major opportunity to reciprocate this support to people who are in the same position I was in over 2 years ago. This personal connection is what has driven my passion to be a part of CoachBright and has made the experience ever so rewarding. I have really enjoyed working with Coachbright so far and I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.

Blog Post by: Mark Perry, Head Coach on the Birmingham West Walsall Programme

Why Coaching Needs to Happen Earlier on in Your Career

Coaching can be a transformational experience to help individuals become more aware of who they are, where they want to go, and how to get there. However, it has traditionally been a gift shared only with senior executives in the latter part of their career.

Fortunately, organisations who understand the benefits of coaching are beginning to offer junior members of staff this opportunity as well, and it’s promising to see coaching cultures emerge in an increasing number of workplaces. As well as helping young professionals feel more fulfilled at work, coaching contributes towards the overall success of a business, as these individuals can play a bigger part in their team and not be held back by all too common self-limiting beliefs.

For an individual to be effective in a team they must be self-aware. Understanding and owning up to your strengths, being aware of your weaknesses and having a sense of your values help when it comes to bringing your best self to a team. Self-awareness is increasingly seen as critical for ‘Millennials’ success. Consistent, honest feedback at work is one way of achieving this. Another one is coaching, which gives clients the opportunity to reflect in a safe space and gain insights into their behaviour and what drives them forward. John Whitmore notes that “the first key element of coaching is awareness, which is the product of focused attention, concentration, and clarity”.

An understanding of personal values is one element of self-awareness gained in coaching. Once someone is aware of what is fundamentally important to them in life, their decisions will be guided by this and they will make choices early on in their career that make sense for them. It is also useful for a young professional to see whether their values are aligned with those of the organisation that they are part of. Being able to select roles in companies with shared values means that an individual is more likely to find themselves in an environment where they are a ‘good fit’. In fact, personal-organisational value conflict has been found to be linked to lower job satisfaction, so the sooner an individual knows what their values are, the less time they will spend in an unsatisfying job within a company that is not right for them.

Another outcome for those fortunate enough to experience coaching early on in their career, is a significant increase in confidence. Being able to make sense of current situations in a safe, non-judgemental space, and having the time to work through possible solutions to problems can be empowering for the young professional and result in increased confidence when they re-enter the workplace. A coach can also challenge their self-limiting beliefs, such as the perception that their manager does not trust them, or that colleagues think they are too inexperienced, for example.

Being more self-confident and feeling like they work in an organisation whose values align with their own contributes towards a higher motivation at work, but the coaching process can also significantly increase their day to day personal motivation. Setting short-term goals with their coach specifically related to their jobs, employees would focus on solutions to challenges and try out these solutions to make small steps towards the goal between coaching sessions. This process empowers the individual and makes them feel more motivated, leaving them with a ‘can do’ attitude in the workplace.

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Article by Mary McPherson, Head of Programmes at CoachBright, AoEC partner.

AoEC offers coaching, triple-accredited coach training, and consulting to individuals and organisations worldwide looking to embrace positive change through empowering people.  For more information please visit the Young Professionals Coaching Skills Certificate webpage.

What's being a Head Coach really like?

Head Coach Maria Haq writes about her experience leading the City Heights programme this term and why you should consider Head Coaching!

Having really enjoyed my time coaching two different pupils, the opportunity to be a Head Coach seemed a really nice way to come back into CoachBright after a semester abroad in Germany. Being a Head Coach has allowed me to put the leadership skills I developed abroad to the test and to work on other areas of personal development such as my confidence and communication skills.

I’ve really enjoyed contributing to the running of CoachBright on a broader scale, as I have been able to liaise with teachers and make a real difference. It is so important that coachees get as much as possible out of their 7 sessions and it’s really rewarding to be in a position where you can make that happen. I have loved watching the progress that each pair has made and positive feedback from the teachers really reinforces how great the work is.

As well as managing the logistics, I do enjoy doing some coaching alongside my Head Coach duties too! Sometimes it’s necessary to step in and cover for one of the coaches but, with CoachBright expanding the way that it is, there are such a variety of different roles to get involved with alongside being a Head Coach. As it’s such a flexible role, I’ve been able to meet lots of coaches and coachees and I have learned a lot from interacting with such a wide variety of people.

CoachBright is the kind of voluntary experience which is relevant to so many different professions. As I go forwards into my role as a Trainee Pharmacist, I will be equipped with experience in problem-solving and working as part of a large, diverse team. Something which I think is unique to the role of Head Coach is that you’re really able to make it your own and so there’s so much opportunity to use your initiative. I think it’s great that Nicole got involved with setting up a ‘London CoachBright Society’ and she’s done some brilliant work as a ‘Social Secretary’ too!

To summarise the day-to-day role of Head Coach I’ve included a list of roles/responsibilities which you could expect:

• Getting to know coaches and coachees – I organised a meet up at the beginning of the program so that coaches could get to know each other and find people to travel to the school with

• Ensuring good attendance – Reminding everyone to send out reminders! Also: chasing up absences and making sure missed sessions are rescheduled

• Involving the school – Talking to the teacher in charge and keeping them informed

• Enjoying watching the sessions take place! – Taking pictures to share on the Facebook page

• Getting feedback – From coachees at the end of the session; debrief with coaches + feedback forms; comments from teachers  

• Workshops – Launch programme at the beginning as well as the mid-training workshop

• Graduation! – Contribute to a fun event with your team which marks the end of the programme

Maria is a final-year King's College London student who has been a Head Coach on the City Heights programme in London this term.

Applications to be a Head Coach with us on next year's programme are open until 26th April. You can apply by filling out an application form here.

Five Reasons Why I Love Being a Head Coach

Head Coach Carole

By Carole Reniero, London Head Coach

As a social anthropology student, I am always told to “think outside the box” when trying to understand why people think and behave differently in a variety of social and cultural contexts. If a coach wants to have an impact and help someone to become the best person they can be, then it is fundamental that he or she thinks outside the box in order to understand the struggles and challenges faced by the person they are trying to coach. Volunteering as an academic coach in my second year has been an incredibly rewarding experience which not only complemented my studies well, but also offered me an opportunity to develop my interpersonal skills and decide what I want to do in the future. This year, I have decided to take a step further and become a head coach at CoachBright, and here are the five reasons why I love this role!

1) It is challenging

All of the coaches lead very busy lives, and one of the challenging aspects of the role is making sure that there is good attendance, that the feedback forms are filled in after each session and that all of the coaches are aware of any last minute updates on social media. Additionally, if coaches become ill at the last minute or if they struggle to keep in touch with their pupils, then this clearly can become an obstacle to any progress within the programme. Nonetheless, resolving these issues is a part of the role that undoubtedly leads to rewarding results. There is nothing nicer than seeing a session between a coach and his or her coachee being run smoothly.

2) It is engaging

Every Monday, I assist the coaches at their session, in case their coachee cancels at the last minute or if they have any questions. I really enjoy walking around and seeing them engage with each other, discussing their challenges, writing their goals down and doing different exercises in their notebooks. At the end of each session, we have a brief group meeting to discuss any problems, provide feedback and above all, to make sure that there is improvement and a good vibe. It is really engaging because it gives me a detailed picture of how the programme is going which allows me to provide feedback using my own personal experience as a coach.

3) It requires organisation and responsibility

I cannot stress enough the extent to which this role has improved my organisational skills. The challenges that I have faced are the ones that force me to take more notes, think more efficiently and become more organised with my thoughts. Additionally, it takes responsibility, which made me feel a bit nervous when I first started. Being an important point of contact for the first time can sometimes be a bit stressful; but once
again, it is a part of the role that I truly enjoy because it has forced me to act outside of my comfort zone.

4) It makes me proud

I am very proud of my coaches. I have not known them for long, but they all seem to be very devoted to what they do. Despite some obstacles here and there, which inevitably come up in every programme, I can say that I am genuinely pleased with the work that is being done at my school. Being a head coach allows me to engage with everyone on different levels and to see how they are progressing with their coachee. In my last session, I gave out some feedback forms to the pupils, and on a scale from 1 to 4, none of them rated their coach less than a 3. These are the moments that certainly make me proud as a head coach.

5) It is exciting                                                                                                                             

Last but not least, the four points above can all be summarized into one: excitement. It is a role that involves different tasks and responsibilities, different challenges and rewards, and after being a coach in my second year, I can only say that I am very happy to pursue my passion for coaching by being a head coach in my last year at university.

The experience at CoachBright has significantly improved my public speaking and interpersonal skills by being a point of contact for my coaches but also by helping my team give presentations and engage the pupils during launch trips. I remember standing in front of twenty coaches and their pupils at the launch trip this year and initially feeling a little bit nervous that I was going to fall or say something wrong. But the practice and the experience of dealing with different issues and challenges has overall increased my confidence as a person and has undoubtedly made me feel even more excited about my future career in this field. I strongly recommend this opportunity to anyone who would like to make a difference to a pupil’s educational journey.

Why CoachBright is Important for State School Students

Daisy and her coachee

By Daisy Saunders

I always enjoyed high school. It wasn’t a high school that achieved the best grades or the best OFSTED reports, nonetheless the staff were friendly and encouraging. The environment was safe and the students (mostly) got on. During school, the idea of what to do after was always a daunting one. One of the routes to go down was going to university, which, in the end, was what I did. Yet this wasn’t the easiest, or most obvious of directions. Out of my high school year, less than half of us went into further education.

I’m not suggesting that university is the right option for everyone; it’s expensive, it’s hard work and even a little scary. However, what has become apparent to me since leaving school is that it is something which is not necessarily talked about or encouraged much in state school education. 96% of privately educated children go to university compared with  16% of children on free school meal plans. And only 5% of these children on these meal plans are going to Russell Group universities!

In my case, university was definitely the right decision. I’m currently reading English at the University of Exeter. Exeter is a wonderful place to study and live. However, I didn’t realise that it is a university with one of the lowest state school intakes in the country until after I started. Whilst this shouldn’t intimidate state school students, such as myself, I cannot deny that had I known I may have been more apprehensive in applying.

I’ve been lucky enough to make amazing friends whilst at university, from a variety of different backgrounds. Nevertheless, sometimes the difference of educational background between me and my peers is apparent, if not even a little daunting.. It highlighted to me how easy it could be for students from state school education, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to feel inadequate and incompetent. There is simply not enough done in the education system to encourage self-confidence and faith in individual student’s ability. That’s why organisations such as CoachBright are so important!

I joined CoachBright during my second year at university, and it was one of the best things I’ve done during my university career. My fellow coaches and I were trained and educated in what makes a good coach. We are not there to give our coachees the answers but to instead encourage questions. We are not there to show off our own knowledge but allow the coachee to shine, by providing a friendly, positive and reliable figure to turn to. It was beyond rewarding watching my coachee’s confidence build and develop week by week and see how he became so willing to share ideas and opinions on his work. It became so apparent that spending a little time each week helping and listening to a student can really make a difference to their self belief.

Not only is CoachBright rewarding for the students, but it has also given me so much more confidence in my ability as well. It has developed my skills in organisation, patience and time management; essential skills for any job you go into. It has also driven my passion in tackling educational inequality. It is an issue that is very evident in this country and not enough is being done to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to stay in education and apply to universities.

So volunteer! It’s a chance to do something different, meet likeminded people and try something new. Education is something that every child should have a right to and we need to be more aware of reality of the inequality in educational opportunity.

From Peer to Coach – how students can help fellow students achieve their goals

Gloria (in green) with coachees

By Gloria Nkuliza

My name is Gloria and I live in Lewisham in South East London. I am a Sixth Form student studying at Bacon’s College, having studied there in secondary school too. I’m interested in sports, science and music and aspire to become a Chemical Engineer after university.

What Peer Coaching is

Thankfully the opportunity came when CoachBright linked up my school with a new, exciting programme. This trained sixth formers to coach year 9 students and work with them for a few months to help them attain their academic goals. We would each aid our own student with one out of three major subjects; Maths, Science and English. Their aims would usually be to achieve a certain grade in upcoming tests or gain a solid understanding on a topic. Having a role model close to their age who could empathise with them, would be the motivation they needed to do better in their chosen subject. The team would then all come together to formally check that each student is making progress, coming up with ideas of how to develop literacy/numeracy, exam and essay techniques. As a group, we would support each other, along with the handy help of Robin and his experience in dealing with young people.

 Why I wanted to be a Peer Coach

I was very passionate about becoming a peer coach as I knew that if I was younger, I would definitely have enjoyed and benefitted from having an older student to support me. I believe that this is a very encouraging programme, largely different from normal coaching or teaching as I could be an approachable and friendly role model to my chosen coachee. It is valuable for coachees to have somebody different to their peers or teachers who could provide them with a fresh perspective. I felt that I would be relatable enough for her to connect with and feel confident in sharing her academic and social struggles, knowing that I’d be very likely to understand having experienced similar situations and issues myself. Therefore, I also feel that more schools should have peer coaching programmes, as sixth formers would be able to give young students the appropriate help that would benefit them.

Channelling other coaches in my life

Having done my Mathematics GCSE early, I was blessed with having a maths teacher who encouraged me to push myself to my limits and aim high. He supported me with my achievements and instead of allowing me to settle, he inspired me to work hard, see a lot of potential in myself, and grow confidence in my ability. When I was in secondary school, I was very eager on keeping fit. I played a range of sports, so I had a couple of coaches support me. With sports, like other disciplines, you should be able to hold on to certain traits so that you can make progress and perform to the best of your abilities. For example, dedication, learning how to motivate yourself, and setting reachable goals are three of many. Therefore, I tried to inspire my own coachee to develop traits like these to ensure that she easily could achieve her goal and use these skills in the future to open new opportunities for herself. I believe that an effective coach is one that has the patience and resilience to be there to support their coachee no matter how long you may have to explain something to them or how difficult they may act towards you. I think it is important to create a relationship between you and the coachee, where you can be open and honest with each other and express any worries or concerns that may hinder the coachee’s success. Furthermore, I feel that it is vital for the coach to be enthusiastic when the coachee makes progress toward their goal, but also continue inspiring them to aim higher and see no limit to their potential success.

Lessons learnt

Becoming a peer coach, I’ve had a great opportunity to develop my teaching skills by learning how to explain topics in fresh understandable ways to my coachee. Through developing a friendly relationship with her over several months, I could comprehend the style of teaching that best suited her and work with that. Surprisingly, by assisting my coachee with revision techniques and routines, it also gave me the incentive to do the same for myself, subsequently causing us to grow together into better students. This allowed me to acknowledge that peer coaching is mutually beneficial and, as we worked together, we could bounce ideas off one another.

Feedback from my coachee

“When I was first told that I would be coached by a sixth former, I thought I’d have the same experience with them as I have had with my teachers, which I sometimes feel is very boring. However, Gloria and I have so much fun and developed a friendly bond between each other. I was always excited to go to her after school because I knew I was going to learn more about the subject that I have difficulties understanding but in a fun and interesting way. We would always start off by telling each other how our day was like and if I had problems with anything Gloria would help me solve it. She was not only there to help me with Science but she was also there to help me with my social life. I’m very glad I had a coach like Gloria and I think anyone would be happy having her as their coach. The whole CoachBright programme left me interested in having my own coachee to help them with whatever they find difficult and to be a friend they could count on.”

— Diana (coachee)

Why Academic Performance Coaching?

By Robin Chu, founder of CoachBright.

The most common question I get asked when visiting teachers, senior leadership teams and university staff is ‘Why academic performance coaching?’ ‘How will it help our pupils?’ Often, the term itself gets muddled and mixed in with its cousins mentoring, tutoring and therapy, when it is a very different type of intervention.

At CoachBright, we use the Association for Coaching’s definition – "A collaborative solution-focused, results-orientated process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee."  

Founding CoachBright, I wanted to take this technique, which is often used in the boardroom into the classroom where we need it the most.

Our most disadvantaged students still abjectly fail to fulfil their potential compared to their wealthier peers. Only 2% of children on free school meals (FSM) go on to a highly selective university. This means, longer-term, pupils from independent schools are over-represented in our country’s elite professions. For instance, over 70% of high court judges and 54% of journalists are from fee-paying schools.

As a result, at CoachBright, we exist to change this so every pupil regardless of background can become independent and resilient learners so they can lead the life they want.

We have created a unique programme called academic performance coaching blending techniques in the world of business (360 feedback and the GROW model) alongside crucial work in educational research (Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset and John Hattie’s pupil expectations) to improve 3 factors for our pupils so they can win places at top universities:

• Grades – get the results needed.

• Confidence – have the belief to push further.

• Expectations – objectively understand what it takes day-to-day to get the top positions.

We achieve this by using all the facets of coaching: skilful listening, curious questioning and sharing insight without judgement. That way we can help create a powerful process of self-awareness where the coachee makes pragmatic day-to-day behavioural changes that benefits their education and attainment levels.

While new to the field of education, this style of coaching is well known in the worlds of executive business and elite sport. The BBC, McKinsey and Team Sky of cycling fame are just a few who have coaches working with their ‘top talent’.  The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the leading HR institution also cites coaching as its best development tool for accelerating performance.

The BBC has over 500 coaching programmes run a year with the corporation having 85 internal professional coaches available focused on their senior management team.

For us, we believe academic performance coaching can be a real game-changer for our most disadvantaged pupils. It can accelerate performance for those that need it most. We would love you to join us on our journey.

If you wanted to learn more, feel free to email me on robin@coachbright.org or share support via twitter @CoachBrightUK

Originally posted on Linkedin here.