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Insight Series edition 2 - Medicine
“I’ve spent all of my time from 18-35 years old looking after people. That’s why I go to work - to look after people”
Steve - Junior Doctor
From blood and boats to exams and entry requirements, our January addition of the InSight webinar series took a look at careers in Medicine.
About the InSight series
At CoachBright, we launched our InSight webinar series to help pupils to find out more about potential careers, routes and pathways into certain fields and hear from those currently in a variety of roles across the country.
In the midst of the pandemic, we believe that it’s even more important for pupils to get well-rounded and detailed careers advice so that they can make informed decisions about their future in what is otherwise a very uncertain time.
While pupils aren’t able to attend careers events and visit workplaces, we aim to bring the workplace to them. We’ve embarked on a mission to cover as many careers as possible through engaging webinars with people passionate about sharing their experiences.
Our first webinar kicked-off the series in December 2020 with ‘InSight into the Civil Service’, with other instalments this year due to include journalism, law, teaching, nursing, paramedicine, dentistry, tech and engineering.
Edition 2 - InSight into Medicine
In our second edition, we explored Medicine with Steve and Amber who are both currently working in hospitals in the West Midlands during the pandemic.
Steve gave us a breakdown of what a night in the life of a junior doctor looks like as well as an unconventional route into medicine after getting B,C,C at A-level.
Amber talked us through some common ups and downs of working as a doctor, whilst giving us some ideas of where people can take their career. Highlights included working as the solo doctor on a ship in Antarctica and medicine in the Honduran rainforest.
“There’s a real scope to do whatever you want with medicine, that’s one of the things that is so good about it - everyone in the world needs a doctor” - Amber
Both doctors give a detailed and honest account of what studying medicine and working as a doctor is like. The webinar covers topics including pay, holidays, what to expect on a shift, exams to be taken, patients you might see and what it’s like sleeping during the day.
If you’re considering a career in medicine (at any point) - we’d highly recommend a watch!
LINK to webinar here
Watched and still have questions?
We’re keen to answer as many questions as possible to help you find out the things you want to know.
If you have anything that you’d like to ask Steve or anyone in medicine, please follow the link below to submit it to us and we’ll get an answer to you asap!
Links to other editions of the InSight series
Here’s a list of all of our editions so far, and the links to access the webinar recordings:
Civil service
Sixth Form whole trust wide partnership with Academies Enterprise Trust (AET)
One of the largest academy trusts in the country - Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) - is teaming up with us at CoachBright to help students from predominantly disadvantaged backgrounds progress to university.
Sixth formers across all AET sixth forms will be paired with a university student to help improve their academic grades, confidence, independence and awareness of higher education. Sixth Form students will be tutored by a current undergraduate student from the academic discipline they are interested in.
Undergraduate tutors will support sixth form students with their academic studies as well as provide a personal insight into the university application system and student life.
AET and CoachBright had already successfully worked together in a pilot programme before Covid19 and are now rolling out this support across all of its Sixth Forms this academic year as we return not to a ‘new’ normal but to a ‘better’ normal. This collaboration is crucial in helping to inspire pupils about what is possible in the future and to make them aware of the pathways available.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) announced in their Annual Report on Education in England that the disadvantage gap between those from poorer backgrounds and the rest is no longer closing and both AET and CoachBright are determined to work together to address this.
The university tutoring programme will consist of weekly after-school tutoring sessions, group workshops and a visit to a local university campus. All university students take part in a CoachBright training programme to make sure they are rigorously equipped to understand how to lead effective tutorials, build relationships with a young person and handle safeguarding concerns.
The students will be from universities across the country including the University of Oxford, University of Birmingham, University College London, King’s College London, Plymouth University and the University of Exeter.
CoachBright has been running tutoring, coaching and leadership programmes in UK schools for six and half years. They mainly work across the West Midlands, South West and London area. Since March, CoachBright has been running online tutoring programmes to help young people through lockdown. The organisation also hopes to be part of the government’s National Tutoring Programme launching later this year.
David Hatchett, National Director of Secondary Schools at AET, said: “I am delighted that we are working in partnership with CoachBright to improve the life chances of the young people in our care. Supporting and increasing the number of our pupils, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who progress to University is a key part of our five year strategy as we help inspire our pupils to lead a remarkable life. Tutoring and support from undergraduates who have themselves made the transition from sixth form to a high performing University will help raise our pupils’ aspirations of what is possible. I am excited at the prospects of what we can achieve by working together”.
The CEO of CoachBright Robin Chu said: “It’s crucial that young people are given the support they need to catch up after being out of the classroom for six months. By being paired with a university student these young people will get extra academic tuition to improve their grades, receive support on choosing their next steps after school and gain further understanding on what university life is like.
“We are delighted to be supporting AET, a truly inclusive Trust, on their journey to helping as many young people achieve their future dream destinations at the university of their choice.”
For more information about the partnership please feel free to email Robin at robin@coachbright.org
CoachBright selected as approved Tuition Provider for National Tutoring Programme
We’re delighted to announce that we have been selected as an approved tuition provider for the National Tutoring Programme (NTP)!
As a Tuition Partner, we’ll be providing high quality tutoring to schools in the South West, West Midlands, London, South East and East of England, using our experience in improving attainment, confidence and independence to provide tutoring to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and help widen access to tutoring.
Our tuition through the NTP will be subsidised by 75%.
Our programmes will support Primary and Secondary schools specifically targeting pupils in Years 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11. The subjects we will offer tutoring in is English, Maths and Science (only Secondary).
As a social mobility organisation, we know the effects Covid-19 has had on our most disadvantaged pupils in disrupting their learning. We believe outstanding small group tuition can boost grades and also help pupils develop trusting, responsible learning habits which will set pupils up beyond the classroom.
Having supported over thousands of pupils, we know, when done right, our programmes can have a life changing effect on a young person’s trajectory with many of our pupils being the first in their family to go to university.
At its core, our programmes help pupils improve their grades, confidence and independence.
Last year we supported 1,229 pupils in our secondary school programmes. These pupils - on average - improved in their tutored subject by 0.44 of a grade more than their non-CoachBright Pupil Premium (PP) peers in the academic year 2019/20 and similarly over a third of a grade more in the academic year 2018/19 compared to their non-CoachBright PP peers.
During the initial phase of lockdown, we moved our tutoring online for the first time and commissioned the evaluator ImpactEd to assess the effectiveness of non-cognitive outcomes around metacognition and grit (full report here).
The evaluation found the increase of 17% in metacognition was statistically significant and meant CoachBright pupils scored significantly higher on metacognition than the national average at the time.
Considering the Education Endowment Foundation’s research that ‘metacognitive strategies’ can be worth the equivalent of 7+ months progress when used well we were thrilled with our findings.
As an approved National Tutoring Programme Tuition Partner, we welcome the chance to join the national effort to ensure young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get the support they need.
If you would like to speak directly about bringing our programmes to your school please email our CEO Robin at robin@coachbright.org. We also have list of FAQs here too.
To learn more about tutoring and the NTP in general, visit the NTP website.
HIRING - Finance Manager
We are looking for our first ever Finance Manager!
You will join the senior leadership team and report directly to the CEO. You will have day-to-day responsibility for the organisation’s finances, working with colleagues to set and manage budgets, maintain accurate financial records and ensure all financial and compliance requirements are met.
We need an outgoing, self-motivated person to enhance our internal financial capacity and, alongside the CEO, determine long term financial goals and strategies to meet our mission. The individual will manage the organisation’s financial operations and flourish in a small dynamic team.
More information here.
Deadline to apply: Friday 13th November 2020
HIRING - Trustees
Having turned six years old in February 2020, we are at an exciting stage of growth and have ambitious plans to scale our impact and reach. This coming academic year, we are supporting over 1500 pupils. Currently working across London, the West Midlands and the South West, we are looking to thoughtfully scale our academic programmes into hard-to-reach deprivation areas; develop a primary strand to our work; and increase the impact of our programmes.
As we transition from a social enterprise to a charity we are looking for individuals who share our values and ambition to make social mobility a reality. Over the next three years, we want to quadruple our reach, grow a fundraising arm to our work and increase our advocacy work.
As a trustee, you will be responsible for supporting the Chief Executive and the team to help challenge social inequality.
We are particularly looking for those with experience in finance, HR law and fundraising expertise.
More information here.
Deadline to apply: 30th October 2020.
RESULTS DAY 2020 - Where do I go from here?
TO OUR YEAR 11s
Results day is inevitably a stressful time for students up and down the country.
This is even more so the case in the unprecedented times that we find ourselves in!
The government’s decision to use teachers’ predictions for results is particularly welcome, after the controversial algorithm led to nearly 40% of A-levels being downgraded.
Feeling nervous about results day is perfectly natural, but do not keep your emotions to yourself! Do remember to:
Talk to your peers about your worries - they are probably feeling the same as you!
Ensure you are well-rested
Take the time to do something to help you unwind before tomorrow that will distract yourself.
If you achieve the grades you hoped for - congratulations! However, if you are disappointed, have a chat with your teachers or ring The Exam Results Helpline (0800 100 900, 8am-10am), who can advise you about further education routes.
All in all, this was a hugely difficult year for all students. We are proud of each and every one of you and are always here for support should you need it! Details of how to get in touch with us are below.
YEAR 13s - UNIVERSITY - WHAT HAPPENS NOW? Clearing and more.
We know that it can feel like that one little piece of paper you’re about to open will govern your entire future from here on out. Emotions run high as the elation of getting that grade you so desperately wanted and securing that university place or new career becomes a reality. But this is not the case for everyone. We know of course that some of you will not have received the results you expected or wanted and so were forced into the stress lottery that is clearing.
Some of you will have managed to secure a place through clearing. University life will likely be very different than in previous academic years, but you should be proud of your achievements. If you’re the first person in your family to go to university, then an even bigger congratulations is in order. This is a strange time, but you deserve to celebrate your success in the context of such adversity.
For those of you who have not yet secured a university place through allocation or clearing, DON’T WORRY! We know how hollow that might sound, but we really mean it. The situation is changing all the time, and although that is going to feel incredibly stressful for many of you, it also means that the normal rules do not apply. With teacher estimates being used for grades rather than the algorithm and exam appeals being free for schools, this is by no means the end of the road. Many universities are honouring their conditional offers based on teacher estimates, so you may yet be able to secure a place. If you still don’t meet the terms of your offer, or if places at all of your choices are full up, you still have options.
Here are a few links we’ve found which may shed some light on your next steps:
A-level results 2020: What's next for university students
Covid-19 A-level support from the Student Room
Mental health advice from the Student Room
The most important thing to remember is that you should not be too hard on yourself. The word unprecedented seems to have lost all meaning, but this really is a situation no-one has ever experienced before. Perhaps there are fingers to be pointed at the powers that be for a lack of foresight, but if anyone should get the blame, it is not you. This situation is not your fault and whatever grades you received, they do not represent you as a person, merely a part of you.
WHAT WE SAY
Our CEO and Founder, Robin Chu, has been working with other organisations to highlight the importance of supporting young people through this difficult period:
“We welcome the government's decision to revert to teacher estimated grades rather than using an algorithm based on a school's prior performance data as this provides a higher level of equity for young people. The results period has highlighted the growing inequality gap between the rich and poor. Unfortunately, we know this existed long before the pandemic as today's Teach First report highlights only 45% of disadvantaged pupils achieve a pass in GCSE English and Maths compared to 72% of pupils from more affluent backgrounds. This figure has remained stubbornly the same since 2017.
Still now in 2020, where a young person was born (their postcode) has a huge determinant on that person's lifetime earnings, quality of life and health. At CoachBright, we believe the disadvantage gap is becoming a gulf and radical action is needed to break this cycle. The creation of a National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is a welcome step - we think this needs to be longer and extend to Year 12 and 13 to ensure it is sustainable. Internally, we are officially launching a primary strand to support young people earlier in their school journey at Year 5 and 6 as we know that work around this transition period is important to maintain attainment trajectories through secondary schooling and beyond”
As always, the CoachBright team are here to offer support to our alumni. If you’re having difficulties figuring out the next step for you or need someone to chat through options with - we’re just an email or phone call away.
To get in touch, email us at team@coachbright.org
CoachBright calls to expand the National Tutoring Programme
Disadvantaged students waiting for GCSE results face huge challenges ahead with the leap to A-levels after months off school. With fellow education charities, we’re calling for the National Tutoring Programme to include Years 12 & 13. Read our letter to Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee, below
Dear Mr Halfon,
We welcome the recent decision by the Government to provide additional funding for 16-19 year old students to receive English and Maths support to help them catch up after COVID. We are grateful for the tireless efforts you have put into advocating for the National Tuition Programme (NTP) on behalf of students across the country.
We write to you as a coalition of charities who are keen to expand the scope of NTP so that all students can benefit fully. We are concerned that the extra funding for 16-19 provision has not been routed through the NTP, meaning that education providers will not be able to access subsidised tuition, and will therefore access less support for 16-19 yr olds than they otherwise could. We know this age group (especially those starting Yr 12 in September) will face particular challenges in the transition to higher study, and increasingly independent learning.
We are also concerned that if the National Tutoring Programme intervention is not sustained long term then there is the very real possibility that a generation of young people will be left behind. Without ongoing support, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will have even less chance than they did previously of successfully continuing their education. We want to ensure that the NTP goes far enough not just to help mitigate the lost learning from school closures, but also to close the attainment gap further.
Our organisations run impactful tutoring programmes that help thousands of disadvantaged young people to improve their grades and reach their full potential every year. In many cases we see them transitioning successfully to further and higher education. We know that the best way to achieve this is with a consistent, multi-year intervention. For example, a recent study of the work of The Access Project by FFT Datalab, shows that a one year intervention at GCSE helps to improve a student’s progress by 3 months, whereas a 2 year intervention improves a student’s progress by 5 months.
The forced closure of schools because of COVID-19 means that all young people will have missed out on learning. In particular, Year 11s moving into post 16 education may have had minimal teaching for several months. Extended breaks in learning are known to have an impact on progress and for the most disadvantaged students this is particularly true. That’s why we owe it to students to take an evidence based approach to any catch up plan.
We are calling for the government to make a commitment to make the National Tutoring Programme multi-year, and to include 16-19 year olds in the National Tuition Programme. We would urge you to consider backing this call.
We would be grateful for the opportunity to speak with you further about this. The charities in this coalition would also be happy to appear before the Education Select Committee to discuss the evidence behind our recommendations. Students are at the forefront of our minds in all of this and this generation needs our backing more than any in recent history.
Yours sincerely,
Ashley Hodges, CEO, AccessEd
Nathan Sansom, CEO, The Access Project
Susannah Hardyman, CEO, Action Tutoring
Alex Charalambous, Head of Education Development, The Children’s Literacy Charity
Robin Chu, CEO, Coachbright
Paul Singh, CEO, Equal Education
Adam Alagiah-Glomseth, CEO, TalentEd
Reposted via the Access Project. See original post here.
HIRING - 2 x FULL TIME ROLES
We are hiring! Care about social mobility? Join us driving our programmes forward. Roles in South West and London.
Are you our next Head of South West or what about our next London Programme Officer? Join us!
As an award-winning, fast-growing social mobility organisation our mission is to support young people from disadvantaged communities to identify and fulfil their potential.
Working in partnership with schools, we deliver academic tutoring/coaching programmes that improve a pupil’s grades, confidence and independence so they can win places at top universities and high level apprenticeships.
Having turned six years old in February 2020, we are at an exciting stage of growth and have ambitious plans to scale our impact and reach. Currently working across London, West Midlands and the South West we are looking to thoughtfully scale our academic programmes into hard to reach deprivation areas. By 2022/23, we want to support 10% of secondary schools nationally.
Since 2014, we have developed emerging partnerships and relationships across the school sector and making a tangible difference to young people’s lives through improving their attainment, confidence and independence. We are now looking for two new team members.
Head of South West: for the full job description and how to apply please click here.
London Programme Officer: for the full job description and how to apply please click here.
The deadline for applications is the 22nd July. For full details of the process, please see links above.
Any questions or if you would like a confidential phone call to discuss the role, please email robin@coachbright.org.
CoachBright welcomes a National Tutoring Programme
At CoachBright, we welcome the announcement from Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, for a £1 billion Covid catch-up plan for schools. £350 million pounds of that will go towards a National Tutoring Programme (NTP) - a tutoring scheme to provide schools with heavily subsidised one-to-one or small group tutoring to help the most disadvantaged young people catch up.
CoachBright has been lobbying for a National Tutoring Programme since March co-authoring a paper on the need for a service as a result of Coronavirus with Professor Lee Elliot Major OBE and Emily Tyers, Teacher at Ivybridge Community College. See paper here.
Alongside this, a coalition of education leaders and third sector organisations came together to lobby the Department of Education and Treasury for the NTP. This included Robert Halfon (Chair of the Education Select Committee), Anne Longfield (Children’s Commissioner for England) and similar tutoring organisations in the social sector who care deeply about supporting disadvantaged pupils and have a track record of support in this area.
This includes Action Tutoring, Access Project, The Tutor Trust, Equal Education, Get Further, Literacy Pirates, Team Up, TalentEd, Future Frontiers and West London Zone. All are members of the Fair Education Alliance who spearheaded the campaign. Together, we signed an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education calling for a NTP.
We know school leaders in their individual context know their pupils best, which pupils should be targeted, and what topics the sessions should cover. We believe additional high quality 1-1 tutoring that is designed with the school can be a real silver bullet for many pupils from disadvantaged communities.
We welcome the announcement the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Impetus, Sutton Trust and Nesta will be leading the formation of the NTP as we believe evidence-based quality first implementation will be key.
CoachBright’s own online tutoring pilot
Since 18th March, when schools were told to close, as a social mobility organisation we started providing impactful support for disadvantaged pupils during this time through online tutoring. We know the effects of the virus will have far-reaching learning consequences for our most disadvantaged pupils - upwards of 5 months of learning loss.
Over the last 2 and a half months, we have created and delivered our first ever online tutoring programmes (our previous 6 years of work had been face to face). A university student one-to-one supporting a disadvantaged school pupil in a key subject. We are delighted to have supported over 30 schools and 220 pupils of 1-1 subject specific support during Covid-19.
For context, this academic year we have supported over 1500 pupils from disadvantaged communities.
What we know about 1-1 academic tutoring in our CoachBright programmes:
CoachBright pupils make a third of a grade more progress than their disadvantaged peers in a similar setting.
89% have become a more independent learner as a result of coaching
91% believe the programme has made them more motivated to succeed in their studies
Priya, Year 11 at West Walsall E-ACT Academy says: "With CoachBright, we actually got to have that online support so we could talk with the tutor and get the support that we needed during lockdown. For me, it was in Chemistry. The chance to speak 1-1 was really useful. I just wanted to thank CoachBright for this opportunity because I feel like it's been amazing, I've learnt a lot and it's been a real support really, so thank you very much"
Mark Perry, University of Birmingham student who was a volunteer tutor says "Coming from an underprivileged background myself growing up in Birmingham, I was aware of the barriers which discouraged me to progress into higher education. This amazing experience allowed me to watch my pupil develop leaps and bounds."
At CoachBright, we are absolutely focussed on ensuring the disadvantage gap does not become a gulf. CEO, Robin Chu says: "We know the challenges Covid-19 will have in creating a widening class divide between the haves and have-nots. We're delighted we can offer high quality and low cost tuition for disadvantaged pupils through schools.
We also appreciate pupils from low income backgrounds enjoy the routine, opportunity to interact with a relatable role model and most importantly the attainment benefits of having a tutor/coach. For a National Tutoring Programme to succeed, tutors will need to be rigorously trained, supported and coordinated alongside excellent school staff to be effective. We endorse the announcement of a National Tutoring Programme and believe quality implementation will key to its success.”
More information on the National Tutoring Programme is available on the EEF’s website here.
Virtual Coaching/Tutoring: how I found it as a pupil
Hear from two pupils who have finished our virtual coaching/tutoring programme to hear how they found it.
As we continue our online coaching/tutoring pilot with over 230 pupils from disadvantaged communities during lockdown, we will share our findings and learnings throughout. The programme is subject-specific tutoring in a GCSE Subject (normally English, Maths or Science) or a specific A level subject. Hear below from two Year 11 pupil’s from West Walsall E-ACT Academy who have just finished the programme! For safeguarding reasons we have chosen to label them Pupil A and B rather than disclose their names.
How did you find virtual tutoring/coaching?
Pupil A: It went really well! It was really nice and supportive especially during this time of the lockdown.
Pupil B: I think what was best for me was that I was able to learn a lot about English Literature. There was time for independence in doing all the work that I have had which has helped me to do well in all my online lessons set by school. It also has given me the ability to learn new skills in English which is amazing.
How did it complement/affect your school work during this Covid-19 time?
Pupil A: since school work was submitted by email, with CoachBright, having that online support where we could talk with the coach on a 1-1 level and get the academic support we needed was fantastic. I focused on Biology and Chemistry so covered topics around the brain, the eye, limiting reactants and equations which were really helpful to do together because we went through worked examples where I could get their thoughts on.
Pupil B: for me, it helped me to stay motivated when studying and gives me an insight to anything new I could do by myself. I focussed on English literature and it helped me develop skills in understanding the essay question and motivated me to do the right analysis on each part of the question.
Anything else you want to add about the experience?
Pupil A: It’s been amazing over the 7 weeks I’ve learnt a lot. It’s been a real support. Thank you very much!
Pupil B: Thank you so much for helping me. The lessons were very fun and helpful as you helped me with my writing to make it clearer! Thank you for everything you have done to help me with literature - these skills will definitely help me when I reach year 12 and eventually university.
We anticipate our core programme where university students coach/tutor a disadvantaged pupil will continue online throughout Autumn Term. We will be releasing more insights and our evaluation of the online pilot towards the end of term. If you had any questions or were interested in bringing online tutoring to your school please email team@coachbright.org
Virtual Coaching: Lessons Learned so far part 1
During Coronavirus, we transferred our 1-1 coaching programmes online. Our Head of London, Patricia Mbangui now reflects on the lessons we have learnt from the pilot we have run.
Our first ‘Lessons Learned’ post is live. This series captures our rough and ready insights supporting disadvantaged pupils during Coronavirus. We will be sharing what we’ve learnt as we’re going through it in the hope it supports school leaders and other education providers. See our first post in this Lessons Learned: moving digital series by Trish Mbangui our Head of London.
When COVID-19 struck, we at CoachBright had to consider the ways we could continue to support the pupils for whom this period would be full of uncertainty and anxiety around learning and aspiration. What followed was perhaps the most innovative period for us this year, as we continued to expand our support from in person to online delivery. Virtual coaching has not only been key to the way that we have supported disadvantaged pupils during coronavirus, but is also something that we are now looking at to support areas of the UK that are harder to reach.
This month, we reached a milestone. We have had 140 sessions so far, 164 pupils who have or are being coached and 214 university student tutors/coaches trained.
By the end of our pilot, we should have worked with over 230 pupils during Covid-19 lockdown.
It is apt that we now reflect on what it is that we have learnt, what the challenges are but also the benefits of online delivery.
Key things that we learnt
1) The training is not the same
What we couldn’t do and what we realised whilst creating virtual coaching is you can’t just lift the in person programme and put it online as there are so many things about in-person delivery we could not do the same. So for example the training itself was not the same. We had to adapt what is usually an interactive training session into something less interactive but ultimately more comprehensive. We also as we moved over from Zoom to Bramble, we had to help coaches understand how to use that platform and how they could deliver successful sessions online.
2) Relationship matters even more
One of the things that I am proud to say that we do well is fostering great relationships with coaches and their coachees. It is what really makes the programme work and the challenge there was how do we ensure that is not lost online. When delivery sessions are online, you lose the in person reading of body language, of tone, of person to person energy. At first, we used our welcome to the programme booklet as a way of engaging pupils. However, some pupils were still daunted by the idea of meeting a random person online. So we moved to having launch webinars giving pupils a chance to familiarise themselves with Bramble but also us as staff. We encourage coaches to ask their pupils questions, ask them about their day, not rushing into the academics but taking the time to know them, ensuring they are using praise regularly and creating those sessions as a space of comfort, challenge and joy for those pupils. For some pupils, it is one of the reasons that they have really enjoyed these sessions and moving forward we hope to prioritise this even more.
We are considering doing even more during our set up to ensure that the relationships are held to task and remain firm.
3) Prepare to have your tech hat on
One of the key things when setting up something online is that you need to know the tech inside out. Admittedly many of us and speaking for myself were not as tech savvy but recognise that coaches, pupils and teachers do look to you as those who delivering the programme. So spending time getting to know the platform, for us that was Bramble, but getting to know the platform in all it’s intricacy would have enabled us going forward to have better supported our coaches and pupils
4) Expectations need to be made crystal clear
With everything happening online, it is important that you are explicit as possible even to the point of it feeling over the top. This we learnt very early on when having conversations with partner schools, pupils and coaches and often there were small details that were missed out which would lead to an issue later. What worked really well was having a webinar training for our coaches where we were explicit about what we expected. A similar approach existed for pupils where in their introductory emails, we tried to essentially have a step by step guide which gives them all the information needed to start their sessions successfully.
Going forward, we are excited to start collecting pupil, parent and teacher feedback which we will collate and share whilst also iterating our online model so that it is just as effective as our in person model and prepared for partner schools next term.
Watch this space - digital is here to stay!
My Experience: Virtual Coaching
When I first volunteered with CoachBright, it was out of a passion for social mobility and supporting students to achieve their best. I volunteered as a Virtual Coach for the same reasons. Focusing on social mobility felt particularly relevant at a time where disadvantaged students could be left even further behind because of school closures.
Though I was already familiar with the structure and expectations of the CoachBright programme, virtual coaching was a brand-new experience for me. Coaching a student remotely posed some unique challenges and had some surprising highlights.
Relationships
One of my favourite parts of being a Coach is the relationship that you form with your Coachee. I was worried that I might not be able to create the same type of bond through virtual coaching.
Apart from an occasionally temperamental internet connection and the ‘surrealness’ of seeing your own face on video every week, I was relieved to find that virtual coaching did not hamper the relationship I formed with my coachee. If anything, the strangeness of the whole situation was something to bond over.
Checking in with my coachee and sharing the highlights of our week helped to humanise the process of virtual coaching. I also found that being patient, giving praise, and using positive body language were incredibly important to show my personality and my investment in the sessions with my coachee. Not only did these behaviours help my coachee to feel comfortable talking to someone they had only ever met through a screen, they also boosted her confidence and excitement for the sessions ahead.
Resources
As an English Coach, I love pen and paper interactions with my coachee. In the past, I have tended to build my sessions around activities that could only be done in-person. Though I initially worried that I would miss my usual style of coaching, virtual coaching actually enhanced the way that I interacted with my coachee.
With traditional pen and paper no longer an option, I had to be more creative with the resources I used in sessions. I created a presentation – with lots of colours and images – to talk through dramatic devices and paragraph planning. I enjoyed the process of creating digital resources so much that I almost wish I had been more adventurous!
Uploading PDFs to the Bramble classroom was especially useful. I could plan, write, and edit paragraphs with my coachee in real-time. This not only gave me a sense of her writing process, but also ensured a good dialogue between us about what worked for her and what did not.
I appreciated the diversity of resources that could come into play through virtual coaching – something that I will definitely take forward in all future coaching sessions.
Community
I love volunteering because you can support others while connecting with like-minded individuals. As with doing anything remotely, it is easy to feel isolated from people and as though there was a lack of real human contact.
CoachBright have worked hard to keep everyone updated and involved throughout the programme. I have really enjoyed the Coaches’ Corner webinars on Thursdays and know that I can reach out for support at any time.
As a result, virtual coaching has demonstrated to me how keen and motivated students are to achieve their academic potential – and how willing people across the country are to support them. Despite these uncertain times, the determination and generosity they have brought out has been inspiring.
—
Blog Post by Amirah Muhammad, London Head Coach and Academic Coach
Virtual Coaching: Top Tips for Coaches!
"Volunteering your time amid Covid-19 is a really great thing to do and you are genuinely having such a positive impact. Do share your tips and ideas too!” - In this recent blog post, South West Coach Jessica shares her top tips for virtual coaching. Have a read if you are currently volunteering!
As the country continues to battle through Covid-19, nearly everything in our lives has now moved inside and online. As schools are now mostly closed, pupils are experiencing a confusing and fractured time in their school lives. Coaching online is a complete change from the in-school sessions that I was so familiar with but remains a great opportunity to make a difference towards a brighter future for pupils across the country.
Here are my top tips on adapting to the move to online coaching:
Be Prepared
- If like me, you have never used ‘Bramble’ before, take some time to familiarise yourself with how it works. This will ensure that during your sessions you can get the most out of the technology.
- Bramble has a brilliant webinar that you can watch in order to familiarise yourself with how things work - it certainly helped me!
- Check your speaker and your camera before the session starts. Also, agree on a signal with your coachee so that you can make each other aware if the signal drops out. I type a message to my coachee on the ‘Bramble’ whiteboard.
Be Resourceful
- Google slides and Google docs are great tools when creating visual and colourful resources. As coaching is now online, making engaging resources is a start in ensuring that the session is focused and fun.
- Convert all resources to PDF format and upload them to Bramble. These resources then become easily collaborative with whiteboard additions. With whiteboard additions, you can ask your coachee to play hangman, or for example, link up words with their definitions – these activities ‘mix-up’ the session.
- Let your coachee hold the ‘virtual pen’ – this effectively encourages resilience and agency and is a great way for your coachee to reach their achievable goals.
- If you create an engaging booklet or a poster, share it! Share your resources with other coaches or your programme officer. Help to build up CoachBright’s archive of fantastic resources that can be used in the future as we continue to strive for social mobility!
- Identify sources online that you believe will help your pupil outside of the coaching session. For example, I noticed that The Royal Shakespeare Company are screening a set of plays and have a brilliant series of YouTube videos. You might discover something similar.
Check-In
- As a coach, you may be the only person that your coachee speaks to during the week. These are challenging times for all – including school pupils who have been thrown out of routine. Remember to ask your coachee things such as ‘what was the highlight of your week?’, ‘How are you getting on with other schoolwork?’, etc.
- As we continue through this challenging time, now it is more important than ever to provide a listening ear and be a hub of support for your coachee. I have found that these small check-in chats have really provided a level of normality to the new virtual coaching sessions.
Make a Plan
- If you have coached before you will be familiar with the coaching set-up of setting achievable goals. Apply this to the virtual platform. I have found it helpful to check-in each week with a reminder of the goal and how they feel about reaching it. I usually pop a reminder on a google slide.
- Agree on plans for the session together and ask your coachee, ‘What do you want to get out of this?’ and ‘How can I help you best?’
I hope that these tips help you in some way. Volunteering your time amid Covid-19 is a really great thing to do and you are genuinely having such a positive impact. Do share your tips and ideas too!
—
Blog Post by Jessica Smith, South West Coach
Indoors: Making The Most of It
“This is a time to look after ourselves and also those around us.” In this lighthearted blog post, Mark shares his own routine during lockdown with a lovely touch of positivity and ideas!
Lockdown. Not how I thought I would be spending these last few months and I imagine you’re feeling the same! We cannot see our friends or wider family members and schools are closed for the foreseeable future; but this doesn’t mean that we put our lives completely on hold. In fact, it’s probably easier to keep in touch with our friends and family now more than ever. Our best friends are only a quick FaceTime away for that daily gossip, and we can speak to anyone, whenever we want over social media. This is a time to look after ourselves and also those around us.
Whilst life may seem hard, you might find yourself with more spare time - this is the perfect chance to return to some of your favourite activities!
When I was younger, I used to read SO much but with ever-increasing workloads from school and university, it’s now become more of a luxury than a lifestyle. I’ve got back into reading lately and for those times when you’re a bit bored or want to temporarily break free from isolation, reading is a great escape!
Another thing we can really put time into during this time is cooking and baking! Why not learn to cook a new dish, or help with making dinner? I’ve always been a keen baker, so this has been the perfect opportunity to refine my skills. Leaving my oven (and straight into my mouth) lately have been shortbread, cherry crumble and fruit scones.
Above all though, the main thing is to keep smiling! Life will feel strange and uncomfortable now, but we will learn from it and become even stronger. We’re all in the same boat and some people may be struggling more than others.
A quick message or a smile at someone you see in the street will go a long way!
Look after yourself and stay strong.
—
Blog post by Mark Howard, South West and Virtual Coach
How to Get Active and Stay Active
“It’s a strange and uncertain time right now, but physical activity can go towards relieving anxiety and boosting wellbeing.” Amirah Muhammad’s recent blog post on how to keep active while staying at home. Useful videos and links included! Read on to find out more.
How to Get Active and Stay Active
Exercise is a great way to boost mental and physical wellbeing. With the pandemic forcing us to stay inside, it can be a lot harder for us to stick to or create an exercise routine.
I want to share some exercises that are great for getting active and staying active while at home. These exercises are free, require little or no specialist equipment, and are less than an hour long!
1. Yoga
Mindfulness has always been incredibly important, but even more so now that uncertainty surrounding the pandemic can make us feel more anxious than usual. Yoga is a fantastic way to practice mindfulness while working out too.
Yoga originated around 5,000 years ago in ancient India and has become a popular way to improve flexibility, strength and mental wellbeing[1]. If you are new to yoga, it’s important to avoid injuries by not overstretching or following workouts that are too difficult.
You can start doing yoga using apps, such as Yoga for Beginners | Mind+Body which is completely free, or following online videos such as ‘Yoga For Complete Beginners - 20 Minute Home Yoga Workout!’ [2] from Yoga with Adriene.
Pro tip: Don’t have a yoga mat? Don’t worry – a towel, a large piece of fabric or a folded woven blanket will work well too.
2. Cardio Exercises
Getting your heart rate up is important to keeping yourself healthy. Your normal cardio routine may have included running, cycling or swimming, which may be difficult to keep up at home. Or maybe the last time you did cardio was running for the bus (me!).
Doing cardio at home means there is something for everyone. From kickboxing to Latin dancing to HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – if you’re breaking a sweat, it’s cardio. You can check out ‘30-Minute Cardio Latin Dance Workout’[3] or ‘30-Minute No-Equipment Cardio Kickboxing Workout’[4] by Popsugar Fitness, and ‘HIIT Home Workout for beginners’[5] by The Body Coach, Joe Wicks.
Pro tip: Always warm up before you do cardio and cool down afterwards – a good workout video will build the stretches into the overall workout.
3. Strength Training
Strength training is important to building balance and flexibility – so yoga is one form of strength training. If yoga isn’t really for you – and you don’t have weights at home – using your own body weight is a great way to build muscle strength.
Common exercises include planks, squats, push-ups and lunges. You can check out ‘20 Min Beginner Body Weight Workout at Home - Easy Workouts without Weights - Bodyweight Exercises’[6] by HASfit, along with the free app. You can also try ‘Total Body Strength Training Without Weights for Women | Home Workout (No Jumping) | Joanna Soh’[7] by Joanna Soh Official.
Pro tip: Strength training can be intense so make sure you rest during the workout when you feel you need to and give your muscles time to recover during your week.
Bonus: Motivation
While not strictly an exercise, keeping yourself motivated enough to exercise is still hard work. It can be difficult to make time and headspace for exercise. So, to keep yourself motivated, consider:
· Creating a playlist just for exercising
· Scheduling your exercise session into your daily routine
· Keeping a diary of every time you exercise, what you do and how you feel before and afterwards
· Rewarding yourself for exercising
· Creating a group chat to encourage your friends
It’s a strange and uncertain time right now, but physical activity can go towards relieving anxiety and boosting wellbeing. Look after yourselves and have some fun exercising!
[1] https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/guide-to-yoga/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYKMP6rOE
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DZktowZo_k
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oLg5fFe5ww
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q20pLhdoEoY
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9B2ffnO5c
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUns8O4YL5M
—
Blog post by Amirah Muhammad, London Head Coach
How to Stay Motivated at Home
Have you ever woken up with the feeling that you didn’t want to get out of bed due to a lack of motivation to do anything?
Or, perhaps you felt the opposite: you might have felt really excited to do lots of things but ended up getting distracted? Maybe your friend sent you a meme and now you find that you’ve spent the whole day scrolling through Instagram or watching TikToks. Sound familiar?
As the day passes by, your motivation for that task, especially if it’s school related, may fade away.
Despite the pandemic, I still have coursework and exams to prepare for and sometimes it can be difficult to stay motivated, especially while you’re stuck at home. Yesterday, I sat at my desk trying to write an essay and managed to write 2 sentences before I started to spin around on my chair looking at the ceiling for 30 minutes!
Here are 3 of my top tips on how you can stay motivated:
1. Create a routine. Try to organise your week and the tasks you would like to get done. Be flexible with this too, it’s ok to change your routine to adapt to how you’re feeling that day. I also like to set myself one goal for the day (e.g. write 250 words for my essay). It may seem small at the time but by the end of the week I will have achieved 5-7 goals. A little work each day goes a long way!
2. Get others involved. FaceTime your friends and do things together! My friends and I divide topics between us, create revision resources for them, and share this with each other. It can help to reduce your workload and motivate you to help others who go to school with you.
3. Make time to do the things you enjoy! Whether it be playing games, watching films or spending time with your family. Try to use this as a motivation for you be productive or to learn something new. For example, I enjoy dance in my free time so I try to learn a new routine each week that I can show my family.
I know it’s hard, and it may take some time, but motivation is still possible! I hope that these top tips can kick things off for you.
Stay safe and motivated! :)
—
Paula Kastrati, CoachBright Academic Coach
Self-Isolation & Productivity - our tips!
“Don’t worry if you are not being as productive as you usually are in the midst of a GLOBAL PANDEMIC!”
While lost in the twittersphere last week, I came across the above tweet and found it somewhat reassuring. Having just finished my third week of isolation, I am still somewhat trying to get to grips with this bizarre new reality and world we live in. Until earlier this week, I had spent most of the time questioning myself on why I was not being as productive as I usually am, with work, with studies and with those 400 projects I keep meaning to start. I felt that if anything, this was the perfect opportunity to do everything that needed to be done and smash them out one by one. The truth is though, the uncertainty of our current situation carries a weight with it that I’ve been feeling but trying hard to ignore and maybe this is the same for you reading this. As such I have decided to be less hard on myself given the situation and I’m now slowly adjusting to the new normal - fortunately it appears the rest of the world is too.
This week I hosted our weekly coach corner series, this is where we bring everyone together once a week and discuss a different topic (every Thursday, 2pm - 3pm). On Thursday, we were joined by most of the CoachBright team, along with several coaches and focussed on how everyone else has been adjusting to their own isolation journey. Together we shared tips, advice and stories on what we’ve personally been getting up to, from learning a new language to just taking some time out to breathe and relax.
Although society has taken a pause for the time being, both people and organisations from across the world are demonstrating their resilience during this time and changing the way they do whatever it is they do. For example, the talented body coach Joe Wicks has been leading the nation in virtual morning workouts helping millions of people in the UK stay fit (albeit, I am not one of them yet!), the UK based Stand Comedy club is streaming live shows every Saturday to thousands in their living rooms and virtual pub quizzes have taken off with some small local pubs now hosting their weekly quizzes to over 300’000 teams across the world. At the end of the day, we are all in the same boat and people are coming together to make sure that we stay afloat and eventually get to shore intact.
As a team we all took something away from this week's coach corner and I wanted to share with you some of what was discussed so you can hopefully take away something too. See below for our collective decisions and ideas:
Take time to join a fitness, exercise or yoga class. Whether that is inviting friends to work-out with you (virtually!) or joining a streamed class, there are lots of options available during this time. From Joe Wicks mentioned earlier to a range of personal fitness trainers and closed gyms streaming live from instagram. A list of 25 different online fitness classes can be found here.
2. Reconnect with old friends and family members. Use this opportunity to get in touch and check on those people you haven’t spoken to in a while. I’ve personally been doing this a lot over the past few weeks and it’s really helped in adapting to the situation. Send them a message or an invite on houseparty! (auto-correct wanted me to change that to ‘invite to a houseparty’ - definitely don’t do that)
3. Do a quiz! So many quizzes have gone online and can be done by yourself or with a virtual team. Check out some topic specific quizzes live streamed most days here (from Harry Potter to Friends). My local quiz from back home is now also online and attracting thousands of people every day, check it out here. Alternatively, why not write your own quiz and invite friends to join? Find some questions here.
4. Go for a (socially distanced) walk! Make sure you get out if you can, even if just a short walk around your neighbourhood or a small park. Breathe that fresh non-polluted air in.
5. Get into cooking or baking new recipes! If you’re like me and not the world’s greatest cook, now could be a time to learn a couple of new recipes. The Vegan Chef kitchen has launched daily live streams here, as have Bread Ahead Bakery here. Even Italian Michelin-star chef Massimo Bottura has started hosting himself cooking dinner for his family each evening here.
6. Learn something new. I have recently purchased a Ukulele guide for beginners (I actually think it’s aimed at children) and plan to spend some time kicking off my professional musical career (or more likely just learning one tune to justify my spontaneous Ukulele purchase 5 years ago). During our coach corner, one of our team members suggested learning a new language through the various lessons and cartoons available on youtube or by downloading duolingo (or downloading duolingo yet again..for most of us).
7. Don’t be hard on yourself. These are strange times and it’s important to accept that you won’t always feel 100% - that’s the same for everyone else. If you want to do something new then go for it, if not, then just take the time to pause, relax and take it slowly in what is usually a very fast paced world.
You got this!
Seriously, you’ll be fine :)
William
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.
Coaching for our Partners and Leaders
To our school partners and social leaders,
We are reaching out to you to support you during these uncertain and difficult times.
We are aware of the many challenges you are facing in dealing with the current COVID-19 situation, and we appreciate all of the effort you have been dedicating to help your various communities.
As a team of trained and accredited executive coaches, we wanted to offer free executive coaching to help leaders doing valuable work navigate these tricky times.
We coach leaders to think through who they are and how to make better, more impactful decisions. If are looking to take some time away from it all through the support of a listening ear, some reflection, or a boost in your self -awareness, we would love to chat with you.
During these challenging times, the accredited coaches at CoachBright are offering complimentary sessions that can take place over video call or over the phone.
To qualify for these sessions, you must be a leader in the education or social sector and be willing to learn about yourself. If this is of interest to you or someone in your network, please click on the link below to book in a telephone call to get started.
Book in time (click names below) with:
· Robin Chu (CEO and AOEC Practitioner Diploma)
· Carole Reniero (Coaching Lead and AOEC Practitioner Diploma):
Both are accredited coaches with the Academy of Executive Coaching (AOEC). If we don't get to chat, do know we are rooting for you and the incredible work you are doing for us.
We wish you all the best in the days and weeks to come.
If you would like to arrange a separate time email robin@coachbright.org.
Thanks,
The CoachBright Team
Letter to Year 11's and 13's
Dear Year 11 and Year 13,
There are no amounts of words that can do justice or provide comfort or even tell you how gutted we are that this is the way you had to say goodbye. That this is how you would remember the end of your school journey. We as your coaches, your teachers, your mentors are devastated for you but also ultimately proud.
Despite all the uncertainty, it is you that kept focused, you that tried your best and worked hard. You who turned up each day talking about TikTok and that programme that is way too young for us to watch. You that talked about becoming that banker, that doctor, that politician, that lawyer, that teacher, that good person. You who thought you couldn’t do it because Maths wasn’t for you but you believed and you thought and you realised Maths is for everyone willing enough to work hard for it.
And for that we thank you, we celebrate you for all your hard work which I promise has not gone unnoticed and will not be forgotten. And even though you have said goodbye, know that we as a community are always here believing in you and will be here for you for whenever you need us.
We’re on team@coachbright.org if we can help.
The CoachBright Team x