Collaborative Coaching in Broken Bay:

This article outlines the initiative of Collaborative Coaching in the Diocese of Broken Bay. The approach is a system wide initiative aimed at lifting student achievement and building teacher and leadership capacity.

The Context for Collaborative Coaching:

The Diocese of Broken Bay embarked on a significant process of evaluation and renewal between 2019 and 2021 under the leadership of Bishop Anthony Randazzo and Director of Schools, Danny Casey. Through extensive consultation with key stakeholders and the engagement of objective evaluative research partners such as De Loittes and Learning First, the operations of the diocese were reviewed. This resulted in broad structural and operational changes leading to five goals articulated in the diocesan ‘Towards 2025’ strategy.  The Learning Improvement Plan is one component of this strategy and Collaborative Coaching is part of this plan.

The Diocesan Learning Improvement Program focuses on three key drivers:

• Strengthening Catholic culture that promotes learning and human flourishing.
• Ensuring systematic delivery of curriculum to ensure consistency of teaching and learning of the curriculum.
• Building teacher and leader expertise across the system.

These three drivers are underpinned by three especially important principles operating in each school involved in Collaborative Coaching:

• A relentless focus on learning for all students.
• A collaborative culture and collective effort to support student and adult learning.
• Results focus to improve practice and drive continuous improvement.

The collaborative coaching intention is well summed up in the following quote:

“The greatest influence on student progression in learning is having highly expert, inspired and passionate teachers and school leaders working together to maximise the effect of their teaching on all students in their care.” (1)

Continuous Improvement Cycle

The diocese provides schools involved with release for Assistant Principals (APs) to work as collaborative coaches. The release is additional to their normal AP release time. Release is also provided for teachers for an hour a week, thirty-eight weeks a year, to work with their collaborative coach on a key academic focus identified by the teachers at the school. The goal is to raise student achievement in the nominated area and, along the way, strengthen the teaching capabilities of the teachers involved within their grade teams.

The Broken Bay Collaborative Improvement Cycle (CIC) is a system developed tool which assists schools to progress learning initiatives and consider different perspectives and direction along the way. The CIC can be used for guiding any improvement initiative.

Getting schools ready

In the initial stages, the system builds a shared understanding of the principles behind collaborative coaching and how it will work. To do this, schools must commit to the project and participate in the required training facilitated initially by diocesan Student Achievement Leaders. The consultative processes used in the diocese from 2019 were supported by the regular dissemination of key findings from collected data to all staff in the diocese.  The key finding related to teaching and learning was the ardent desire for engaged, inclusive and well-supported change to professional learning, leading to improved student achievement.

This finding showed the climate was ripe for the initiative to be planted, take root and, so, a process for creating a solid foundation for collaborative coaching was developed.

Before starting any coaching initiative within a school, coaches and principals receive four ninety-minute training sessions. Leadership teams receive an additional four ninety-minute training sessions and teachers receive two training workshops prior to beginning the experience. These sessions are presented after school from 3:30-5:00 pm on each occasion. The sessions are presented by system Student Achievement Diocesan Leaders via Zoom or Microsoft Teams and in groupings of between 6 and 8 schools. Towards the end of the training sessions, schools must use their existing assessment data, e.g.  NAPLAN, ACER, BEST START, the Maths Assessment Interview and consultation with staff to identify a focus for coaching in English or Mathematics.

What’s involved in the sessions?

Once the focus is decided, a plan for regular weekly meetings between coaches and teachers, placed in grade or stage teams, is developed and communicated. Coaching group operational norms are set with each team and an outline for the operation of each coaching session is established. Role descriptions of each key stakeholder in the collaborative coaching team are also presented, discussed and regularly returned to in coaching sessions. 

A coaching space is organised and set up with all necessary resources for coaching meetings ready and well organised. Tools are decided for the recording of meeting minutes and the collection and tracking of student data.  Each coaching session has a repeatable agenda and focuses on four key questions which have been sourced from Richard Dufour:

What is it we want our students to learn?

How will we know students are learning?

How will we respond when students do not learn?

How will we respond when students are already proficient? (2)

Teachers experiencing coaching are released by part time colleagues who have specific responsibilities in the classes in which they are working. Responsibility for a curriculum focus or area including lesson planning, assessment and resourcing are their responsibilities. This is to ensure the teachers involved in coaching can put their entire attention on engaging with the coaching process without having to worry about catering for a replacement teacher.

Wellbeing is important

Ensuring the leaders of the coaching experience are nurtured and cared for is a key aspect of Collaborative Coaching. Coaching teams for a prolonged, regular period can be demanding mentally and physically. Checking in on coaches, attending to needs and issues and providing support is vital. While coaching is underway, Coach Leads from the diocese visit the principal and coaches to discuss process, provide encouragement and advice as well as support, where necessary. System Leads regularly visit principals to check in, support and encourage, to identify their needs and to gather impressions, understand progress and make adjustments to the project based on this and other data.

As an ultimate step in the process, the system  organises opportunities for all school leaders to meet. On these occasions, the larger system provides feedback, shares coaching experiences with colleague's schools and preparations are put in place for the next cycle of coaching.

Collaborative coaching is launched

Schools in Broken Bay have recently begun their first actual coaching sessions with teachers at the start of Term Two after preparing for coaching throughout Term One. It is early days, but the foundations have been laid and the supporting structures are in place for collaborative coaching to be a successful, sustainable initiative with the potential to impact student achievement and teacher capability on a systems level.

Mark Bateman – Principal

St John the Apostle Primary

Narraweena. NSW

1. Fullan, M & Quinn, J. (2016) Coherence making how leaders cultivate the pathway for school and system change with a shared process. School Administrator.
2. Dufour, Richard and Marzano, Robert J. (2012) Leaders of Learning – How District, School and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Learning, Solution Tree Press United States.