Vicky Houghton (Year 5 Class Teacher), Newton-le-Willows Primary School
Year 5 underachievers double progress (in just 6 x weeks)
When forward-thinking Headteacher Kathryn Wain-Mahoney from Newton-le-Willows Primary School invited her Year 5 Class Teacher Vicky Houghton to train as a coach Vicky enthusiastically took up the challenge!
She was delighted when a highly experienced colleague who’s been teaching for around 20 years volunteered to be a ‘guinea pig’ for her to practise her skills on.
Fast-forward 6 weeks, and as you’ll see they achieved some amazing results!
Here’s the story…
What's was the coachee/situation like BEFORE the coaching?
- Before the coaching my coachee wasn’t 100% confident about teaching writing so I was taking the lead in planning for this.
- 13 pupils had not achieved their age-related or end of year targets.
What EXACTLY did you do?
We met for up to 30 minutes each week for 6 weeks. At first it felt like mountain to climb, and my coachee kept asking “What do you think?” – Instead of telling her I was able to use my skills to draw ideas out of her and help her to break it into small, manageable chunks.
Our coaching sessions focused on the curriculum and the group of 13 children who were the furthest away from where they needed to be for the end of year age-related expectations.
3 of the 13 pupils in the target group were actually more able pupils; they had hit where they needed to be in age-related targets, but were 2 steps away from their end of year target (ie under the old levels system they were on a “4c” and their end of year target was “4a”)
What's the coachee/situation like AFTER the coaching?
- My coachee felt less stressed, far happier and more confident in her own ability with teaching writing.
- All 13 pupils made “added” progress which was more than expected:
- • 7 pupils hit their age-related target
- • 3 pupils achieved above their age-related target
- • The 3 more able pupils achieved their end of year target
“We always aim to move 1 step in 6 weeks but these pupils actually moved 2 steps.
In other words, they did 12 weeks progress in 6 weeks, so we effectively doubled the rate of progress!”
Well done to Vicky for adding so much value and achieving such a tremendous result! She is a true “Coaching Champion” and has been using her coaching in the classroom daily to support learning and progress.
She’s also coached a teacher in another local primary school on ‘Early Years Transition’, and they find the coaching so valuable that they meet up for it every Friday after school at Costa. This has helped Vicky to develop strong links with another primary school and Hope Academy, and improve daily practice, all of which has benefited pupils.
Feedback from one of Vicky’s coachees in another school includes:
“Thank you Vicky for helping me to regain my positivity. Giving me a focus and the will to carry on.”
Vicky says:
“Once I’d got my head around the Coachinginschools Model it changed my life! …It’s changed the way that I am round the children, in class and children now unpick what they need to do next which is really important for Year 5. I’m not feeling overwhelmed and more. I break everything into steps and I’m really pleased that I’ve been asked to be involved in the Teaching & Learning team”
Thank you to Vicky for sharing her story, Kathryn for supporting her, and to our fantastic Accredited Trainers Theresa & Laura for facilitating it and sending Vicky back to school buzzing after every session!