Exclusion From School-Inclusion In Prison.

Edinburgh University has carried out research that suggests that excluded pupils are more likely to go to prison as adults. I'm pretty certain that many of its readers will have reacted with mock (Oh really!!!) shock: did we need another report to tell us this? Well, yes and here's why. Looking through the TES summary http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6318854 there are some success stories and maybe we should be focussing on what appears to work.

I was brought up in Birmingham and we are blessed with the "Number 11 Outer Circle 'Bus Route. 

The route takes you around 26 miles of Birmingham and when we were kids....yes you get it, this is how we spent our sad gaming platform free existences. It prepared me well for my work in Education generally and working with challenging young people particularly: mainly because if you wait long enough, the Number 11 will, unfailingly turn up again and do the same thing as it did the last time. Only the drivers (and heck the dates me) and  the conductors were different.

The Education Workforce has been driven around the place by a plethora of Drivers and monitored by a head scratchingly diverse range of conductors some of which should not have been allowed anywhere near the Education Bus. Others have skipped along a continuum of bus driving techniques

• Break neck and destabilising-inducing panic and vomiting amongst the passengers
• Ponderous to the point that everyone thinks we've stopped
• Indifferent to the needs and understanding of the passengers-about their journey requirements, arrival times and so on.

Amongst all of this uncertainty, one fact remained the Number 11 would always be there.

And here we have it. Schools, academies and other providers are subject to regular changes in the manner in which they are expected to deal with challenging young people. The report "Vexed Questions over Exclusion" raises an interesting success story: that Schools with behavioural values based tend to do better in addressing challenges and that punitive approaches work less well.

Teaching values is tough: particularly when we consider how we (the adults) manage the gap between our Espoused (what we stand for) Values and our Lived (What we really do) Values. Kids can spot the gap from miles away and the bigger the gap is, the less credibility we have, proving to them that Monkey Say and Monkey Do are two very different monkeys that pretend to be the same one.

We can take a punitive approach-a "Short, Sharp Shock" that has more to do with organisational revenge than moving processes and people forward in a meaningful manner. It will gain populist applause and eventually serve no one as thresholds slip, consistency vanishes and appropriate responses to challenge converge into a Number 11 Bus route of sanctions.

Where we have have strong values, where what and who we are is informed by what we do and say and vice-versa, we stand at least a chance to deliver a strong message based on how we deliver the values we espouse. And yes, there need to be sanctions, sanctions that go hand-in-hand with well measured support and access to a range of options that engage with the person, not just the behaviour. This might give us a better chance of keeping the important link between the provider and the child.

I'm off to relive my childhood on the Number 11!

A NEW DEVELOPMENT TO MEET OUR PARTNERS’ NEEDS

We now have access to a highly experienced and qualified Children’s Support Worker/Children’s Bereavement Counsellor who brings an extensive background of first-hand experience in supporting Children and Young People traumatic and challenging periods in their lives including:

• Bereavement
• Loss through separation/divorce
• Working with terminally ill Children & Young People
• Working with anger issues

We anticipate that the major benefit to Children, Young People and their Families will be option to access a skilled professional in partnership with their school.
For schools, colleges, academies and training organisations we feel confident that access to this development will enable them to enhance their existing support to young people in distressing circumstances.-we have developed training packages that can be modified to meet your organisation’s needs

Domestic Violence: Child, Young Person or Adult.

Domestic Violence: Child, Young Person or Adult.

Background:

We are about to embark on a launch of our development programme which can be adapted for the all employers, training organisations, schools, academies and colleges and training establishments.

If you would like to find out more about how we could work with you, here are our contact details:

enquiries@coadyconsultants.co.uk 

Telephone 0121-602-7191 (UK)

Mobile 07984409937

or of course, use the comment section on our Blog.

Domestic Violence-Awareness Raising.

Premise

In 2001 women represented 44% of the working age labour force. This figure is set to rise to 48% by 2012. In some specific areas, women will form the majority of the workforce.  It is estimated that 1:4 women will experience domestic violence from men known to them and between 1:8-1:10 will have experienced it within the last year. A woman is at her most vulnerable at the point of leaving a violent relationship.

The Programme

Our programme is drawn from a nationally recognised (Home Office Approved) format providing practical approaches and in doing so establishes:

• Domestic Violence accounts for almost 25% of violent crime
• It crosses social and cultural boundaries
• There are critical events when the targets of domestic violence are at their most vulnerable
• Teachers, Mentors and other colleagues in the Education Workforce may be confided in by parents, carers or co-workers who have been the target of Domestic Violence and are at a point where they need informed assistance
• The targets of Domestic Violence , their colleagues and managers need access to recent information, including signposting to support networks and practical steps for employers
• Misinformed actions or suggestions may exacerbate an already dangerous situation

Members of the Education Workforce are ideally placed to recognise patterns of behaviour that may suggest a child, a parent/carer or an employee is under duress. We believe that we all place worker safety, safeguarding and security at the heart of our Duty of Care to their learners, parents and employees and would wish to develop a positive approach to supporting those who are/have been the targets of domestic violence. We also recognise the impact of Domestic Violence on Learner Achievement, Parental engagement and the investment lost to organisations in terms of skills and expertise when experienced colleagues leave their jobs at short-notice either as a direct or indirect outcome of domestic violence. Our programme will enable participants to

• Acquire a working understanding of the processes targets are subjected to
• Develop overview of perpetrator behaviour
• Understand to support colleagues at the point of disclosure.

Learning Styles

• Participative.
• Presentation & Video Materials (Please note-video materials are “acted” and free from “Shock Tactics”)

Implementing Organisational Coaching and Mentoring

Introduction

This is an "active piece of work": we'll update as things develop!

Coady Consultants has delivered a Coaching and Mentoring Skills Based Programme to Middle Managers with the following intended outcomes:

To up-skill Managers
To introduce a range of materials to support the processes
To rehearse and practice skills and approaches
To agree on developing a professional support group
To further develop and extend the skills gained within the context.
Is significantly different in its approach to existing structures:
1:1 Meetings
Key Performance Indicators
Appraisal
To work within the contexts of Ethical Behaviour and Human Dignity

The programme has combined the key elements of coaching and mentoring in order to produce an intervention and support strategy that is specific, flexible accessible and replicable. It enables participants to establish goals that are in kilter with organisational needs and requirements whilst retaining a high degree of personal ownership.

Participants have explored the ethical context of the intervention; have acquired an overview of the importance of clarity, rapport and feedback. An established coaching model (The GROW model) has been deployed within the context of the programme. Feedback was positive: participants established support networks (4 above) prior to leaving the event with the intention of engaging with each other on specific areas of work. Whereas it was felt important to allow a period of time for participants to engage with each other and to practice the approaches discussed during the Development Day, it is noted that participants felt that they would need a period of ongoing support as they implemented the processes and incorporated them into their practice.

Securing the Development

We are in a position to offer participants access to further support from the programme facilitator using the following model.
Our client purchases an initial allocation of on-going support from the facilitator. Participants are then able to contact Coady Consultants to “book” a specific telephone support, enabling both parties to:

Set aside a specific amount of time
Reduce the likelihood of interruptions
Be focussed on the issues for discussion

Telephone calls can be further underpinned by access to e-mail support from Coady Consultants on matters related either to emergent issues from the development day or those which are related to practice. It is envisaged that this would be delivered on a “purchased entitlement” basis.

Spreading Good Practice

The initial cohort of 10 has been asked to engage with other Managers to model and deliver the Coach/Mentor processes. It is clear from individual and collective responses to the programme that the group will deploy the techniques used with their own teams.

Coaching led approaches within organisations can make a significant impact on morale, motivation and matching personal and organisational goals. Whereas the programme delivered combines specific elements of Coaching and Mentoring, it emphasises that a coaching relationship should be a consensual one. Furthermore, our development programme acknowledges that there will (hopefully infrequently) be occasions when the relationship between the Coach/Mentor and their “Client” is no longer sustainable and an alternative Coach/Mentor may be better suited to the process.

We would therefore seek to increase the number of the Company’s Workforce who have had access to the development in order to:

Increase the workforces’ awareness of coaching/mentoring processes
Increase the workforces’ capacity to deliver coaching/mentoring processes
Increase the workforces’ capacity to receive coaching/mentoring processes

We are therefore proposing that consideration is given to extending the Coach/Mentor delivery programme to a wider cohort of the Workforce over a phased and agreed period and that the Telephone/e-mail support strategy discussed earlier be incorporated as part of the process.

Coaching & Mentoring-Bringing It Together

We were approached by an existing customer organisation to explore the use of a combination of coaching and mentoring approaches to increase the confidence and competence of mid managers in order to develop teams and individuals across the company. Our remit was to create something different to appraisals and 1:1 supervision. There’s a difference between Coaching and Mentoring-so to start with a couple of definitions


Coaching

“Coaching is a one-to-one interactive relationship that helps people identify and accomplish their personal and professional goals faster than they could do on their own.”

Mentoring

“A slightly less formal arrangement that allows participants to access support as and when they feel it to be necessary.”

Our client wanted to develop the supportive aspects of mentoring together with some of the more specifically targeted features of coaching”


The programme was designed and delivered to embrace three areas: Mentor, Professional Friend and Facilitator.

Fabulous results-high quality evaluations, follow-up work and a satisfied client.
The drive from the North West of England to the Midlands, is on one of the busiest motorways in the country. The M6 was a joy that night,
We’re going to underpin our programme with a support strategy that involves telephone and e-mail contacts with those who attended the event. They have, with minimum prompting, arranged a mutual support work. It’s a National organisation and where geography is in the way, video-conferencing has been organised.

Fantastic!!