Services are touring Gowrie Victoria as part of the School Readiness Funding coaching package
Gowrie Victoria’s School Readiness Funding coaching packages now include an option to visit a Gowrie service for a session and tour of the program.
Through the package, services have the opportunity to observe specific areas of practice, connect with Gowrie leaders, and reflect with their coach.
Adult Learning Executive Manager Glyn Williams says more than half of the services supported by the SRF coaching are in regional Victoria. “Many of Gowrie’s experienced coaches and consultants are also based regionally and bring a specific appreciation of the complexities, challenges and rewards being experienced in regional services each day,” Glyn says. “But coming to Melbourne provides an opportunity to see programs in a different context.”
Early Years Consultant & Coach Leanne Grogan recently conducted a tour of Carlton North with educators from Good Shepherd Early Childhood Services in Hamilton. Leanne has been working with the Good Shepherd services on their pedagogical program for the past two years, as part of a large SRF package.
“The goals often shift and change over time, but we continue to tailor the coaching so that we can do meaningful work together,” Leanne says.
The coaching package involves several on-site sessions, which Leanne says allows her to work one-on-one with educators and side-by-side within the programs. “It’s a great opportunity to provide feedback for the team and, often, notice the extraordinary work they do,” she says. “Over time, I’ve seen some extraordinary growth in their professional confidence and that access to reflective practice.”
Glyn says generations of teachers and educators have come to Gowrie at Carlton North or The Docklands in the past, making use of the observation booths and seminar rooms. “What’s different in the current approach is that the demonstration is part of a coaching program, and the coach supports teachers and educators to reflect on what they see and how it might work to achieve their own goals, in their own context,” he says.
Cass and Cindy, who visited Carlton North as part of the program, say they loved the opportunity to bounce around ideas and reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses. “To be able to develop my own skills and work with a professional is invaluable,” Cass says.
