Fatima has recently returned to her career in Early Childhood and is teaching at MyCentre Childcare. She’s been supported by a Gowrie coach as part of the Returning Teachers & Educators Coaching Program that Gowrie delivers for the Victorian Department of Education. Fatima describes what happened during the program and both she and her Director, Melinda reflect on the program’s benefits and impact it has had on their service.
Fatima
Describe your passion in Early Childhood Education and Care and what brought you back to the sector?
It is important to me that children receive the best foundation that they can, and being a small part of it is very rewarding and meaningful. I wanted to return to Early Childhood Education and Care because I wanted to support the children in all areas of development.
Tell us about what were you doing immediately before returning?
Before returning to Early Childhood Education and Care, I was working as an administration assistant for an Online company. It was during COVID, and I was working from home for two years.
What were some challenges you faced as someone returning to the sector after a period of absence?
Upon returning to the sector, one of the challenges was learning about all the changes to policies and procedures and programming that came about in my absence. I also struggled to work out the best way to run a full kindergarten class. I was gone for four years, so being back in a classroom was a bit of a shock to my system. I was trying different routines and strategies to find what was most successful and doing my own research about behavioural and classroom strategies. It was difficult to keep all balanced in my mind, on top of also ensuring children were engaged and participating in experiences and discussions.
What were the focus areas and goals you have been working on with coach throughout the program?
Julie (my Gowrie Coach) and I focused on a myriad of things, including:
· Behaviour strategies, specifically discussing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in children.
· Programming in regards to more child-led programming and introducing ‘floor books’ and how we can use them most effectively.
· Documentation, getting the most out of observations, and how I can create a flowing learning journey.
· Developing yarning circles as a tool for collaboration and building ideas, as well as bringing more ideas from Aboriginal perspectives into the classroom.
· Reflective practice, specifically critical reflection and the importance of it, and how we can most effectively reflect.
· Open and successful communication within a team environment and the best way to open up avenues of communication.
In what ways has the coaching approach supported you with your return/since joining the Victoria Early Childhood Education and Care sector?
Coaching has been instrumental in supporting me in my return to the sector. It has helped me to become more confident in my abilities, as well as more confident in searching for answers and asking deeper questions, pertaining to all aspects of running a kindergarten classroom. It has been so beneficial having someone to bounce ideas off and who is there to provide feedback and answers to my many questions.
What has been the most valuable aspect of the coaching program?
Julie was such a wonderful coach and always so willing to assist me. She was always happy to tackle any questions I had and possesses such a wealth of knowledge that I always left our sessions feeling much more knowledgeable and more confident.
What has stood out to you through the delivery of coaching to date? Have there been any highlights or key learnings you would like to share?
As mentioned, Julie’s wealth of knowledge was vast, and she was happy to share it all. She had great access to different kinds of research and resources, which made it easy for me to follow up on any of our discussions after our sessions. She also shared excellent notes, which was very helpful because I could look back on our discussions and see how far we’d come and keep focused on my goals.
Do you have any examples of how the coaching program supported you with your practice or to put the theory into practice?
Because of Julie, I was able to confidently try different ways of presenting the Yarning Circles to the kindergarten children, and it became much more successful each time. The children responded really well, and it became a ritual that everyone was happy to be part of.
Julie also helped me to understand how we can best use ‘floor books’ in our programming, and the ways they can be used to keep our program as child-led as possible. This not only helped with programming, but also documentation and ensuring all children took part in experiences they were interested in.
I was also much more confident in sharing ideas and new research with my team after discussing it first with Julie. My team and I discussed at lengths the new strategies and found ways of implementing them into the room, with success.
Do you have any examples of how the coach/coaching program may have supported you personally (e.g., develop confidence)?
Julie was always very encouraging and positive. She had me reflect on my practice, and detail what I thought my strengths were, which was very helpful in finding the areas I wanted to focus on. Her feedback helped me to become more confident in my abilities and knowledge. I feel that I have become better at communicating and mentoring my team, sharing the knowledge in a way that best supports the children and their environment.
Melinda
How do you feel the Fatima’s participation in the Returning Teachers and Educators Program has been valuable?
Participation in the program has been valuable as I have been able to see Fatima grow through defining her career goals and actively working towards them. The one-on-one coaching allowed Fatima to understand her teaching needs and supported her to ask questions, as well as gain feedback, ideas, strategies, and research, and incorporate this into her teachings. The coaching also gave Fatima a safe space to discuss sensitive issues and gave Fatima guidance and perspective. I have also seen Fatima’s confidence grow while being a part of this program.
What changes have you seen in the Fatima’s practice and pedagogy?
I believe Fatima feels more validated in her ideas, more supported to ask deeper questions and more empowered as she was given an opportunity to tackle concerns and questions from an objective perspective. I can see that Fatima’s performance has improved and she seems more empowered and confident to tackle deeper conversations and reflections within her program and the centre team.
Have you noticed any change in the Fatima’s confidence with their practice?
I have seen a big change in Fatima’s confidence. Fatima empowers her team by sharing and bringing back the knowledge she has learnt through the coaching sessions with the rest of the team. Fatima is now able to question her thinking – why do we do what we do? Why do we do it this way? – and come up with innovative ways and solutions. She also feels confident in researching and making decisions.
Have you noticed any changes in the Fatima’s understanding and use of the VELDYF, EYLF and NQF?
Julie shared resources with Fatima which linked to the VELDYF, EYLF and the NQF. This has supported her to make clearer links with these documents in her programming and planning.
What benefits do you feel the Fatima’s participation brought to the service and wider team?
Fatima has shared the knowledge and research she has learnt through the coaching sessions with both her room team and the rest of the team. This has been beneficial so that her team knows her current goals she is working towards and support her where possible.
