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Introduction to Coaching

1 day
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Introduction to Coaching

Programme Overview

Topic
Coaching skills, professional dialogue, instructional coaching, leadership coaching, mentoring, reflective practice, communication, questioning, listening, feedback and professional learning.

Delivery Model

Face-to-Face

What is Included

Certificate of attendance

Course material (if applicable)

Cost

AED 1400 plus 5% VAT (per delegate)

Registration

Please fill out the booking form to register.

If you would like bespoke in-school training, please contact Paola (paola@infinitelearning.ae) for more information.

Course Details

Date of Training
Course Dates will be Scheduled Once we have Sufficient Registrations to Ensure Course Viability. 

Time

TBC

Venue

TBC

Booking Deadline
TBC
Target audience

This course is suitable for

  • classroom teachers;
  • middle leaders;
  • senior leaders;
  • heads of department;
  • phase leaders;
  • teaching and learning leads;
  • mentors and induction tutors;
  • instructional coaches;
  • pastoral leaders;
  • staff responsible for professional development, appraisal or school improvement.

The course can be adapted for teachers, middle leaders, senior leaders, instructional coaches, mentors or whole-school professional learning teams.

Variants are available for bespoke schools interested in primary, secondary, leadership or coaching-for-teaching-improvement versions. All content includes practical tools, video, structured coaching practice and application activities

Aims of the course

The course aims to help participants:

  • understand what coaching is and how it differs from mentoring, advice-giving and performance management;
  • develop the core skills of effective coaching, including listening, questioning, summarising, clarifying and goal-setting;
  • use simple coaching models to structure professional conversations;
  • practise coaching conversations with colleagues in a safe and supportive environment;
  • explore how coaching can support teacher development, leadership, professional learning and school improvement;
  • understand how to avoid common coaching traps, such as rescuing, telling, judging or over-directing;
  • use practical tools to support coaching conversations before, during and after meetings;
  • develop practical next steps for using coaching in their own school or professional role.
Intended outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • explain the principles of effective coaching;
  • distinguish coaching from mentoring, counselling, advice-giving and line management;
  • use a simple coaching structure to support professional conversations;
  • apply questioning, listening and summarising techniques in coaching conversations;
  • support colleagues to clarify goals, explore options and identify next steps;
  • use practical coaching tools and prompts to improve the quality of professional dialogue;
  • practise coaching conversations with colleagues and reflect on their own coaching style;
  • identify how coaching can be applied in their own classroom, team, department or leadership context;
  • create a practical plan for using coaching approaches after the course.
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Dr. Richard Churches

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Dr. Richard Churches is an international education adviser, author, teacher educator and specialist in the science of learning, leadership and school improvement. He has worked with schools, governments and education organisations across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, supporting system reform, inspection, curriculum development, teacher development and evidence-informed practice. Richard is a former teacher, senior leader and inspector, and was part of the original team that helped establish the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau. He trained coaching programmes for many years for Infinite Learning and led the Coaching Programme for Middle and Senior Leaders offered to all schools in London during the London Challenge. He has also trained school inspection across the world and does BSO inspections as a team member. An expert in the application of best available evidence to classroom practice, Richard is a member of the Education Endowment Foundation’s prestigious peer-review panel. He is the author of the books Neuroscience for Teachers, Learning and the Brain and Teacher-Led Research. His forthcoming publication An Introduction to Coaching (ISBN: 978-1-0666664-1-6) will be available in July 2026, alongside the publication of a set of Adaptive Learning Practical Application Cards (ISBN: 978-1-0666664-2-3). Richard’s courses are available in face-to-face, live online event formats and self-paced learning versions. Variants are available for schools interested in bespoke versions, including primary, secondary, middle leadership and senior leadership options. All content includes a wealth of video, practical application activities and tools for immediate use.

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Introduction to Coaching is a practical, evidence-informed professional development course for teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders who want to develop more effective coaching conversations in schools. 

The course introduces participants to the core principles, skills and structures of coaching. It explores how coaching differs from mentoring, advice-giving, appraisal and line management, and shows how coaching can support professional growth, reflective practice, teacher development and school improvement. 

Every stage of the course includes practical tools and structured practice. Participants explore coaching models, questioning techniques, listening strategies, goal-setting tools, reflective prompts and coaching preparation activities. The course is designed to be highly practical, with opportunities to practise coaching conversations with others, reflect on real professional scenarios and develop confidence in using coaching approaches immediately. 

The course also explores how coaching can be used in schools to support teaching improvement, leadership development, wellbeing, team communication and professional learning cultures. 

 

DAY 1 
8:45  Registration and refreshments 
9:00  Session 1: What coaching is — and what it is not 
Participants explore the purpose of coaching and how it differs from mentoring, advice-giving, appraisal, counselling and line management. The session introduces the core principles of coaching, including trust, confidentiality, professional agency, active listening and goal-focused dialogue. Participants reflect on where coaching can add value in schools. 
10:30  Coffee break 
11:00  Session 2: Core coaching skills — listening, questioning and structuring the conversation 
Participants practise the key skills of coaching, including active listening, paraphrasing, summarising, clarifying and asking powerful questions. They are introduced to simple coaching models and use practical tools to structure coaching conversations. This session includes paired coaching practice and feedback. 
13:00  Lunch break 
14:00  Session 3: Applying coaching in schools — practice, reflection and implementation 
Participants apply coaching approaches to real school scenarios, including teacher development, leadership conversations, professional learning, classroom improvement and team communication. They explore how AI can support coaching preparation, reflective prompts and scenario practice. The session ends with an individual or team implementation plan for using coaching approaches in their own context. 
15:30  End 
د.إ1400
Trainer:
Dr. Richard Churches
Duration:
1/2 day
Sessions:
1
Language:
English

Natalie Croome is a cross-curricular generalist, specialising in helping teams hone in on just what it is that student learning is showing them about possible areas of focus for teacher and/or leader learning. Using Professional Learning Standards as drivers in the design of high-quality Professional Learning Programmes, Natalie guides teams of leaders through engaging inquiries, honing in on connecting teacher learning to student learning. Natalie brings a fresh, adaptable and flexible approach to her work in leading Professional Learning; keeping it open to questions, research and taking a personal approach to the design process. In this way, she involves Professional Learners in the whole process, from identifying the focus area/s, designing the learning,facilitation, school-based practice, sharing findings, asking new questions... Areas of expertise include teacher identity, the ethics and professional practice of international education, global education pedagogies, bilingual & multilingual classrooms, inquiry-based learning, Cognitive Coaching, interdisciplinary & transdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning, collaborative happiness, Positive Psychology and Emotional Intelligence. Natalie combines a professional approach with a sense of fun and a passion for connecting with people, building relationships, and leveraging curiosity, creativity and play as powerful learning tools.

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