Over the last month I have been studying a Mindfulness course with the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia with Dr Craig Hassed – Associate Professor and Coordinator of Mindfulness Programs and Dr Richard Chambers – Clinical Psychologist & Mindfulness Consultant.

We have been looking at:

• the impact that being distracted and inattentive has on our performance and executive functioning
• how being more mindful (attentive, engaged and being present in everyday life) can improve performance and executive functioning
• the effect of  rumination on our effectiveness
• the power of curiosity and how we can cultivate it
• how our default mode can lead to getting stressed
• effectiveness when multitasking
• how unitasking and efficient attention switching can benefit us
• how distraction and procrastination can impact us in the workplace
• managing our emotions

Mindfulness is about bringing your attention to the present moment and not thinking about what has happened in the past or thinking about what is going to happen in the future. To bring yourself into the current moment, Mindfulness focuses on the breath and your attention to the sensations you can feel in your body as they are currently happening. It is also about being non-judgemental and considering others as well as yourself.

Mindfulness is something that many of my students find useful for dealing with anxiety, anger, self-harm and also sleep issues. With regular practice they find it has a positive impact on their well being and performance both in and out of school.

If you would like to know more about Mindfulness and how I use it with my students or if you know of someone that would benefit from coaching with me then please contact me.

This week has been Children’s Mental Health Week and the theme was to spread a little kindness.

Having support from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will surely significantly contribute to raising awareness around children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Everyone from parents, carers, teachers, therapists and coaches is being encouraged to talk openly with their children and support them in developing their awareness around emotional intelligence (EQ) and the support and information that is available to them.

I am passionate about making a difference to young people and their lives. Mental health struggles in young people have definitely increased in the three years I have been coaching in schools. And anxiety affects over 80% of my students.

Now is the time to take action, If we listen to young people today then we can support and assist them to be a happier, more contented, successful and anxiety-free generation for the future.

If you know of any young adults or teenagers that would benefit from life coaching then please contact me.

I am currently studying a course on FutureLearn in conjunction with the University of Liverpool about Psychology and Mental Health and the debate about whether it is nature or nurture which has most influence.

Understanding why we behave as we do is a fascinating subject for me. As I work with my clients I learn a lot about what makes them tick.  I then coach them to use this information to move themselves forward and achieve success.

There are some very thought provoking articles regarding mental health from The Royal College of Psychiatrists and also the ‘New Laws of Psychology’ by Peter Kinderman. I was also interested to read the different perspectives of Professor John Quinn PhD, Dr John Read and Dr Philip Goff and the causes they attribute to mental health.

As my coaching practice grows so does my thirst for knowledge around psychology and neuroscience and the impact it has on our actions and behaviours. Mental health issues are certainly on the increase and it is a major reason that my clients come to me for coaching. The more I learn around the subject the more effective I can be for my clients.

I am looking forward to the next five weeks of learning and also in deciding what my perspective on the ‘nature or nurture’ debate will be by the end of the course. At the moment I feel it could be a combination of biological and social influence although I will be keeping an open mind and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise.

If you know of someone who is struggling in life and would benefit from coaching then please contact me.

Are you in an educational environment or know of someone in education that is experiencing exam pressure?

Do you want to know more about anxiety and how it affects your body? If so, then let me assist you in developing techniques to keep stress levels to a minimum and maintain a healthy education-life balance and create a revision structure specific to you.

After many years of coaching my students in Berkshire(UK) schools through anxiety and stress, I am now offering formal training using the same tried and tested techniques.

All the details are here.

Are you experiencing rising stress levels at work?

Do you want to know more about stress and how it affects your body? If so, then let me assist you in developing techniques to keep stress levels to a minimum and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

After many years of coaching my clients through stress I am now offering formal training using the same tried and tested techniques. Coming soon to a workplace near you.

All the details are here.

Happy New Year and I hope you had a fun packed festive holiday.

This week meant that I was back in school  and it  was certainly hectic. At this time of year most of my clients are focused on wanting to make changes. The New Year prompts change for a variety of reasons. This is usually to do with what has  caused pain or discomfort in the past or that they have identified that pleasure needs to be a focus and they want to have more fun and success in the coming year.

Whatever my clients decide to take action on, they need to do the following to enable them to achieve the results they want:

• Planning
• Preparation
• Practice
• Reflection
• Adjustments
• Maintain a Growth Mindset
• Review
• Celebrate success

If a change is to be maintained on a long term basis then determination and perseverance is a must if both the conscious and unconscious mind are to change. It is much harder to change the unconscious mind and once it has been changed then new habits are done on ‘Auto-Pilot’ and long term success is more likely.

If you want to change in 2017 and need some assistance to achieve success then please contact me.

The final week of my course has been interesting and thought provoking around exploring the range and nature of partnerships that enable learning. This has not just been about teacher and pupil. It has been about different platforms across schools and learning environments.

This week the course covered:

• Partnerships for learning
• Building a climate of trust
• Perspectives on partnerships for learning
• The use of feedback
• Feedback and the growth mindset
• Pupil feedback
• Pupil voice
• Teaching and learning together
• Valuing pupil voice
• Pedagogy pros and cons

Across the last four weeks the course has explored a range of different perspectives and strategies around effective learning particularly for girls. Taking this into account there is no reason why the same things would not be relevant for boys as an excellent teaching/coaching practice.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and have taken lots away which I intend to incorporate into my coaching practice in 2017.

I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year and I will see you in 2017.

Week 3 of my course has been about the importance of communication and in essence the quality of talk.

Effective communication is a huge part of my job as a coach and mentor so I really understand how vital it is for young people to learn soft skills as part of their education.

This week the course covered the following topics:

• Promoting talk for learning
• Building confident learners through talk
• Talking with confidence and clarity
• Developing thinking and communication skills
• Developing cognitive skills
• Building student awareness of their own learning processes
• The value of quality feedback
• Neuroscience and the adolescent brain
• The whole school approach

I had to complete an assignment this week using the principles covered in the course this week combined with a real coaching session. It really made me think about how I can utilise what I have learnt so far and be a more effective coach for my students.

Next week is the last in the course and I look forward to reflecting and reviewing what I have learnt and taking it forward with my students in 2017.

If you know of anyone that is struggling and would benefit from life coaching then please contact me.

Have a great week.

Week 2 of my course with FutureLearn and Girls’ Day School Trust covered confidence and challenge in the education environment. If these are run in parallel and combined with a secure learning environment, students are more empowered and learn more effectively.

This week the course covered:

• Establishing confidence and challenge
• The value of challenge
• Building confidence
• Engaging learners using challenge
• Modelling risk taking

Within the section of ‘The Value of Challenge’ they looked at Carol Dweck’s ‘Growth Mindset’ and how it can influence student responses and their motivation to learn. I read her book a couple of years ago, ‘Mindset: Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential’. This was an interesting read regarding the differences between a growth and fixed mindset and the effect on our approach to the way we motivate ourselves to learn.

The other interesting factor from this week was about encouraging students to ‘have a go’ and to move away from a perfectionism culture. Creating an environment for safe failure, encouraging reflection and seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn is so important if young people are to engage in the classroom through challenge.

The course also covered the use of ‘fertile and open questions’ and the characteristics they need to have. As a coach, I use both of the above to effectively question my students and move them forward in whatever they want to do. Having more of a coaching environment in the classroom is something that I am very passionate about and would like to see more of it across our education system.

Another great week and I look forward to seeing what week 3 has to offer.

If you know of anyone that is struggling with motivation or is stuck in a rut and would benefit from life coaching then please contact me.

This week I have completed week 1 of a four week free on-line course for ‘Girls’ Education’ with FutureLearn and The Girls’ Day School Trust. This course is about ‘Teaching strategies that develop confidence, resilience and collaboration’.

Although the course is specifically based around girls I have already found that in week 1 that there are many aspects that would be useful for boys as well.

This week the course covered:

• How collaborative learning can benefit students in the classroom
• How learning can be used as a social activity
• The need for collaboration
• Justifying collaborative learning
• Jigsaw learning
• Criteria for effective collaborative learning
• Developing collaboration across the school environment

There are many participants completing the course from various education departments as well as parents and carers. Many of the participants come from different countries across the globe. All participants are encouraged to comment as we complete the course modules and it is these comments that really add extra substance and food for thought to the course.

I have learnt so much in week 1 that I can use with my coaching students and I am definitely looking forward to week 2.

If you know of anyone that is struggling and would benefit from some collaborative coaching then please contact me.