A little while ago I was approached by the cluster manager of seven local primary schools to provide some training for their teaching staff and assistants. My presentation was about ‘Communicating Effectively to Young Children’ and included some tools and techniques that I use on a daily basis when coaching my students.
The topics I covered were:
- Communication – Building rapport quickly , understanding body language, improving listening skills, using eye accessing queues to understand how little ones are processing information
- Emotional Intelligence – Understanding and expressing emotions and feelings, the effect they can have on behaviour and decision making, identifying symptoms and triggers, building coping strategies
- Effective Questioning – Types of questions, when to use different techniques, things to avoid
As I covered my techniques there was lots of nodding and acknowledgement gestures and even a few ‘light bulb moments’. Everyone went away with a hand-out covering the key points and a list of my most useful questions as I coach my students.
The aim of the training was to share my knowledge and experience and enable teaching staff to create a more coaching environment in the classroom. Using my tools and techniques means that teaching staff can assist young children to :
- Communicate more effectively
- Identify their feelings/emotions
- Understand themselves better and their behaviour
- Increase their confidence and self-esteem
- Recognise they are being listened to
I thoroughly enjoyed giving the training session last week and knowing that it is not just the teaching staff that will benefit from my training, its the children too, is the reason I do what I do.
Primary schools are now starting to identify the many benefits that a coaching environment brings into the classroom. When introduced at an early stage it can make a huge difference to how children understand and live their lives. Combine all that with introducing Mindfulness into the classroom and just watch the positive effect it has on their behaviour. Other advantages can be smoother and happier transition to secondary school, reduced panic and anxiety and less behavioural problems.
Have a fantastic half term and if you would like me to present to your teaching staff or provide group or one to one coaching to your students then please contact me.
