Overview
A coaching peer-led trauma-informed supervision model within early years was launched following an identified need for further support given to early years staff within the Additional Support for Learning (ASLS EY) Service .
Following a process of planning, research and working collaboratively with staff, a peer support model was developed to provide more robust support for early years staff.
This consisted of small, structured group sessions delivered online throughout 2022- 2023 to teachers providing guided peer supervision and coaching opportunities to enable colleagues to connect, engage, and share reflections and feedback.
The sessions followed a timed structure with allocated slots for each teacher to share, provide feedback and peer support to each other, and protected time to reflect at the end of each session.
Through delivering these group supervision and coaching sessions, early years teachers in turn felt supported, safe, valued and that their relationships had improved. This was illustrated through feedback captured from teachers, such as:
“I get a chance to be heard”
“I feel looked after and nurtured”
As a result, Edinburgh City Council are planning to continue delivery of these guided supervision and coaching group sessions and develop new face to face sessions for support workers. Furthermore, following feedback, regular one to one supervisions sessions were introduced for all staff with additional support offered for individual teachers with unique or particularly challenging roles or caseloads.
The challenge
Discussions had across 2022/23 with the ASLS EY Team identified a need for supervision and coaching, both on a one-to-one basis and collectively as a team.
Colleagues highlighted the notable impact that their roles had on their own wellbeing, stating that “there is an extra emotional burden that comes with this job that does not always get recognised”, and describing their work as ‘overwhelming’, ‘non-stop’ and feeling like they often carry a lot of responsibility.
During these conversations, early years staff also outlined what support would help them manage their workloads effectively and protect their own wellbeing. This included recognition of the emotional impact and the level of responsibility that their roles involve, and that staff meetings often didn’t feel like the appropriate space to raise awareness of larger, structural issues.
Colleagues offered their own ideas about what processes could be implemented to strengthen support provision; one colleague commented that supervision should involve a level of peer support that is case-based and allows space for colleagues to also reflect when they feel overwhelmed and that there is no solution.
Peer support was cited as a common theme and an important resource within supervision processes. Early years staff highlighted that they needed the opportunity to bounce ideas off of other teachers and practice coaching skills with one another.
These discussions were critical in identifying the issues and challenges facing early years staff, and also highlighted the opportunities for further support to strengthen and improve supervision processes.
Outline of project
The co-coaching group sessions were delivered online with three teachers from the early years team, and facilitated by one coaching lead/director and the Early Years Coordinator of the ASLS EY Team.
The need for supervision and coaching support was identified from conversations during team meetings and one-to-one discussions. Following this, a colleague with relevant counselling skills and experience offered to facilitate the co-coaching sessions alongside the Early Years Coordinator of the ASLS EY Team who had an interest and experience of coaching teachers through a previous role.
Both colleagues undertook relevant research to assist with the planning and delivery of the sessions. The planning process adopted a collaborative approach with ideas shared with the early years team and across different stakeholders and partners. For example, this included meeting with a range of relevant colleagues from across different services (including mental health, family counsellors and social work) and discussions with the Deputy Head of Service and the early years team about different models and approaches to supervision and coaching. In addition, members of the early years team were signposted to various coaching courses to develop their own coaching skills before the group sessions were delivered.
Following this initial research and planning period, the group supervision sessions were delivered to early years teachers throughout 2022-23. Each group met three times over the year in small, structured sessions which had been developed alongside teachers and included time for reflection and feedback at the end of each session.
The sessions were structured in a way that allowed for five minutes of ‘landing time’ for colleagues to connect and engage with each other, before carving out eight-minute individual slots for each of the three teachers to speak. Following each of the teachers' dedicated time to talk, they received five minutes of support, coaching and feedback from their peers, before closing off with five minutes of reflection at the end of each session.
As a result of positive reception and requests from teachers, the co-coaching/supervision model continued online over 2023-24 with additional, in-person sessions introduced for Support Workers (with four or five Support Workers in each group as per their request).
Furthermore, one-to-one supervision sessions were introduced for all staff, and additional sessions were arranged for individual teachers with particularly challenging caseloads or roles (i.e., those with complex medical cases or those working with families experiencing poverty and trauma).
Results
Feedback and responses gathered from the early years teachers who participated in the co-coaching/supervision sessions highlighted the impact that it had had on their personal and professional practice.
Key themes that emerged from the feedback provided by early years teachers, included:
Feeling valued in a supportive space
Colleagues highlighted that having dedicated time and space protected in their dairies made them feel heard and valued in a non-judgemental and supportive environment:
Being given a date in the diary for me to speak makes me feel valued.
Knowing that there is a time set in the diary, that is protected, it helps to get through the challenges.
Teachers also described these sessions as safe spaces for them to offload some of the worries, stresses and anxieties that they were experiencing. As a result, they felt that their wellbeing was being prioritised, which in turn improved their focus and performance at work.
Developed relationships
A fundamental driver of the success of the co-coaching/ supervision sessions was the group format and the opportunity for peer support. Colleagues cited this as being instrumental in developing and improving relationships within the team through providing meaningful opportunities to connect with others.
The feedback from early years teachers demonstrated that the group sessions provided opportunities to both give and receive effective support, and facilitated the sharing of resources and ideas to take forward in their own practice.
This was highlighted in teachers’ feedback which demonstrated the value of having access to the expertise and support of their peers:
I get lots of advice from the team, it is easy to forget how much experience there is in the team- thank you.
Collaboration
Collaboration was key to the development and delivery of the group sessions and this in turn had an impact on the success of the project. Teachers felt that this collaborative approach enabled them to feel guided towards improving their skills and achieving their long term goals.
Several colleagues noted that it was important and positive to have Senior Leadership presence within the group sessions and this helped staff to feel valued, heard and supported:
It feels good to know that management are listening and present.
Learning
The co-coaching/supervision project has been profoundly successful across the early years team and beyond, with colleagues feeling valued, better supported and more confident as a result.
There have been a number of key learning points taken from the project which will help inform the continuation and ongoing development of the project going forward:
Creating the right conditions
A key enabler of the success of the project was the commitment and willingness demonstrated by all of the colleagues involved. The early years teachers were receptive to change and trying something new, and the management were committed to the time it would take to design, develop and deliver the sessions.
Furthermore, careful consideration was taken in shaping the group sessions with due regard paid to the skills, experience, roles, energy levels, personalities and dynamics of each member of the group.
Taking the time to create the right conditions was pivotal to the success of the project and colleagues highlighted that the ‘time was right’ for it to be taken forward.
Time and patience is an important factor
Colleagues highlighted that time, patience and effort were all imperative in ensuring that the co-coaching/supervision sessions were well received. This was relevant to all colleagues, including early years teachers, key teachers, senior leaders and deputy head teachers (who provided one-to-one support to senior leaders).
The ambition moving forward is for a ‘coach the coaches’ approach to build capacity, support development and to reduce the need for senior leader presence over time.
Structure is key
The importance of structure within the group co-coaching/supervision sessions, was emphasised as key learning in the project.
Colleagues highlighted how beneficial it was to have someone else facilitate and time the sessions so that they could relax and focus on what they wanted to share.
In addition, the structured format of the sessions provided a familiar routine for colleagues whereby they knew what was expected of them and what they could expect from the others involved. The time limits allowed for focused conversations to take place, as well as providing meaningful opportunities for self-awareness and reflection.