What I Do

Mentoring

Principals

Are you a first time principal in a Montessori School, with or without Montessori training?

Would you like help, support, a sounding board for decisions, frustrations, bewilderment and someone to run possible next steps by?

Do you want to be more organised, get a better insight into your enrolments and how to better target the students and families you need, those who will stay and be great advocates of your school?

Teachers

Have you been a teacher for a while now and feel a bit stuck? What does your future hold? Would you like to move into leadership?

Would you like a safe pair of ears to talk to, to discuss the things that get you down?

Are you ready to move on in your teaching career but don't quite know where to, or how?

New Graduates

Are you a new graduate about to enter a class for the first time and wondering how on earth you are going to manage your first week, or have been in your class for a few weeks/months and are wondering why it's not like you thought it would be in your training?

Would you like to form a group of other first-year teachers, led by an experienced teacher in your age group, to learn, grow, share, commiserate and get advice on how to manage everything that is coming at you?

Learning & Development

Workshops AND Individually tailored programmes

Parents

Would you like to know how to incorporate Montessori at home? Would you like to know more about what goes on in the classroom at the level your child is, or in the next level? Would you like to learn more about the fundamental principles of Montessori so you know more about what is happening? Would you like to find out if Montessori is a good fit for your child?

Parent sessions on any of these topics and more can be arranged to suit you.

Boards

Would you like some board training to help you understand the fundamentals of Montessori so that you can better understand the education you are supporting and the decisions you are making?

Do you need help with creating a vision for your school and a step by step plan on how to achieve that vision?

Do you need help with the recruitment of a new head of school or review of an existing head?

I can help you with this and more.

Professional Development (teachers)

Would you like some inhouse professional development that all your teachers hear together? Studies have shown that professional development for teachers is the most effective when it involves everyone who needs to hear the message, involves follow up work to be done between sessions and when it is ongoing.

I can help with programmes that cover a range of topics and am happy to discuss with you a programme and timetable that would fit your school.

New Principals

Are you a new principal in a Montessori School, with or without an understanding of Montessori?

Do you need someone to meet with regularly to discuss what is happening, to unload, to ask questions, to run decisions by, to practice difficult conversations with? Do you need someone to give you some honest feedback about how you are doing? Would you like me to conduct a review of your work to date so you can form goals for your own development?

There is any number of issues that come up in the day to day running of the school. Some are easy, and some cause us to ponder what we will do for days. Events happen that cause sleepless nights, decisions have to be made where some of the people affected are not going to be happy.

Heads of Schools are all things to all people but often find themselves lonely with no-one to talk to, themselves. I can be there for you, to listen as you work through these issues and help you find the best solution.

Establishment & Growth

0-18 years

Management, Resources & Finance

I can help with:

Strategic planning
Goal setting
Business case studies
Budgeting
Planning
Policies and processes
Design
Purchasing of materials suitable for your the age group
Timeframes
Surveys

...and many other aspects of setting up a school, or helping a school grow into its next phase - adding a programme, managing enrolments and future planning,

Planning

There are many aspects that need to be attended to when starting a school, or when planning to add a new age group. Having done this many times, I am well able to help you work through the process.

Timeframes, including looking at optimal financial timing to move forward
Easy to follow spreadsheets that will allow you to look at projections for student and therefore forecast income
Timetabling to maximise the long, uninterrupted work cycles
Policies to make things easy and clear for everyone
Handbooks for staff and parents
Enrolment, including growing ideal classes in terms of ages and gender balance
Marketing

Strategic Visioning

There is no such thing as standing still in business and every school or organisation needs to be run optimally so it can continue to offer an amazing education.

In order for every business to move forward, there need to be clearly articulated goals. This can include all sorts of things, but at its base, it needs to include the values you stand on, the reason you are there. These become your guiding start, underpinning all decisions you make as you engage in the business of running your organisation.

Next comes where you see your organisation or school in ten or twenty years. When you have goals to work to, they can then be broken down into achievable steps in three, to five-year spans, that can then be broken down again into yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly plans.

It is when large goals are broken down into clearly articulated, achievable parts that you can then share, prioritise and be accountable for, that great things can be achieved. This is something I love to do and would be more than happy to support your organisation to work through.