The recent BSME Coaching and Mentoring Course, held at Latifa School for Girls, Dubai, on Thursday 13th - Friday 14th October has had amazing reviews! The first part of a 4 day programme, run in conjunction with CfbT Education Trust, was a huge success with nearly 20 delegates benefitting from an extremely engaging coaching and mentoring training programme.

The feedback below from the delegates says it all!

The best CPD I have had!

Challenging, intriguing, surprising, exhausting and satisfying.

I want to recommend this to any school that is truly serious about improving leadership, Teaching and Learning and efficiency. Exquisitely delivered, perfectly organised and attended by amazing people. If we all got together to lead the same school learning what we have, the school would be a world beater.

It was a very positive experience. I felt that I was provided with skills that were valuable to me personally and in my work. It was refreshing to have done something that was useful for my job, not necessarily anchored in the classroom, but that would ultimately contribute to improving staff and students' learning.

The knowledge and support provided by the course leader, Richard. He was enthusiastic and allowed time for practical application and questions. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The make-up of the group was hugely conducive to the success of the course. We were encouraged and, indeed expected, to interact from the start.

Richard challenged us from the outset to put ourselves in situations that were not always easy. He and the group were mutually supportive.

The learning environment was key to achieving the objectives. The quality of revision aids and structure helped immensely with directing focus to the practical side of the course.

I found everything to be useful. The provider ran a tight ship and I felt we always knew the purpose behind each part of what we were doing.

Aside from the fact that day 2 was a Friday, I can think of no elements of the course that I did not enjoy and find useful!

No negatives. I was just shattered when I went into work on Saturday - but in a good way! It was very intense but this is not a criticism I think it kept it all very well focussed.

It should really be an integral part of teaching training which would prepare student teachers to become more reflective practitioners and better questioners. It has certainly helped me in these areas.

As a person who has been responsible for mentoring many, many teachers, I look forward to using these skills to move my own and colleagues practice on, making us all more reflective and having greater self-belief that we have the answers inside ourselves.

I found him (the trainer) to be extremely professional and from a teacher trainer´s perspective, quite inspiring.

I came away from the course feeling re energised and refreshed. It has given me some tools to apply immediately and a lot to think about to help continue to improve my own practice. I hope that this will cascade amongst staff to improve the professional culture in school as a whole, eventually.