The Challenge
Schools want to provide the best-possible education experience for all children. This is very important, but it’s not always easy. Resources are a finite commodity, there are many stakeholders and priorities to juggle - and demands are constantly evolving.
Penny often finds that schools know what they want to do, but aren’t sure how - where to start and how to structure a program of action.
With her solid commercial and teaching backgrounds, Penny can help schools with proven, innovative advice and concrete actions to meet these challenges.
Typical Areas of Focus
Sometimes, Penny is asked to develop solutions from a zero starting point. Other times, there is already a high-level of capability and function in place and it is a case of taking it to the next level - often to meet a school’s objective of leadership in a certain area.
So, while no two consulting assignments are the same, Penny is typically engaged to provide direction in the following key areas:
- Building or strengthening the Gifted curriculum
- Implementing or enhancing Differentiation programatically
- Cultural development for the school and staff to enable certain objectives
- Implementing school-wide change
Methods
Before beginning work, Penny collaborates with the principal, curriculum owner or other point of contact in each school to agree precisely the right approach for each engagement.
Practical examples of her methods include:
- Reviewing a current or proposed future policy
- Classroom observation and discrete feedback
- Facilitation of workshops
- Development of a change program
- Implementation management (optional, depending upon requirements)
Penny has the discipline and experience to ensure that the elements of each approach are assimilated and optimally sequenced, balancing the objectives, priorities and time available.
Outcomes
Penny believes in empowering schools to succeed for themselves - and thus in delivering enhanced learning outcomes for children. Accordingly, she believes in working very closely with school leaders and staff, transferring her own knowledge and also bringing out their own ideas and giving them a structure within which to reside and grow.
Examples of outcomes Penny is able to deliver include:
- A written report
- Documented policies
- A managed program for change
- An implementation plan
- Mentoring of school leaders and teachers
- Advocacy with boards and committees
How to begin
Penny would be delighted to meet with you or your nominees - at no charge or obligation - about your challenges and what’s possible to achieve together. This can be at your school, or via phone or Skype. You can see Penny's contact details here.
If your interest is in helping your gifted students, Penny has recently introduced her Free Gifted Education Health Check™ to enable schools to rapidly investigate how to better cater for their gifted students.