OUR FOUNDER'S, CLAIRE PLATT'S STORY
I recognised that I wanted to become a coach and consultant following a career of more than 30 years in education.
I had experienced for many years the joys of teaching and school leadership, as well as the challenges and the sleepless nights.
My experience had engendered in me a great passion and love of education and I felt that I wanted to contribute to the sustainability of the system. My desire was to enable teachers and leaders to grow in their effectiveness, whilst adopting healthy habits and approaches so that they were able to thrive, and create cultures where pupils and staff could flourish.
I recognised that the profession was in crisis, with teachers leaving the profession in droves, and leaders reporting high levels of anxiety and poor wellbeing.
The combination of societal change, accelerated by the Covid pandemic, increasing pupil need, stretched resources, high levels of accountability and a failing inspection system was making the education system increasingly difficult to survive.
During my time as an executive headteacher and director of education, I had experienced great fulfilment from developing teachers and leaders, ultimately bringing about swift school improvement and high achievement. My particular passion was developing leadership effectiveness – whether I was working with middle leaders, senior leaders, novice or experienced headteachers. It was so rewarding to witness leaders developing new skills and bringing about improvement, whilst building personal resilience.
However, my success as a Director of Education coincided with an extremely difficult time in my personal life. My elderly parents were reaching end of life, and required a lot more time and support. At the same time, I was entering menopause and was experiencing physical and psychological symptoms. Insomnia (and a host of other physical changes) combined by increasing anxiety is no fun!
This combination of demands ultimately caused me to burnout.
This life-changing experience planted the seed for my coaching and consultancy business. There must be other leaders out there who were juggling their careers with their personal responsibilities? Many leaders in their 40s and 50s must surely have parenting and/or caring obligations? Additionally, women leaders in midlife would also be navigating their way through changes brought about by menopause.
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I am a qualified, accredited coach with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).
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I am a graduate, qualified teacher, with a PGCE, DipED and NPQH. I also coach candidates for the NPQEL.
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I am also a serving SIAMS inspector, chair of governors and director in a multi-academy trust.
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I have also previously had advisory roles for two Local Authorities and a Diocesan Education team.
OUR VISION AND VALUES
Our mission is to empower school and trust leaders to move beyond surviving, to thriving in their roles; so that they, and their schools, flourish.
We have a bold vision of transforming the education system, so that teaching and leading in schools is sustainable and where schools, and leaders, thrive. Our driving force is to enable leaders to develop leadership habits so that they can create strong, psychologically safe cultures where they, and their community, experience a strong sense of joy and belonging.
A number of values that underpin this vision:
Compassion:
It is our fundamental belief that we should treat each other with compassion, and without judgement. Kindness is so important and we acknowledge that leaders are often faced with impossible decisions, without the necessary information or resources to make the best decisions. We recognise that all leaders are doing their best, and will demonstrate empathy and compassion for their personal circumstances.
Optimism:
We believe that it is essential to stay optimistic and positive, especially when facing complex challenges within the education system. We must recognise that we have agency to make powerful change within our schools. The children and young people in our care deserve the very best start in life, where there is hope and optimism about their future achievements.
Excellence:
We want the very best for you, your school or trust, and your staff and pupils in your care. We are committed to empowering you to drive forward school improvement, with the highest expectations, so that pupils are able to flourish academically and in their wellbeing. We also are committed to offering our clients an excellent service, which meets and exceeds clients goals.
Equity and Inclusivity:
All clients are equally valued and welcomed. We will work with you to understand your specific requirements and barriers, and will do our utmost to overcome these working in partnership with you. We celebrate diverse and will challenge injustice. Whilst we have particular expertise in working with mid-life women leaders, all clients regardless of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, race or background are welcomed.
WHY HAVE WE CHOSEN THE DRAGONFLY AS OUR LOGO?
We have chosen the dragonfly image as our logo, as it is considered a symbol of transformation, growth, hope, renewal, adaptability, maturity and self-development in many different faiths and cultures.
Through our coaching and consultancy with leaders, we hope to support you to find solutions to challenges and to empower you to thrive and flourish – both within your organisation, and personally. It is a privilege to support leaders in this way.
