411 DevelopMENTAL Coaching

NSW Department of Education to explore VET student coaching with the University of Sydney.

The NSW Department of Education has taken the lead in an innovative developmental coaching approach for VET students in High Schools. A partnership has been created between NSW Department of Education Pathways and Vocational Education Strategy, Seven Hills High School, a Vocational Education Pathways School, and the University of Sydney Coaching Psychology Unit to study how coaching might improve the challenges of student transitions from Stage 5 to Stage 6 and more adult-oriented learning environments.

Seven Hills High School in Western Sydney has a new Vocational Innovation Centre (VIC) due to open in 2023. VIC students already enrolled at the school will participate in an 8-session developmental coaching “prototype” to be delivered in Terms 2 and 3. Current teachers, work experience and prospective employers of VET students will also be given a practical guide to working with the approach, authored by Dr Michael Cavanagh, Deputy Director of the Coaching Psychology Unit at Sydney.

“We’re excited to investigate how adult development theory and its practical application through coaching could influence how we scaffold and support students throughout their VET experience. We’re even more excited about how we share those learnings for all high school students, not just at our school but across Western Sydney and the state,” said Leon Naufahu, the project lead at Seven Hills High School.

The only way through is through

Embracing Discomfort Can Help You Grow Leaning into those vulnerable, uncomfortable feelings could help us stay motivated and make progress toward our goals.