Coaching in Education Podcast Series

In this heartfelt Stories from the Coaches episode of the Coaching in Education podcast, Richard Reid speaks with Penny Verdich — a highly respected educator, principal, coach, and Senior Consultant with Growth Coaching International. With more than four decades of leadership experience in NSW schools, Penny shares the key moments that shaped her coaching journey, her passion for professional learning and the profound impact she has had on school and system leaders across the state. As she prepares for retirement, Penny offers wisdom, insights and inspiration for everyone invested in developing leadership capacity and fostering meaningful professional conversations. A warm celebration of a career dedicated to helping others grow.

In this episode of the Coaching in Education Podcast, host Richard Reid is joined by Brett Horton (Head of School Performance), Trudi Lucas (Head of Future Education Initiatives) from Brisbane Catholic Education and Dr. Jim Knight from the Instructional Coaching Group. Together, they explore BCE's bold vision for system-wide improvement, the power of partnership and how instructional coaching is being embedded across more than 140 schools to strengthen teaching, leadership and learning outcomes. Discover how BCE is shaping a culture of growth and collaboration and why coaching is at the heart of their journey toward better outcomes for every student.

What happens when a school makes coaching central to its leadership culture? In this episode, Richard Reid speaks with Dr Adrian Camm, Principal of Westbourne Grammar in Melbourne, about the school's journey in embedding coaching across staff and leadership. Adrian shares the wins, the challenges and the profound impact coaching has had on communication, collaboration and student wellbeing. If you're a school leader curious about making the shift towards a coaching approach to leadership – this episode is for you.

In this episode Richard Reid is joined by Simon Matthews, Deputy Executive Director of Independent Schools Tasmania and host of the Learning Landscape podcast. They explore how instructional coaching is being embedded across a wide variety of independent schools—from rural campuses to city-based boarding schools. Simon shares how coaching is impacting teacher practice, professional learning and school culture, as well as the challenges and successes along the way. Whether you're just starting or looking to deepen your coaching culture, this episode offers practical insights and inspiration.

"Sustainability isn't just about the environment — it's also about people, programs, and practice. And when it comes to Instructional Coaching Done Well, sustainability can often be the difference between a coaching culture that thrives… and one that quietly fades away." This is the final episode of our special Instructional Coaching Done Well mini-series, where we're diving deep into what makes Instructional Coaching truly work in schools. In this conversation we're talking about something that doesn't always get the attention it deserves — sustainability. Inspired by Jim Knight's book Evaluating Instructional Coaching, this episode is all about what it takes to build coaching programs that last — coaching that's not a passing trend, but part of the fabric of school life. To help us unpack all of this, in this episode I'm joined by two brilliant guests: Mileva Tubbs — founder of the Instructional Coaching Collective, who's been at the heart of supporting coaches in a network of schools in Perth Australia and Av Swami — Senior Consultant with Growth Coaching International, who brings a wealth of experience in helping schools embed a coaching culture. Together, we'll explore why sustainability often gets overlooked, the key role leadership plays, how to set coaches up for success and how schools can create the conditions for instructional coaching to flourish long-term.