Starting your coaching journey: The Intro to Coaching on Steplab course

Instructional coaching is widely recognised as one of the most powerful levers for teacher professional development and school improvement. We know Steplab makes it easier to implement a coaching programme and train effective coaches. However, for many teachers, the transition from being an expert practitioner to an effective instructional coach can feel like a big leap.

To support this, we have developed a new course: Intro to Coaching on Steplab - a two-hour foundational course designed to provide a practical starting point for coaches who are new to instructional coaching or new to coaching on Steplab. It shows them how to be a great coach and how to use Steplab to supercharge their instructional coaching.

By completing the course in just one or two focused sessions, coaches gain the essential skills and confidence needed to run high-impact coaching cycles from the outset.

The course begins by exploring what we mean by instructional coaching and how to establish a productive, supportive relationship with a coachee through a connect and clarify conversation.

Each module then guides coaches through the coaching process - from effective preparation to delivering each stage of a coaching cycle. This ensures a clear, structured approach to teacher coaching from the very beginning.

Whether you are new to coaching or not, this course is designed for anyone who has not coached on Steplab before. Schools can use it as part of their coach induction, making it a valuable addition to any professional development in schools.

The Intro to Coaching on Steplab course provides all the initial support a coach needs to get up and running with instructional coaching.

Coaches can then progress to Steplab's Coaching Skills Builder, where they explore each stage of coaching in greater depth over time, helping them refine their practice and strengthen their impact.

We have designed the course to meet coaches exactly where they are, combining evidence-based guidance with practical application.

The course includes a blend of clear, evidence-informed advice and video models from experienced instructional coaches across the UK. This helps new coaches see exactly what effective teacher coaching looks like in practice.

These models include real coaching conversations as well as think-alouds, where coaches explain how they prepare for high-quality coaching sessions. This gives participants a clear understanding of what success looks like from the start.

The course provides hands-on practice using Steplab. Each module ends with an apply task, where coaches put their learning into action using Steplab’s coaching form to record key decisions and prepare for coaching conversations.

This ensures that when coaches step into their first real session, they can focus fully on the teacher in front of them rather than the logistics of the process.

Apply tasks also include videos of teaching and coaching conversations. This allows coaches to practise preparing for and evaluating coaching, helping them understand what to do - and what to avoid - as they begin.

This foundational course is just the beginning of a coach’s professional journey.

Once coaches have completed the training and begun their first coaching cycles, they can continue to refine their practice through ongoing professional development for teachers.

For those looking to deepen their expertise, the Coaching Skills Builder and our Certificate in Professional Development Leadership provide a clear pathway from foundational fluency to expert-level mastery. This ensures that the quality of instructional coaching continues to improve over time.

To find out more about how Steplab can support your teacher CPD and instructional coaching programme, book a demo with one of our PD Specialists.