Professional Learning in Australia, NZ, Japan, Singapore and more!

Keynote Speeches

James is well-regarded across the region for his charismatic, thought-provoking and engaging keynote speeches.

Comments from delegates at events in Oz & NZ include:

TOPICS to choose from

BIOGRAPHY – more about James

BOOKS – choose which of the 12 books James has written will suit your audience most

Consultancy In School

Judging by how often they invited back again and again, the support offered by James and George is extremely well-regarded. These two know schools inside out. They are as encouraging and authentic as they are aspirational and challenging.

James and George support schools in many ways, including PD Days; demonstration lessons (give them any class, any age and they will show the strategies they recommended in action with your students!); staff and leadership coaching; team teaching; curriculum planning; and learning walks (with a written report to give you the sense of where you might go next).

James visits Oz & NZ at least twice a year (normally, the beginning of Terms 1, middle of Term 2, and then sometimes the start of Term 3 as well). George lives in Gippsland, VIC and is available throughout the year.

TOPICS to choose from

PL OPTIONS

“This has to be one of my favorite events in my 16 years of teaching. I honestly loved every single aspect and could have continued for days to come.”

Melissa Payne, WA

“James is extremely knowledgeable, and his previous background and own growth relays a positive message to leaders and teachers around the world”

Nick Soames, NZ

“This was an excellent learning experience. I have several new strategies and ideas that I intend to bring back to my classroom. I am excited to go back with a focus on challenge – raising expectations and building resilient learners.”

Paula Lambert, QLD

The Challenging Learning Process (CLP) has been used over the last 10 years with 80+ schools in all 6 states of Australia, plus ACT. The process begins with a baseline visit consisting of staff and student focus groups, a learning walk around school, and a set of questions for the leadership team. This evidence forms the basis of a written report identify the strengths and opportunities of the school. Together, we then establish some aspirational, achievable goals for student outcomes and design a series of interventions to achieve this (such as whole staff / dept PD, demo lessons, guided learning walks, and coaching for process champions and leadership teams). Halfway through the 2-3-year process, a midterm report is created to check on progress and decide on any adaptations required. George and James provide all the support needed throughout the process and give priority for Staff Development Days to schools engaged in a CLP.

Our School Partner approach starts with you telling us who you would like to work with (George or James) and how much of your annual PD budget you would like to invest. We then make ourselves available as almost a peripatetic teaching & learning lead. For example, a primary school in WA has engaged in a rolling contract that includes two lots of 2-day visits, monthly coaching sessions (online) for the leadership team, termly coaching for each team, work with parents, and tailormade videos to capture the key points of each topic covered (perfect to revisiting as well as part of the induction process for new staff).