A big thank you to Team Leader, Andrew Pickin for sharing his thoughts on how remote coaching is working for Read Easy Nottingham.

How many reading pairs are currently working remotely in Nottingham?

All our reading pairs are working remotely just now. The current number of pairs is around 25.

How did this come about?

This goes back to the timing of the formation of the Read Easy Group in Nottingham and the arrival of the Covid Pandemic. We formally inaugurated in October 2019 and had face to face coach training in February 2020. We had started to link together our first Readers and Coaches, but coaching had not really started when the first lockdown began.

Over various Zoom Meetings of our Management Team in the early Summer of 2020, we discussed how to proceed. Our Coordinator, Louise Radford then had individual phone calls with fourteen Coaches and Readers to work out whether we could start some remote coaching. A majority of coaches were willing to try. Readers were much more hesitant mainly because of lack of access to IT.  We persevered and by September 2020, three Coaches were up and running working with Readers using Turning Pages manuals or worksheets using phone calls or WhatsApp to connect. Three other pairs had also started to coach using Zoom.

During the Autumn of 2020, a steady stream of new enquiries to become Coaches continued. The applicants were trained remotely. We believe this set the tone for their work and anticipated the prospect that they would coach remotely too.

Has a return to face to face coaching been considered?

Yes. On a number of occasions, the Management Team has looked at opening up face to face work. At each point we have held back because of the challenges of copying with Covid regulations in an ever-changing climate. Libraries will be the venue of choice for most meetings between Coaches and Readers in Nottingham and the challenge of complying with local library rules and Read Easy Covid health and safety protocols has made us reluctant to move too quickly. We also sense nervousness on the part of some Coaches and Readers at the thought of meeting face to face while Covid is still a threat. Currently we are hoping to pilot two or three face to face pairs meeting in libraries from January 2022 assuming Covid rules permit this.

What is the rationale behind coaching remotely?

It works! We have also had no choice. On the positive side there are real advantages for all concerned in a remote relationship. The time and expense of travelling to meet is saved. Appointments can be moved or rearranged at short notice. Coaches or Readers who are physically vulnerable can engage without leaving their homes.

How have you adapted your work to support remote coaching?

Monthly Zoom meetings for Coaches began in November 2020. Our Coordinators (we now have three) all try to attend, and this provides a forum for discussion of good practice as well as challenges. We have also held two face to face socials for our coaches over this period.

We have also recently invited a new team member with a background in IT who is technically very able to join our group. He has done a great deal to support users in getting set up to use Zoom where they wish to do so. Readers in particular have benefitted greatly from this and have learned new IT skills along the way.

A number of pairs do not use Zoom but use FaceTime or WhatsApp. In every case we have found it is necessary to have two Turning Pages manuals per pair.

The support required of our hard-working Literacy Specialist has intensified as Coaches have requested resources from her to make working remotely as meaningful as possible. We have facilitated the return of books and resources by setting up a PO Box for that purpose. Readers have therefore learned to use a post box – a new skill for some.

There are things that are difficult to do using FaceTime or WhatsApp. For those using Zoom the whiteboard function on Zoom seems to have been useful in filling some of those gaps. We have been able to encourage remote coaching for at least three Readers by being able to provide tablets purchased by us from grants we received for that purpose.

As regards initial introductory meetings between Coaches and Readers hosted by Coordinators, we have still tried wherever possible to hold these face to face. This is a positive way to get the relationship started and online coaching works well and can then be the normal means of connecting.

What about Readers who are only willing to engage in face to face coaching?

This is a challenge. We currently have a waiting list of approximately 20 further Readers who have said they would like to access Read Easy support when face to face engagement becomes possible again without all the limitations arising from the pandemic. We are actively reflecting on their situation. We want to be able to help them as soon as we can, but we are not prepared to rush into starting a face to face programme with them until we feel confident that the arrangements we make to support Coaches and Readers working face to face are sustainable.