Education Consultancy – The Butterfly Potential

Helping you identify, and make, those small tweaks in practice that can have a huge impact, is our goal.

I am experienced in working with individuals, teams and whole schools, as well as working with learners.

The Butterfly Potential offers a range of time blocks to support you:

Full day – introductory offer £450
Half- day (3 hours) – introductory offer £250
Staff meeting or twilight (up to 2hours) – introductory offer £200

Time can be used in a flexible way to truly meet your needs. For example, a half-day could be broken down into a meeting with the subject leader, followed by a staff meeting. A full day could be split into two half-days at different dates, with a gap task in between. I am happy to discuss different models with you.

The advantage of using freelance consultancy is that it allows you to add capacity. Whilst you might not be able to employ another member of staff, you might be able to afford ‘extra days’ of support across the year, which will add extra expertise and time to your existing staffing structure and allow you to focus on a key improvement goal.

Do you have an idea in mind and would like to book some time or discuss a bespoke package? Contact Stéphanie at: new email address

Our Services

Word Aware

Teaching vocabulary across the day, across the curriculum

I am a Word Aware accredited trainer. This whole school structured approach to explicit teaching of vocabulary will help practitioners to carefully choose what words to teach for maximum impact. Put together by experienced speech and language therapists, this tried and tested framework comes with a wealth of practical strategies to support the development of both spoken and written vocabulary for all children, across the curriculum. This is a particularly useful approach for EAL learners.

EAL support

As an EAL learner myself, I understand the barriers learners face as well as the richness they bring to the classroom. I have experience of providing targeted EAL support across a large LA with large numbers of EAL learners across a variety of themes, to individuals, teams, and whole school staff:

EAL pedagogy and induction
Assessment
EAL and SEND
Practical strategies for the classroom
Engaging, and working with, parents
Preparing for new arrivals
The diverse needs of refugees, asylum seekers and GRT learners.
Word Aware – Teaching Vocabulary across the day across the curriculum
Young Interpreters scheme

Languages

A native French speaker, I am also fluent in Spanish (level C2 on the Common European framework) and I can help you with:

Subject leadership
Languages subject review to prepare for Ofsted
Modelling lessons as CPD for teachers
Basics of pronunciation for teachers
Grammar for teachers
French / Spanish phonics for teachers with ideas for the classroom
Ideas for EY and KS1
Games for vocabulary introduction and retention
Using songs and rhymes
Cross curricular approaches
Intercultural understanding
Immersion events for learners:
– Storytelling
– Playground games
– European day of languages
– Bespoke events tailored to your needs

Worried about your Languages provision and expecting Ofsted? Would you like me to come and teach your chosen language to enthuse the children and staff alike?

Creative translation workshops

Stephen Spender Trust

I became an associate of Stephen Spender Trust in October 2023 and deliver creative translation workshops on their behalf (French or Spanish into English). Suitable for KS2 to KS4, the sessions are designed so that students work as translators. They use inference through visuals and listening activities. With the help of the provided glossary, they produce a word for word translation before polishing it. They revisit features of texts, make vocabulary, grammar, form choices and consider authorial intent, which reinforces what they learn in the English curriculum.

Teaching and Learning

I can help with a variety of themes, including:

Assessment for Learning
Creativity
Oracy
Metacognition and thinking skills
Growth mindsets
Effective learning environments
Effective questioning
Active learning
Working effectively with support staff
Effective transition
Leadership skills, including subject leadership, courageous conversations, time management, monitoring activities
Coaching and mentoring

Professional memberships:

ALL: Association for Language Learning

Testimonials

I really enjoyed the workshop as I love poetry and I was able to learn more about the skills involved in translating. I also learned lots of new vocabulary. Having translated a full poem from French into English was really rewarding. The workshop instructor was helpful in supporting me refine my translation as well as encouraging me to be even more creative with my final translation.

Amelia E
Year 9
I have had the pleasure of working with Stephanie for many years, and her impact on our Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) program has been outstanding. Throughout her time supporting us, she has consistently delivered engaging and dynamic workshops that make learning languages both fun and relevant for our pupils. Her dedication to staff development is equally impressive; she has supported our continuous professional development (CPD) with unwavering patience and professionalism. Stephanie has been an invaluable asset, and I highly recommend her expertise to any school looking to enhance their MFL teaching.

Jess Hill
DHT at Alwoodley PS
I am thrilled to share my experience with the French Translation Workshop centred around poetry. This workshop was an extraordinary opportunity for our students to immerse themselves in the beauty and intricacies of French poetry while enhancing their linguistic skills.

Andy Taylor
Head of MFL at Ralph Thoresby High School
I had the pleasure of working with Stephanie over the past year, and I cannot recommend her services highly enough. She is very professional but also incredibly reliable, consistently delivering high-quality resources and training tailored to our school’s specific needs.

The impact of her work on our language programme has been excellent. Teachers have reported increased confidence in their teaching practises. Thanks to Stephanie, we have seen a significant boost in both teacher satisfaction and pupil outcomes. Her commitment to excellence and passion for languages truly sets her apart.

Laura Darley
Head Teacher at Parklands PS
Stéphanie had already delivered several successful language staff meetings in our primary school and I knew she would be the perfect person to do a mini deep dive into the French curriculum I had created. Prior to her visit, Stephanie had looked closely at my long-term plans as well as our school website. There was no time wasted on the day. Stephanie analysed the class floor books, looking for progression. She made some valuable suggestions regarding implementing a systematic approach to the three pillars of language learning, with a stronger focus on phonics. Stephanie is knowledgeable and is a true advocate of language learning. She is also enthusiastic and a pleasure to work with.

Florence Vastel
Subject leader - Grimes Dyke Primary