General 1 — Denise Kelly Education Services

Testimonials

Betty Mc Laughlin
Former President, Irish Institute of Guidance Counsellors, Team Leader of Wellbeing and Regional Team Leader, Junior Cycle for Teachers Support Service

“A truly skilled, professionally accredited, Career Coach, Denise has successfully helped many colleagues to focus on their best skills by listening to their concerns and strategizing with them to get the results they desired. Denise partners the client to effectively coach them through the interview process, building confidence and continuing to encourage their development, even if they don’t immediately see success. Denise is intuitive. She possesses an outstanding ability to motivate and inspire. She uses her strong analytical skills to assess her clients’ abilities and qualities and guides them in developing a plan of action for their career. If you are working towards your next promotion or seeking a new position, Denise is just the right person for you. She is truly a master of her craft!”

John Halbert
Former Acting Deputy CEO
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Ireland

“Denise reported to me when she worked for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment as an Education Officer (2012-2017). Denise assumed responsibility for initiating and progressing developments in the general inclusion area. In particular she led the work on producing Level 2 Learning Programmes with associated support materials. These programmes offered, for the first time, programmes of study and qualifications for a very specific group of students with special educational needs. In terms of the Irish education system this was a ground-breaking initiative and Denise led the work, including guiding the contributions of NCCA and external colleagues, in a confident, collegial fashion. Subsequently, she initiated similar developmental activity for Level 1 Learning Programmes. Denise also took on the considerable task of leading the development of specifications for junior cycle Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). Her sure-footed management of this complex set of tasks, which included guiding the work of a representative development group as well as coordinating the work of a number of language specialists ensured the four specifications were published on schedule and to the highest standard.”

Professor Michael Shevlin
Professor in Inclusive Education and Director of Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (School of Education, Trinity College Dublin).

“Denise Kelly has a long track record in leadership positions within the education sphere. My knowledge of Denise is based on her leadership of an advisory group established by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to develop level 1 and level 2 Junior Cycle programmes focused on children and young people who have significant special educational needs.

I was very impressed by Denise’s ability to lead a very complex process involving a wide range of education stakeholders. She has fine negotiating skills allied to enabling everyone to have their voice heard and validated. In addition, Denise demonstrated great empathy and understanding of the desire of families of intellectually disabled children to have nationally accredited qualifications available to their children. Denise was very proactive in engaging with the advisory group and encouraging a high level of commitment to achieving positive outcomes for children with significant special educational needs, their families and their schools. It is worth noting that Denise was very efficient in producing papers that contained a high level of sophisticated thinking for consideration by the advisory group.”

Rita Mc Cabe
Faith Leadership and Governance Coordinator
CEIST Education Office

“Denise was a highly respected member of our Board of Management, she enhanced the work we were doing with parents, students and teachers in many aspects of school life including: The New Junior Cycle, Introduction of Short Courses and the Student Voice in St. Mary’s College Naas when I was Principal there. Denise is equally comfortable in DEIS and non-DEIS settings, having experience of both. She places students’ needs at the centre of her practice. She can quickly ascertain what is required, work respectfully with adults and young people alike and use her vast experience of education across different jurisdictions to address the task in hand.”

David Mc Cague
Director, Monaghan Education Centre

“Denise Kelly offers a unique experience of education and educational leadership due to the variety of positions she has held throughout her career but what is most striking is Denise’s willingness to communicate her reflections on this experience.

It is clear from Denise’s work with school leaders, teachers and indeed students through Monaghan Education Centre, that she places a high value on developing positive relationships and these relationships are cultivated by her positive disposition and engaging personality.

As a facilitator Denise carefully constructs training, drawing on the prior experiences and learning of those in attendance to raise levels of engagement and ensure a fruitful session for all.”

Miriam Magner-Flynn
CEO Career Decisions

“As a former Leader of DEIS, non-DEIS and Private International schools herself – Denise Kelly is well placed and popular with school leaders when it comes to Coaching. Her experience means she understands the reality of leadership in today’s world. Denise also brings to Coaching her experience as an NCCA officer of curriculum and development, her leadership within the Second Level Support Service for teachers, as well as her position as Director of Schools. Denise’s Coaching clients rate her highly in evaluations and point to her easy manner as well as to her vast knowledge in education as the reasons they continue to engage her services and recommend her to others.”

A Le Chéile Post-Primary Principal

“I have worked with Denise Kelly in her role as a Leadership coach through the Centre for School Leadership. She has a deep understanding of the complexities of leading and managing people based on her own wide experience and her extensive learning.

It was a pleasure to develop insights into my own leadership style and capabilities during sessions that were exacting but also warm and encouraging. I look forward to further developing my own team's leadership capacity using the knowledge and skills I have unlocked through working with Denise.”

Post-Primary Leader who wishes to remain anonymous

“Despite the wide range of experience I had when I approached Denise for interview preparation, I had not been successful previously at interview. I realise now that it was more because of my lack of skills in optimising my experience in the competency-based application and interview processes. Denise’s impressive portfolio and understanding of appointments’ systems meant she was ideally placed to support me in articulating my strengths which ultimately led to achieving my goal. One year later and I am loving my leadership role. I couldn’t have done it without Denise’s knowledge, skills and above all her encouragement.”

Post Primary Teacher, recently successful in a Middle Leadership position

Client who has recently been appointed to a middle leadership position.

“Denise was recommended by a work colleague and I am so glad I contacted her for assistance. She is fluent in her knowledge of Looking at Our School (2022) document, I met with her initially to seek advice on completing an application form for an Assistant Principal 1 role which was advertised in my school. She has incredible ability in helping you to identify the areas of educational leadership which you have skills in and really offers you the opportunity to reflect on all the initiatives you’ve participated in at your school. Denise had a hugely positive effect on my own confidence in myself. Her caring approach put me immediately at ease, she offered me the support and encouragement which I needed to believe in myself!

She knows what is needed to succeed in a competency based interview and she conducted a mock interview with me which was invaluable. She identified key areas where I could improve and helped me to increase my chances of a successful interview.

I was successful in my interview and I would love to recommend a professional like Denise to help you both professionally and personally.”

Having previously been unsuccessful at interview, I was incredibly lucky to find Denise via LinkedIn. Denise’s in-depth knowledge of the Looking at Our Schools framework was invaluable to me in completing my application form and in preparation for the competency-based interview. Whilst I had a huge amount of experience from working overseas and in various school settings, I really struggled to identify the skills and experiences I possessed and how to articulate these at interview to give the selection panel an authentic view of me as a potential leader. I also found my mock interview with Denise really put my mind at ease and her support and encouragement at all times gave me the confidence to optimise my performance at interview. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Denise as a coach.

Primary School Principal who wishes to remain anonymous

“Denise’s philosophy is that Leadership is essentially about relationships. As a school leader there is nothing to equal a Coach like Denise with the extensive experience of Education and network of contacts that she has. Her prolific knowledge and bird’s eye view of what is going on in Education in Ireland and beyond is invaluable. She was excellent at encouraging our team to consider leadership from different perspectives, to analyse how well we functioned as a team and deepened our understanding of how we needed to progress.”

Recently appointed Deputy Principal in a Voluntary Secondary School

Recently appointed middle leader in a post-primary school

“Denise has an outstanding ability to support, encourage and scaffold an individual though a competency based interview process. While I had a lot of experience in a variety of professional areas, Denise was able to make the absolute most of this, drawing my awareness to skills which I was just not giving myself credit for. She has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Looking at Our School Framework document and she encouraged me to link my experience to it in a very real and practical way. Throughout the process Denise was professional, warm, encouraging and always put me at my ease to make me believe in myself. I have no hesitation in recommending Denise as an interview coach.”

“I reached out to Denise for interview preparation for an AP position. Denise demonstrated a deep knowledge of the education system and provided expert advice tailored to my questions. Her personalised coaching and interview preparation were invaluable. I feel this guidance helped me to stand out as a strong candidate and successfully secure the AP position. I highly recommend Denise Kelly Education Services to anyone looking to advance their career in education.”