Sarah Hynds
Contact Sarah
+64 021 240 2941
sarahhynds@educationgroup.co.nz
About Sarah
BA, Grad Dip Tchg, GCI Accredited Coach, EMMC Practitioner
Sarah's Core Competencies
Leadership Development
Growing confident middle and senior leaders, building high-performing teams, and supporting successful leadership appointments.
Pedagogy & Practice
Turning evidence into action through the Science of Learning, Assessment for Learning, curriculum implementation, and schoolwide coherence.
Professional Growth Cycles
Impact-focused 1:1 coaching that sharpens practice through clear goals, purposeful action planning, and measurable progress.
Change Leadership
Sarah has been foundational in helping me drive that vision. We believe one of the reasons why Sarah has been so instrumental in the culture shift within our school is because she's not long been out of a principalship herself.
Marie Todd,
Principal, Churchill Park School
I loved the energy and wealth of knowledge that Sarah brought. She had an excellent delivery style and was very well organised and the content was excellent. Very valuable.
Rachael McKewen,
Pinehurst School
Thanks so much Sarah! So good to have interactive PLD, not just get lectured. Also, such a wealth of knowledge that you bring to the table, awesome!
Nev Gibbs,
Waitakere College
About Sarah
Sarah is an experienced leader known for developing high-performing teams and supporting emerging leaders. As Principal of Karaka School in South Auckland, she embedded Assessment for Learning across the school, creating a model of practice for others. Her strengths include leading organisational change, coaching and mentoring, curriculum design, assessment systems, collaborative inquiry, and building inclusive, improvement-focused cultures.
As co-lead of a 13-school Kāhui Ako, she introduced GROWTH Coaching to strengthen leadership and pedagogy, wrote the Achievement Plan, and more recently led the Kāhui Ako strategic plan. She also worked alongside the Education Review Office during its transition to the new Evaluation Framework, helping schools strengthen internal evaluation, capability, systems, and pedagogical practice.
Sarah works confidently with Senior and Middle Leaders, Kāhui Ako, and teachers in organisational improvement, strategic planning, curriculum development, pedagogy, coaching, leadership development and Professional Growth Cycles. She is deeply committed to ākonga wellbeing and achievement.
A passionate educator and coach, Sarah builds trusting, respectful relationships grounded in whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, pono and hiranga. Her coaching approach empowers others to set meaningful goals, gain new perspectives, and achieve positive transformation.
Sarah's Work
Keen to work with Sarah or one of our experienced facilitators?
Sarah's Workshops
Become a high-quality mentor who empowers others through balanced guidance, improved conversational skills and coaching techniques.
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Step into or strengthen your middle leadership role with this practical two-day course which explores leadership approaches and develops a range of essential skills.
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Learn about Growth Coaching International’s proven ‘relationships to results’ methodology for coaching individuals and teams in education settings.
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Empowering school administration and front-office staff to strengthen customer service, communication, teamwork and wellbeing.
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This workshop equips leaders with practical, confidence-building strategies to handle difficult conversations constructively, manage under-performance and lead respectful, solutions-focused dialogue.
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Master evidence-based coaching skills through this immersive workshop that will transform how you lead conversations, build trust and drive student outcomes in educational settings.
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Gain practical, science-backed strategies you can apply immediately to boost student engagement, reduce cognitive overload and improve learner outcomes.
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Equips senior school leaders with the practical strategies, confidence, and insight needed to lead sustainable change, navigate resistance and build a culture of growth aligned with their school’s vision.
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Refine your coaching expertise by integrating proven Solutions Focus coaching methods that shift conversations from problems to progress and empower creative thinking.
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