Introducing Observations: Bringing Coaching Together in One Place

In schools everywhere, coaching is one of the most powerful drivers of professional growth. But until now, the way observations and reflections are recorded has often been fragmented. Teachers and leaders juggle online forms, Word templates, email trails, and handwritten notes. Each piece captures something useful, but they don’t live in one place. The result? Extra admin, lost records, and coaching that feels harder than it should.

At STAR21, our mission has always been clear: put teachers first, reduce workload, and make coaching something staff genuinely value. That’s why we’ve built Observations, the newest feature in Starlight, the UK's first AI coaching platform.

The Pain Points We Set Out to Solve

1. Multiple systems, scattered records

Teachers told us that having to log feedback in one tool, reflect in another, and then share it by email was a barrier. Coaching should feel seamless, not like an IT project.

2. Variable quality and tone of feedback

Feedback can land differently depending on who writes it and how much time they have to polish it. When tone isn’t constructive, even the best point can be lost.

3. No single view of coaching

Leaders often lacked oversight: Which staff have been observed? Who’s reflected? Are coaching conversations happening regularly? Without clear data, coaching can feel like an add-on rather than a strategy.

What Observations Does

Observations brings everything into Starlight, alongside AI-generated feedback and the Teacher Toolkit.

• One place for all feedback: Teachers, coaches, and observers record strengths, areas for development, and reflections in Starlight. No more juggling forms or email trails.

• Teacher-first design: Teachers always control their data. They decide what to keep, what to share, and can delete observations whenever they want.

• Seamless workflow: Observers enter feedback quickly. Teachers are automatically notified by email. Reflections are easy to add, update, and share. Coaches get notified too, keeping the loop complete.

• Real insight for leaders: Constellation aggregates observation data in anonymised form, so individual feedback and reflections are never visible unless a teacher chooses to share them. Leaders see only the bigger picture — trends in strengths and areas for development, completion rates for reflections, and coverage across staff and subjects. This way, leaders can be confident that coaching is happening regularly, while teachers retain full control over their own data.

Why This Matters

With Observations, Starlight becomes more than an AI feedback tool. It becomes a comprehensive coaching platform that blends human insight with AI-generated analysis. For teachers, it means simplicity, clarity, and control. For leaders, it means confidence that coaching is embedded, consistent, and impactful.

At its heart, Observations is about making sure feedback is not only recorded, but that it lands well — helping teachers feel supported, not scrutinised.

The Teacher-First Promise

Every feature we build at STAR21 comes back to the same question: Will teachers love this? If the answer is yes, then leaders will too. Observations was designed with that principle at its core.

With Observations, teachers don’t just receive feedback — they shape it, reflect on it, and use it as evidence of their professional learning journey.

Explore how Observations works in our walkthrough video:

Starlight. Spark Insight. And now, Spark Observation too.

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The Insight Engine is written by Adam Sturdee, co-founder of Starlight—the UK’s first AI-powered coaching platform—and Assistant Headteacher at St Augustine’s Catholic College. This blog is part of a wider mission to support educators through meaningful reflection, not performance metrics. It documents the journey of building Starlight from the ground up, and explores how AI, when shaped with care, can reduce workload, surface insight, and help teachers think more deeply about their practice. Rooted in the belief that growth should be private, professional, and purposeful, The Insight Engine offers ideas and stories that put insight—not judgment—at the centre of development.