Role of the IB consultant
An IB consultant is provided by the IB to be an advisor to support the school as it prepares to submit its application for authorization (AfA) and plans for ongoing development and improvement after authorization as an IB World School.
A key role of the consultant is to encourage the school to adopt a developmental mindset as the school journey's towards authorisation and then past authorisation, as an IB World School, to continually develop their programme(s).
The consultant will provide 20 hours of remote support as well as conduct a two-day consultation visit. They will provide two reports: one based on the consultancy visit, the other at the end of the consultancy period. At all times they will bear in mind (with the school) the IB requirements for authorisation which can be found in the Guide to authorisation Appendix 3.
(Image source: Consulting Edp Businessman - Free photo on Pixabay)
They:
- Analyse information submitted in the Application for candidacy (AfC) and the content of the Report on Application for candidacy.
- Understand school context: work with the school to understand its context and any factors that may impact its ability to implement the IB programme it has chosen to offer (e.g., national requirements, geographic / economic context, staffing requirements etc.). The AfC (Application for candidacy) as well as the school website will provide you with your first introductions to the school. This context will provide a baseline for understanding the developmental journey the school will need to be on.
- Build a supportive relationship: From the outset the consultant will consider the key messages they wish to give in their first interactions with the school. Consultants are advisers to the school. They often take an Appreciative Inquiry stance towards the school. The consultant will use inquiry driven practices throughout their consultancy, working alongside the school to support them.
- Establish a schedule of meetings prior to the consultation visit to ensure that a thorough review can take place of progress between now and the time of the consultation visit. It is important that the consultant and the school establish a way of working remotely with each other during the consultation period. Towards the beginning of the consultancy period the consultant will often discuss with the school when is the best time to arrange the consultancy two-day visit.
- Link: The consultant is a link between the school and the IB, offering expertise to the programme coordinator and relevant members of the school community.
- Guide action planning process: The consultant will guide the school in the development of an action plan with a significant focus on ensuring that all criteria have been met at the time of submission of the application for authorization and a timeline for meeting all professional development requirements. The consultant will encourage the coordinator to continuously update the action plan during the consultancy period. Why not consider using 'backward design' principles - by sharing with the school what successful authorisation looks like, and what a school needs to do to get there, right from the start of the consultation period? You may consider doing this in a visual manner - e.g., producing a 'map' of the journey the school needs to take towards authorisation.
- Monitor progress and provide ongoing support. The consultant will have a clear idea of what has to be accomplished for authorisation and will make any shortfalls / gaps clear to the school so they can work on these ahead of the authorisation visit. One way of doing this is to support the coordinator in suggesting actions that can be shared amongst the pedagogical leadership team. They will offer appropriate support and challenge (e.g., in asking why progress may have been slow in certain areas). The relationship between the coordinator and consultant should be professional, respectful, trusting and transparent - this will allow for frank conversations when they are necessary. Finally, the consultant provides the right feedback so that the school can steer their own journey towards authorisation.
- Recommend:The consultant will encourage the school to focus on addressing any concerns outlined in the consultation visit report to help them avoid any MTBAs at AFA submission. If it is not possible for the school to make appropriate progress within the timescale the consultant may suggest that the consultancy period may need to be extended – this provides the school with more time to develop.
- Systems thinking: The consultant will approach their role bearing in mind the whole 'ecosystems' of the IB and of the school. They will adopt a systems trhinking approach to their role, and help the school to have a holistic, developmental approach to programme implementation. It is not the role of the consultant to, for example, write your policies for you, but it can be helpful to share examples from other schools.
- Consultation visit: The consultant will visit the school for a two day visit. The IB does not dictate when during the consultancy phase the visit should take place. However, it should enable the consultant to be able to analyze the progress the school has made in advance of submitting the application for authorisation (AfA). A sample consultation visit agenda can be found in the Guide to authorisation Appendix 2.
- Strengths and opportunities for development: Consultants can provide the visiting team with suggested strengths or opportunities for development. 'Strengths' identify areas where the school has exceeded what is required for authorisation. 'Opportunities for development' recognises that the school has met the requirement but identifies where the school could further improve their implementation of a requirement or programme specification. The notes that the consultant can provide the visiting team with will provide the team with more contextual information about the school they will be visiting.
- The authorisation report: When the school receives its authorisation report it will include strengths and opportunities for development. The school will use these suggestions to create an ongoing development plan. These suggestions can also be used by IB staff who will support the schools between authorisation and their first evaluation. The IB evaluation visiting team will also see these strengths and opportunities for development.
"Your role is that of an adviser; schools should feel comfortable being completely candid about the work they have done and have yet to do, and the aspects of candidacy they are finding challenging. For the school to gain the maximum advantage from the consultancy, it is important to establish a relationship of trust and honesty." (IB, training of consultants).
Key document: Guide to consultancy
The IB Guide to consultancy is a practical guide for coordinators explaining how to make the most of the consultancy stage of authorization. It covers:
- The consultant’s role – adviser and critical friend, not someone who completes tasks for the school.
- Communication – establishing regular contact and a realistic schedule for the consultancy.
- Initial review – identifying the school’s starting point, strengths, gaps and priorities.
- Action planning – developing, prioritising and regularly updating the school’s authorization action plan.
- Key areas of preparation – policies, curriculum, collaborative planning, facilities, resources and required professional development.
- The two-day consultation visit – its purpose, preparation, participants, observations and meetings.
- Consultation feedback – using the consultant’s report to refine plans and address outstanding requirements.
- Continuing candidacy – maintaining momentum and involving the wider school community.
- Readiness for authorization – understanding the end-of-consultancy report and the school’s decision about applying.
- Sample visit agendas – detailed PYP, MYP, DP and CP schedules showing who the consultant may meet and what they will explore.
For coordinators, the sample agendas are particularly useful for preparing staff and ensuring the right people and evidence are ready for the consultation visit.
Helpful IB resources
The IB have produced several short Nanos - videos - which support your understanding of the role of the consultant. They are:
Making the most of your consultancy experience
PYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 1: Projecting your timeline
PYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 2: New to candidacy
PYP: Making the most of your consultancy
MYP: Making the most of your consultancy
MYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 1: Projecting your timeline
MYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 2: New to candidacy
MYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 3: Making the most of your consultation
MYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 4: Planning your PD during candidacy
MYP Authorization Support Nano Resource 6: The verification visit and beyond
DP: Making the most of your consultancy
CP: Making the most of your consultancy
CP Authorization Support Nano Resource 1: Projecting your timeline
IB consultants' speak out about their work with schools.
Min Li (IB consultant and Secondary School Principal, Concordian International School, Bangkok, Thailand)
"When I reach out to the school, since the very first email, I will emphasize my supportive role rather than me being someone to judge them. I will explain to them that the consultancy period is only one initial state of the schools' developmental journey in the IB. What we need to achieve is to identify the schools' strengths and opportunities for development, not merely a checklist of something 'in place' or 'not in place'. Another thing to decide at the beginning of the consultancy period, is when would be the best time to conduct the on-campus consultancy visit so we can plan the 20 consulting hours around the visit. I will also share with them that I can help to provide feedback to their action plan and answer any questions they have. But it will be the schools' decision in the process of creating and refining their own plan, because they know the school best. I am just an IB expert to walk them through the consultancy period, not dictating schools' detailed plans and practices. When I talk to people at the school, I will be very mindful of my words - and make sure I encourage the school to reflect on their own plans, rather than me directing them what to do."
“I like to use the coaching model to build professional skill and capacity to enable the schools I work with to discover their needs themselves as well as to address them to achieve their desired goals, rather than me tell the school what to do which would build dependence on the consultant. I believe the consultant needs to build skills within the school, to make themselves an important aspect of the journey to become an IB world school but one that the school moves beyond. I use the GROWTH coaching model to address issues that we identify need to work through in advance of authorisation
Goals: Which goals do we need to set?
Reality: We discuss the reality of the school (e.g., the facilities may need to be developed, policies that need to be developed etc.).
Options: We discuss what options the coordinator has. I can help the coordinator navigate the requirements.
Will: We discuss what the coordinator will need to achieve.
Tactics: We discuss how and when the coordinator will do these things. The discussion focuses on using the action plan as a valuable tool in the authorisation process. The action plan also sets the goal as being a whole school one, which needs the coordinator to work with the pedagogical team.
Habits: We discuss how the coordinator, working with the pedagogical leadership, will sustain this process. What roles will various members of the pedagogical leadership team have, and how will milestones be marked and recorded.
Editor note: the IB do not specifically recommend a coaching model, and do not endorse any specific coaching model. However, I do like Antony's suggestions).
Communicating with your consultant
During the authorization process, one of the most important preparation steps before a consultation or verification visit is the creation of a shared folder between the IB coordinator and the visiting consultant. This folder acts as a central evidence hub, allowing the consultant to review how far the school has progressed in meeting IB Programme Standards and Practices before arriving on site.
The shared folder is a structured digital workspace (often Google Drive, OneDrive, or a school LMS) that provides transparent evidence of a school’s readiness for IB authorization. It helps the IB consultant:
- Understand the school’s implementation progress
- Review documentation against IB standards
- Identify strengths and gaps before the visit
- Make the consultation more focused and productive
For the coordinator, it is also a way to demonstrate systematic planning and alignment with IB expectations.
Although requirements may vary slightly depending on the IB programme (PYP, MYP, DP, or CP), most shared folders include the following key categories:
1. School information & context documents
- School mission and vision statements
- Organizational structure
- Staff list and leadership roles
- Student demographic overview
- Accreditation or licensing documents (if applicable)
2. IB programme planning
- Programme model diagram (PYP/MYP/DP/CP framework alignment)
- Curriculum mapping documents
- Scope and sequence documents (if available)
- Unit planners (draft or completed)
- Interdisciplinary planning evidence (especially MYP/DP integration where relevant)
3. Policies required by IB
These are essential and often heavily reviewed:
- Assessment Policy
- Admissions Policy
- Language Policy
- Inclusion
- Academic Integrity Policy
Each policy should ideally show:
- Alignment with IB philosophy
- Evidence of staff collaboration
- Approval process and review cycle
4. Professional development (PD)
- IB workshop attendance records
- Staff training schedules
- Certificates of IB training (Category 1, 2, or 3 workshops)
- Internal PD plans for IB implementation
- Evidence of collaborative planning sessions
5. Leadership and implementation evidence
- IB action plan or implementation timeline
- Roles and responsibilities of IB leadership team
- Meeting minutes (IB steering committee or coordination meetings)
- Progress tracking documents against IB standards and practices
6. Community engagement
- Parent communication strategies
- School newsletters or IB updates
Final note
The shared folder is not just a collection of documents—it is evidence of an IB culture being built within the school. A well-organized folder often leads to a smoother consultation visit, as it demonstrates readiness, reflection, and alignment with IB standards even before the consultant arrives.
A school may request a change of its assigned consultant during the IB candidacy process with the International Baccalaureate Organization, although such requests are considered case by case and are not automatic. Requests must be made directly to the IB (not the consultant) and should be supported by clear, professional reasons such as conflicts of interest, significant communication challenges, a mismatch of experience or context, or issues of availability that affect progress. Personality differences alone are rarely sufficient unless they impact compliance or timelines. When reviewing a request, the IB will consider factors such as consultant availability, the stage of candidacy, whether mediation could resolve the issue, and any potential effect on authorization timelines. When handled professionally and constructively, requesting a consultant change does not negatively affect a school’s candidacy status.