Solutions Focused Coaching in Schools

About the Programme

Feeling stuck in your work to include children and young people with additional needs and looking for something different to make that vital difference? Solutions Focused Coaching (SFC) can do that. It’s a short-term, collaborative way of identifying and describing achievable goals and creating manageable steps to get there. What’s different about SFC? It focuses directly on life without the problem that’s causing distress and the strengths of students to make changes for themselves. It’s unlike many other strategies used in schools which focus on the problem itself and try to stamp it out without fully engaging the student themselves as an effective agent of change.

Key Principles: as coachee...

• Strengths and resources: You already have the tools you need to succeed, SFC helps you identify and deploy them to generate change.
• Goal-informed approach: Instead of dwelling on failure in the past, you define your preferred future and work towards it.
• Small, achievable steps: Big goals can feel overwhelming. SFC breaks them down into small manageable steps, boosting your confidence and motivation.
• Solutions Focused mindset: It's not about dwelling on what went wrong, but exploring what works and doing more of it.
• Collaborative partnership: You and your SF Coach work together as a team, building the story of success, defining goals and celebrating progress.

Benefits and outcomes

• Fast and effective: By cutting out problem analysis and moving directly to solutions it generates rapid learning and change.
• Empowering and strengths-based: Focuses on building on existing strengths and resources.
• Future-oriented and optimistic: Visualising and working towards a brighter future.
• Practical and outcome focused: Provides concrete steps to move forward and achieve your goals.
• Flexible and adaptable: Works with the whole person to address various concerns like anxiety, stress and relationship issues that underpin difficulties with schooling.