Parenting Coaching Agreement

How we'll work together

This agreement is designed to make sure we are both clear about what you can expect from our coaching relationship and how we will work together.

1. Purpose of the coaching relationship

Parenting coaching is a collaborative process designed to help you reflect on your parenting, better understand your child's behaviour, explore different approaches and develop practical strategies that feel appropriate for your family.

My role is to support you to think through your situation, explore options and make informed decisions that work for you and your family. You remain responsible for your own decisions and actions and for putting any agreed strategies into practice.

2. Sessions

Each coaching session lasts 60 minutes and costs £95.

Sessions are delivered online via Google Meet. I do not currently offer in-person coaching.

Sessions are booked individually. I recommend a minimum of four sessions where appropriate, as this usually allows enough time to explore an issue, put strategies into practice and review progress, but there is no obligation to book a particular number of sessions.

I generally recommend weekly sessions, although fortnightly sessions may be appropriate depending on your circumstances, availability and financial situation.

Your first session is booked and paid for through my website. At the end of each subsequent session, we will agree a date and time for the next session and I will send you a confirmation email containing a Stripe payment link.

Payment must be received before the session. If payment has not been received, the session will not go ahead.

Sessions are normally one-to-one, but couple sessions are accepted on certain agreements. Sessions are not recorded.

3. Confidentiality

What you share during our coaching sessions will be treated as confidential. I will respect your privacy and will not share information about you or your family with others unless you give permission or I have a safeguarding or legal reason that means I need to do so.

The main exception to confidentiality is where information shared gives me reasonable cause to believe that a child is at risk of harm, or where I am legally required to disclose information. Where it is safe and appropriate to do so, I will discuss this with you first.

4. Notes and record keeping

I will take brief typed notes during each coaching session. These notes help me remember what we have discussed and enable me to create a useful follow-up plan for you after each session.

Your notes will be stored in a password-protected folder on my laptop. Only I will have access to them.

I will retain coaching notes and follow-up plans for 12 months and will then securely destroy them.

Further information about how personal information is collected, used and stored is set out in my Privacy Policy.

5. Your responsibilities

I ask that you engage openly and honestly in the coaching process and let me know if something is not working for you.

You may choose to put agreed strategies or actions into practice between sessions. You are not required to complete homework or actions, but doing so may help you get more from the coaching process.

Please attend sessions at the agreed time and let me know as soon as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule.

You are responsible for your own decisions and actions following our conversations.

Parenting coaching is not a substitute for medical, psychological, therapeutic, legal or emergency support where these are needed.

6. Sessions with both parents

Where both parents attend a session, the purpose is to support you in understanding your child's behaviour and developing practical, child-focused parenting strategies. My role is as a parenting coach, not as a mediator or relationship counsellor. I am not there to take sides, decide which parent is right, resolve disagreements between you, or negotiate compromises about wider relationship or personal issues.

I will help you explore parenting approaches and consider what may work best for your child and family. However, both parents are responsible for discussing differences of opinion respectfully and deciding how you will put any strategies into practice. I cannot guarantee that you will agree with one another or make decisions on your behalf.

To make joint sessions productive, both parents need to be willing to listen, engage constructively and keep the discussion focused on parenting and the child's needs. If a session becomes focused on conflict between parents, or it is no longer possible to work constructively, I may pause or end the discussion and recommend that you seek more appropriate support.

7. My responsibilities

I will provide a supportive, respectful and non-judgemental coaching environment.

I will maintain appropriate professional boundaries and treat information you share with confidentiality, subject to the safeguarding and legal exceptions described above.

I will provide coaching within the scope of my knowledge, experience and competence.

If something falls outside my scope of practice, I will be clear about this and, where appropriate, signpost you to a more suitable professional or service.

I will prepare a follow-up plan based on the key points and actions from each session.

I will aim to respond to brief WhatsApp messages within one working day during my usual working hours.

8. WhatsApp and between-session support

You are welcome to use WhatsApp for brief check-ins relating to strategies or actions we have discussed during our coaching sessions.

WhatsApp support is intended as light-touch support between sessions rather than an additional coaching service. It is not intended for lengthy discussions or ongoing one-to-one coaching by message. Where a question or situation would benefit from more detailed discussion, I may suggest bringing it to our next session.

WhatsApp should not be used for urgent or emergency situations. If you have an urgent concern about your child's health or safety, please contact the appropriate emergency or professional service.

9. Safeguarding

The safety and wellbeing of children is a priority. If information shared during our work gives me reasonable cause to believe that a child is at risk of harm, I may need to take appropriate safeguarding action.

Where appropriate and safe, I will discuss the concern with you first. However, I may need to act without informing you first if doing so could increase the risk to a child or where this is required by law.

Where safeguarding action is necessary, I will record the concern factually and follow the appropriate safeguarding procedure, which may include contacting or signposting to the relevant safeguarding or emergency service.

10. Payment, cancellation and lateness

Each session costs £95 and must be paid for in advance.

If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, please provide at least 48 hours' notice. With 48 hours' notice or more, we can rearrange the session without charge.

If you cancel with less than 48 hours' notice, or do not attend your scheduled session, the £95 session fee remains payable.

If I need to cancel or reschedule, I will aim to give you at least 48 hours' notice wherever reasonably possible. If I cancel, you will be offered the opportunity to rearrange the session or receive a full refund for that session.

If either of us is late, the session will still finish at the originally agreed time. This means that a late start will not normally result in the session being extended.

11. Scope of the coaching

Parenting coaching is intended to provide practical support, reflection and strategies relating to parenting, children's behaviour, boundaries, routines, sleep and related parenting challenges.

I do not provide medical diagnosis or treatment, psychological or mental health therapy, legal advice, emergency or crisis support, or diagnosis of developmental conditions.

If I believe another professional or service would be better placed to support you or your child, I will explain this and, where appropriate, signpost you to a suitable service.

12. Ending the coaching relationship

Because sessions are booked individually, either you or I can choose to end or pause the coaching relationship at any time.

I may recommend ending or pausing coaching if your needs fall outside my scope of practice, if another professional would be better placed to support you, if safeguarding concerns require involvement from another service, or if the coaching relationship is no longer appropriate or productive.

Where appropriate, I will explain the reason and signpost you to a more suitable professional or service.

13. Agreement

By booking a coaching session, you confirm that you have read and understood this agreement and agree to the way we will work together.

Please also read my Privacy Policy, which explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information.