About us

Discover the team behind the name and find out what we
do and what we stand for

Discover the team behind the name and find out what we
do and what we stand for

nick banner imagepeggy banner imagepaul banner imagecath banner imagerobert banner image

About the Smart School

For a long time, someone looking to train as a coach was faced with a choice between long, costly courses aimed at developing high-end executive coaches and mass market courses which delivered basic content to large impersonal classes with low direct support and piles of distance learning.

There had to be a better way.

And so between these two different coaching worlds, the Smart School offers a real difference, providing rigorous advanced skills founded on the principles of integrative coaching, delivered to small groups with high levels of face-to-face contact and personal support.

And all without the executive price tag.

We are known for our warm and personal approach to everyone who trains with us and we are respected for offering high-quality, recognised coaching qualifications for people who want to build lasting coaching practices or use coaching within their workplace.

Whilst we are always improving our courses, our core principles and values remain rock solid enabling us to continue making such a difference in the coaching world.

Through everything we do, you will see:

  • A focus on real skills not just theory
  • Clear timeframes and outcomes so you know what to expect
  • Training that is focused on your outcomes not just us ticking boxes
  • A commitment to supporting you to put your skills to practice
  • Our people are practising coaches not just trainers
  • A focus on turning training into business success

 

In their own words

Click here to see Smart School trained coaches describe their journey through the school and what it has done for them.

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Why are we called the Smart School?

SMART, of course, is the classic goal setting tool that most coaches know and when Nick created the school he wanted the people who joined it to know exactly what they could expect but also that they would create their own clear picture of the change it would bring about for them. And what better way to start than with SMART outcomes?

Over time however the school has developed a unique, innovative approach which captures the very essence of smart thinking. We don’t just repeat old methods, we think about every aspect of what we do to bring a fresh, intelligent approach to our training and our programmes.

Of course, ask any of our coaches and they would add that they made the smart choice when they chose our coaching school to take their journey!

Smart School values

At the Smart School, we believe there are certain values that are paramount for us to feel we're meeting our reason for being. It's easy for this kind of values list to be just some piece of paper left to get dusty in a drawer. But for us these values are very real.

Our key value is in providing training that actually makes a difference. We're simply not interested in training for the sake of training. That's why all our courses are over an extended period of time with real-life practice and supervision. Short courses are fine as introductions but in most cases they will soon be forgotten. We want our training to last.

This leads to other values such as our belief in the importance of hands-on training with small groups so we can really understand your needs; creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere where people feel a sense of belonging and finally constantly updating our training to keep up to date with devlopments. Our values feed into all aspects of what we do.

Our aim for our coaches

In some ways, you could say that we don't have aims for our coaches. Instead, it's the coaches who have the aims. Our aim is to help them achieve them.

And so whether that's creating a coaching business and changing their life entirely or simply developing coaching skills which work in their workplace then we aim to make sure these outcomes are met.

That's why the supervision and face-to-face support is so important. It allows us to tailor what each coach gets to ensure they can see how to move forward in the direction they want to go in.

Free Coaching Discovery Day
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Watch a course overview video

Watch a short video on our Diploma in Coaching Excellence course and get a detailed picture of the course, the structure, investment and benefits.

This is the perfect option if you don’t have much time to attend one of our seminars but want to get to know more about our course.


Free Discovery Day

Attend a free Discovery Day and find out what coaching is, how it's changed, how you can blend it with your existing skills and how you can use coaching to create a business or shape your career.

You will also find out everything you need to know about our Diploma in Coaching Excellence and how you can train with us.

Discovery Days run from 10.30am until 4.30pm in central London. It's an open, honest exploratory day in which you can get all your questions answered.

If you think coaching is for you but you need to know a bit more about it then the Discover Day an ideal place to find out. Likewise, if you know for sure that coaching is for you but you want to know if the Smart School is the right place to train, this is an ideal opportunity to get to know us.

Go ahead and reserve your place now.


Book a personal consultation

This is ideal if you are already familiar with coaching and don’t need an introduction to it. Instead you want to find out how it would work for YOU and how our course is different from others.

The personal consultation option is all about YOU and how the course would work for you individually.

We can explore what you want to do with coaching, who you want coach, how you can build a business in that area or how it would fit in to your workplace.

This can be by phone or face-to-face in Victoria, London and would normally be with the founder of the school.


Check dates and book your course now

This option is for you if you know you the Smart School is the right place to train and you know what course you want to take.

You can go ahead and select your start date and pay your deposit or the full course fee.

Select this option to go through the booking page.


Smart School Satisfaction Guarantee

Our Satisfaction Guarantee means that if you join the course and decide after the first weekend that it's not for you, then we will refund your fee minus the non-refundable deposit of £500.

This means you can join our course with confidence and security.

Master Coach Special Offer

As well as receiving the full Diploma in Coaching Excellence worth £2995, you will also receive:

  • Two-day Foundations Course in Group Coaching and Facilitation - £497
  • Two-day Being and Meaning Masterclass - £497

Full price £3985 - £2995 on the “Master Coach” (saving £990)

About the bonuses:

Foundation Course in Group Coaching and Facilitation

This is a two-day live training course which gives you solid grounding in the techniques for coaching and facilitating groups from 5 to 5,000 people.

Over the course of two days you will learn key approaches for harnessing the power of the group in coaching, for creating a learning space for each member and for dealing with large organisational and community based consultations and facilitated events.

Being and Meaning Masterclass

This two day course addresses clients issues at their most fundamental, existential level of meaning and the purpose of being.

Drawing on existential thought from Shakespeare to the Matrix and from Nietzsche to Auster, you will discover how concerns with death, meaninglessness and isolation form the foundations of human thought, emotion and behaviour.

And you’ll learn how you can coach on these issues enabling the client to greater self-knowledge and understanding and hence a freedom to act and choose.

Places are limited! to reserve your place quickly.

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