Our Accrediting Bodies

Great training deserves great credentials – discover the
names behind the awards

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Our Accrediting Bodies

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The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the world’s leading body dedicated to advancing the coaching profession across the world. Recognised as one of the most prestigious of all the accrediting bodes, the ICF seeks rigour, quality and a focus on the core skill of coaching in its approved providers of coach training. We’re proud to be one of the few coaching schools in the UK who can claim this high distinction. The ICF has approved our Diploma in Coaching Excellence for 50 Approved Coach Specific Training Hours.

Institute of Leadership And Management

The Institute of Leadership and Management is the UK’s largest awarding body of leadership and management qualifications and ensures you can confidently use your coaching skills in organisations.

 

The Complementary Therapists Association is a leading professional organisation representing complementary therapists in the UK and Ireland allowing you feel confident you can work holistically with clients.

 

The British Institute of Hypnotherapy and NLP

The British Institute is a long-established, unique, non-profit making association of hypnotherapists / psychotherapists and (Neuro Linguistic Programming) NLP practitioners who are committed to the highest standards of ethical practice and professional competence, and are completely independent of all training organisations or school registers.

 

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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Qualification or accreditation?

The Smart School Diploma in Coaching Excellence is a qualification not just an accredited course. But not everbody understands the difference.

Actually, it’s quite simple. If the qualification is awarded by a UK awarding body, then it is a qualification. If it is awarded by any other kind of organization, say for instance, a private coach-training company then it isn’t. It may well be accredited or endorsed but it is not a qualification. That doesn’t mean it’s no good; it’s just not a qualification.

We’re proud that our coaching course is awarded independently by ITOL on our recommendation that the Diploma in Coaching Excellence is a qualification.

Regulation in coaching and NLP

Put simply, there is no formal regulation of the coaching or NLP industry. And that has its pros and cons.

There are many different organisations acting as overseers of the industry, formulating and promoting best practice and ethics and accrediting professional development. There is a richness in this mix that perhaps the strictures of single regulation would inhibit. However, as a customer, it’s good to have quality assurance.

We have opted for regulation from the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning and the British Institute of Hypnotherapy and NLP, both highly recognised in their fields.

The future of regulation?

There’s a lot of talk about regulation and whether it’s ever going to come.

At the Smart School, we’re ready for it if and when it comes having moved to a supervision model within our diploma and aligning ourselves to a recognised awarding body.

However, there is no sign of unified regulation on the horizon and it’s hard to see where any significant pressure for national or international regulation will come from with enough strength to make it happen.

Our view is to be ready and, in the meantime, continue to provide the very best training and support and know we are delivering superb value.