Primary schools turn to life coaching
School’s are calling in assistance from life coaches to help children as young as seven improve their learning and self-esteem, reports the Daily Mail.
Demand for life coaches within the education system has grown at such a pace that one company has ten times the amount of business they had this time last year.
Life coaching organisation Positively MAD (Making A Difference) is currently working with around 1,000 primary and secondary schools throughout the UK.
Directory of the company, Mark Stafford has said requests from schools are pouring in as they believe the holistic approach could help to support children and improve their self image.
Stafford explains the framework for coaching, which revolves around three core skills, setting goals for success, taking responsibility and raising self-esteem and self image.
‘Often it stems from their parents divorcing and other common issues include low self-esteem, bullying, problems forging friendships, concentration, anxiety and aggression.’ He said.
Though the schemes are receiving some criticism from those who believe parents should be handling their child’s issues directly, generally many believe it to be very effective.
It would also seem that it is not exclusively schools contacting life coaches but parents too. Children face a huge amount of pressure when they go to school, personal issues, bullying, anxiety, self-loathing. These are extremely intense problems that many parents do not know how to tackle alone and this is where they turn to professional coaches.
Gladeana McMahon, chairman of the Association for Coaching UK, which has more than 3,000 members, said: ‘The more the coaching gets used, the more people realise the value of it.’
