Coaching Academy 'returns to its roots' by training 72 new coaches

Health Innovation North West Coast's Coaching Academy is proud to have upskilled 72 NHS staff and system partners in coaching skills this year by delivering a number of foundation and practitioner-level cohorts. 

The Coaching Academy is embedded in several programmes within Health Innovation North West Coast, but it doesn’t often deliver as many stand-alone coaching courses in one year.  

Lindsey Roome, Senior Programme Manager for the Coaching Academy, observes that coaching seems to be what the system needs right now and Health Innovation North West Coast are responding. Lindsey thinks that the demand is a testament to coaching’s strength to transform how people approach relationships. “Coaching practice can be quite life changing. That’s why so many people we have worked with are so passionate about it. They love the ethos, and quite often go onto advanced courses and even explore coaching as a career.” 

Sophia Mody, Head of Continuous Quality Improvement at Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, had previously attended one of our Coaching Foundations courses and decided to bring it to her organisation as it implemented their quality improvement strategy. She said: “My experience with the coaching programme has been incredibly positive. The QI team’s reaction to the course has been enthusiastic, with 16 people at the trust having completed the course and eleven portfolios submitted so far, with more on the way.

“The programme was exceptionally well delivered, providing comprehensive and engaging content that resonated with all participants. The support after the session was beyond words. Lindsey, our programme facilitator, was always available to meet with our staff and myself for any updates, ensuring that we had the guidance and resources needed to implement what we learned effectively.

“Coaching has enabled us to foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. It has provided our staff with the skills and confidence to lead quality improvement initiatives effectively. We have seen tangible impacts through the projects completed as part of the CQI (Continuous Quality Improvement) leadership programme.

“On the valuable suggestion from Lindsey, we have established a community of practice for our trained coaches. We are committed to continuing this journey and building a robust coaching community that will drive continuous improvement and excellence within our Trust."

Lindsey says the real “light bulb” moments are when participants put learning into on-the-job practice through the creation of accreditation portfolios. Lindsey says this year they have offered even more valuable, constructive portfolio feedback through the help of external assessors.  

Nikki Williams, Social Prescribing and Personalised Care Lead at Brighter Living Partnership attended one of our Coaching Foundations courses and said: “I came away from the course feeling re-energised and enthusiastic about implementing coaching practice into our service. Our leadership team is committed to continued improvement and reflection of our face-to-face support to clients in the community. The course gave us practical skills and frameworks to better structure our client consultations around what matters to that individual.” 

Of the 72 people who completed their courses, at least 23 have submitted portfolios and there are another 41 still in development to achieve EMCC Global coaching accreditations. 

The Coaching Academy hopes to offer a ‘mixed’ foundations-level cohort next year, where all participants are from throughout the system and not tied to a particular service or programme.