Coaching in Education Apprenticeship Level 5

Who is it for?

The Coaching in Education Apprenticeship Level 5 is designed for professionals across the education sector who are committed to supporting others through skilled, non-directive coaching.

Whether you work in a school, nursery, or multi-academy trust, this programme is for you if you are helping colleagues grow by facilitating reflection, encouraging ownership, and enabling change through coaching conversations.

You may already be applying coaching approaches informally or have some experience in a leadership role. This apprenticeship will deepen your coaching expertise, helping you create lasting impact through meaningful dialogue and developmental challenge.

On completion, you will also achieve the ILM Level 5 Certificate in Effective Coaching and Mentoring—a nationally recognised qualification that enhances your coaching credibility across the education sector and beyond.

This apprenticeship is designed for:

Senior leaders, assistant heads, and others who use coaching to lead and empower their teams
Experienced teachers, phase or curriculum leaders, and room leaders fostering reflective practice
ITT and ECF mentors and facilitators looking to build advanced coaching capability
SEND and inclusion leads who want to use coaching to enable inclusive, sustainable staff development
Practitioners and childminders applying coaching principles to support peer growth
Anyone with coaching or mentoring experience who wants formal recognition through a funded, professional qualification

The Programme

This programme develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to become an effective coach within education settings. It combines practical coaching practice with an understanding of organisational contexts, leadership approaches and personal development. Learners complete a structured programme of study, coaching practice, supervision and reflection.

Programme Content

Onboarding and induction: Initial assessment of training needs, guidance on support, and an introduction to the ILM Level 5 qualification requirements, roles and responsibilities, and study skills.

Understanding effective coaching and mentoring:

Purpose and benefits of coaching and mentoring in organisations.
Differences and similarities between coaching, mentoring, counselling, training and consulting.
How organisational context, culture and leadership styles shape coaching.
Theories of learning, reflective practice and emotional intelligence.
Diversity, inclusion and motivational theory.
Codes of ethics, legislation and coaching protocols.

Undertaking Coaching in practice:

Planning and contracting for coaching engagements.
Delivering a minimum of 18 hours of coaching with 2–3 individuals.
Using a range of coaching models (e.g. GROW, Thinking Environment, NLP, Gestalt, positive psychology).
Applying advanced communication skills, questioning, listening and feedback.
Using tools, techniques and psychometrics to challenge and support learners.
Record keeping, reflection, supervision and feedback.

Reviewing your coaching ability:

Holistic review of your development as a coach.
SWOT analysis and personal development planning.
Continuing professional development (CPD), supervision and maintaining a coaching log.

Key duties and behaviours

Designing and delivering coaching aligned to organisational culture and goals.
Supporting goal-setting, resilience and professional growth.
Acting as an ambassador for a coaching mindset, building trust and rapport, and maintaining ethical standards

Delivery

How is the Coaching in Education apprenticeship delivered?

The Coaching in Education Apprenticeship is designed to be flexible and achievable alongside full-time work. Delivery combines expert-led sessions, tailored support and access to a range of high-quality online resources. You’ll benefit from:

Monthly online classrooms – live, interactive sessions that build your coaching knowledge and skills over time
Monthly 1:1 sessions with your dedicated Tutor-Coach – personalised support, progress reviews and targeted development
Three-monthly tripartite reviews – joint meetings between you, your employer and your Tutor-Coach to review progress, set goals and ensure alignment with your role

You’ll also have access to a wealth of on-demand online resources, tools and activities to support your learning throughout the programme.

Why should schools support staff to complete this apprenticeship?

Apprentices also gain the ILM Level 5 Certificate in Effective Coaching and Mentoring. This well-respected qualification demonstrates their coaching knowledge and skills to a nationally recognised standard
Embed a consistent coaching culture: Apprentices bring structured coaching techniques (like contracting and active listening) into daily practice, encouraging growth across the whole setting
Support inclusion and SEND provision: Coaches trained in emotional intelligence and bias awareness are better equipped to guide staff in inclusive practice—supporting diverse learners and colleagues
Enable staff to solve real problems: With coaching grounded in goal-setting, evaluation, and reflective practice, your staff can tackle issues such as performance, staff workload, or transitions with clarity and confidence
Strengthen professional standards and ethics: Apprentices leave settings assured in legal, ethical, and safeguarding expectations—building trust among staff and stakeholders
Drive leadership capacity from within: Participants gain stakeholder management skills and the ability to coach senior colleagues—bolstering leadership pipelines without needing external support
Produce evidence of coaching impact: With measurable frameworks (e.g., ROI theories) embedded in practice, your setting will have concrete proof of improvement for external reviews and inspections