Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about our school, family or corporate programmes
We regulate through connection
CALM COACH FAQs
What is The Calm Coach?
The Calm Coach is a whole-school nervous system regulation programme. Short, pre-recorded video sessions teach children from EYFS through to KS5, alongside the adults who support them, simple, evidence-informed tools to understand their nervous systems, recognise signs of stress and develop practical regulation skills. A separate programme for parents and carers helps bring the same understanding and tools into family life. Organisations can also support the wider mission through a six-week workplace programme for their teams, helping fund free provision for schools across the UK.
Is it really free for schools?
Yes. Completely Free. The staff programme and all children’s programmes, from EYFS through to KS5, are provided to UK schools at no cost. There is no hidden cost, no subscription and no upsell further down the line. The Parents & Carers programme is available separately for £29, and organisations can support the wider work through a donation of their choice.
Why are the school programmes free?
We believe nervous system education should not depend on a school’s wellbeing budget. Every child should have the opportunity to develop these skills, regardless of the school they attend. The Calm Coach is designed to make this possible by keeping the provision for schools completely free, while the Parents & Carers programme and donations from organisations help support the development and delivery of the wider programme.
What do you ask schools to do in return?
Just one thing. We ask schools to share information about the Parents & Carers programme with their families through their usual communication channels. There is no requirement to purchase the course and no cost to the school. It simply gives parents and carers the option to continue the same work at home. When children hear the same language and learn the same understanding of regulation at school and at home, we can begin to build the wider support system around them.
How is this different from a one-off assembly or wellbeing day?
The Calm Coach is designed around short, consistent practice rather than a single wellbeing session. Each school programme runs over six weeks, giving children and staff the opportunity to learn, practise and revisit practical regulation skills over time. The aim is to make regulation something that can become part of everyday school life, rather than something that happens annually during a wellbeing week. See the Science page for the research behind the approach.
SCHOOL FAQs
What exactly do we receive?
Schools receive a six-week staff programme and six-week programmes for each age group from EYFS through to KS5.Each programme has been designed specifically for that developmental stage, including appropriate language, content and session length. Everything is pre-recorded and ready to play on the website, so there is nothing for staff to prepare or deliver themselves.
How long are the sessions?
Session length varies according to age and developmental stage. EYFS and KS1 sessions are around 4–8 minutes, KS2 sessions around 10 minutes, with sessions for secondary pupils and staff designed to fit comfortably into existing PSHE, form time or staff meeting schedules.
How are the videos delivered to us?
The videos are available directly on the Calm Coach website under the relevant programme tab for each key stage. Staff can simply select the appropriate programme to access the videos and use them with pupils as part of the school day. The videos are pre-recorded, so they can be accessed whenever they fit your school’s timetable and incorporated easily into existing routines, including registration, form time, assemblies, PSHE lessons or classroom activities.
Do staff need any training or experience to run these?
No. Every session is a ready-made video. Staff simply press play. There’s no facilitation training required and no script to learn.
What’s actually expected of us in return?
Just one thing. We ask that schools share details of the Parents & Carers programme with families, either by emailing the Calm Coach Handout document through your usual parent communication channels or by directing parents and carers to the relevant page on this website. That’s it. There is no charge to the school and no requirement for parents to purchase the course. It is simply an opportunity for families to access the same approach at home if they choose to.
Can we choose to use only part of the offering?
Yes. The programmes are modular, so schools can choose what works best for their setting. You may begin with the staff programme, use particular age-group programmes, or introduce the full school-wide approach.
Is there any evidence behing The Calm Coach?
Yes. The Calm Coach draws on scientific research across several related areas, including school-based mindfulness and emotional regulation, teacher wellbeing, adult-child synchrony, structured breathing and heart-rate variability biofeedback. The heart breathing practice used throughout the programmes is informed by this wider evidence base. We’re careful to distinguish between evidence supporting the individual approaches used within the programmes and research specifically testing The Calm Coach itself. The Calm Coach has not been the subject of a clinical trial, so we do not claim that research has directly tested the programme. Full references, including the evidence behind heart breathing and the other approaches used, are available on the Science page.
STAFF FAQs
What does the staff programme actually involve?
The staff programme is a six-week series of short, pre-recorded sessions designed specifically around the pressures of working in education. Each session introduces an aspect of nervous system regulation and gives staff a practical tool they can use during the working day and beyond. The programme helps staff recognise their own early signs of stress, understand what is happening in their bodies and develop simple ways to support regulation before stress becomes overwhelming. Alongside the six weekly sessions, there is a short heart breathing practice designed to be used before morning and afternoon registration or before each lesson, with a class. This gives staff and pupils a simple shared practice that can become part of the rhythm of the school day and is accessible here on the website as a one minute video.
Why include a short practice before registration or each lesson?
The start of a lesson or registration sets the tone for what follows. Taking a minute to pause, breathe and settle gives both staff and pupils an opportunity to arrive before moving into the demands of the day. The practice is not about making children sit still or forcing everyone to participate. It is simply an opportunity to pause and regulate, which staff can model and children can gradually become familiar with.
How does supporting staff wellbeing help children?
Staff wellbeing matters in its own right. But staff also work in close, emotionally demanding relationships with children throughout the day. Research into adult-child synchrony and teacher wellbeing provides evidence that the wellbeing and regulation of adults can influence children’s experiences and the classroom environment. The Calm Coach therefore supports staff as individuals, while also recognising the important role adults play in creating a calm, connected environment for children.
Is the staff programme just about stress management?
No. The programme goes beyond simply telling staff how to relax. It helps staff understand how the nervous system responds to pressure, recognise their own patterns and early warning signs, and develop practical tools they can use in real situations.
The aim is greater awareness and choice, rather than expecting staff to remain calm all the time.
Is this just for teachers?
No. It is designed for the wider school community, including teachers, teaching assistants, support staff, office staff, lunchtime supervisors and other adults who work with children day to day. The nervous system doesn’t check job titles.
What happens if a member of staff misses a session?
The sessions are pre-recorded, so staff can catch up when it is convenient for them. They can also revisit previous sessions and practices whenever they find them useful.
Does the programme replace existing staff wellbeing support?
No. The Calm Coach is designed to complement existing school wellbeing provision, not replace it. It provides practical nervous system education and regulation tools that can sit alongside existing support such as Employee Assistance Programmes, counselling and other wellbeing initiatives.
Why start with staff?
Because staff wellbeing matters, and because the adults around children play an important role in creating the environment in which children learn and regulate. The Calm Coach doesn’t expect staff to be perfectly regulated. It simply gives them the opportunity to understand their own nervous systems and develop practical tools they can use alongside the children they support.
PARENTS & CARERS FAQs
What is the Parents & Carers Programme?
It’s a seven-week pre-recorded programme designed to help parents and carers understand their own nervous systems and the nervous systems of the children they care for. It provides simple, practical tools that can be used in everyday family life, helping adults recognise stress responses, support co-regulation and gradually help children develop their own regulation skills.
How much does it cost?
The programme is £29 for seven weeks, including a bonus session exploring how you can support your child when anxiety arises.
Why isn’t the Parents & Carers programme free?
The children’s and staff programmes are provided completely free to UK schools. The £29 Parents & Carers programme helps support the wider work of The Calm Coach, helping to make it possible to continue providing the school programmes without charging schools.
Why is it important for parents and carers to do the programme too?
Children don’t learn regulation in isolation. When the adults around them understand nervous system regulation too, they are better able to recognise, understand and respond to what their child may be experiencing. The aim is to create a more consistent ecosystem of understanding and support around the child, rather than expecting the child to carry the responsibility for regulation alone.
Do I need any previous knowledge or experience?
No. The programme is designed for parents and carers with no previous knowledge of nervous system regulation. Everything is explained simply, with practical tools you can use straight away.
How long are the sessions?
There are seven pre-recorded sessions, each around 15 minutes long. You can work through them at your own pace, whenever it fits around family life, and revisit the sessions and practices whenever you need them.
Do I need to do the programme with my child?
No. The programme is primarily for the adults. Understanding your own nervous system and learning how to respond differently can change the way you support a child, without requiring them to sit down and complete another programme themselves.
What if my child doesn’t want to join in?
That’s completely fine. The aim isn’t to make children participate in exercises on demand. Many of the tools can be practised by adults themselves and naturally introduced into everyday family life when the moment is right.
How does it link with what my child is learning at school?
The Parents & Carers Programme is a specialist programme designed specifically for adults, giving you a deeper understanding and practical tools to support your child at home. While the content is different from the school programmes, it complements what your child is learning about their nervous system, helping create a consistent network of understanding and support around them, both at school and at home.
What will I actually learn?
You’ll learn how the nervous system responds to stress, how to recognise early signs of overwhelm, how co-regulation works, and practical ways to support yourself and your child through difficult moments. The emphasis is on understanding why we respond the way we do, rather than simply being told to “calm down”.
What if I miss a week?
Nothing is lost. The programme is pre-recorded, so you can work through it at your own pace. There is no requirement to complete a session on a particular day or at a particular time.
Is this only for parents?
No. The programme is designed for anyone caring for or supporting children, including parents, grandparents, foster carers and other carers.
Will this replace professional help if my child is struggling?
No.
The Calm Coach is educational and preventative. It is not a substitute for medical, psychological or therapeutic support where this is needed. If you are concerned about your child’s mental health or wellbeing, seek appropriate professional advice.
What is your refund policy?
Payment for the Parents & Carers programme is made in full at the time of purchase and is non-refundable, because the programme provides immediate access to the pre-recorded content.
CORPORATE FAQs
What is the Corporate Programme?
The Corporate Programme is a dedicated six-week nervous system regulation programme for organisations and their teams.
It provides employees with practical tools to understand their nervous systems, recognise signs of stress and develop simple regulation skills that can be used at work and at home.
How much does it cost?
There is no fixed programme price. Organisations can make a donation of their choice, with the available donation options shown on the Corporate Programme page. Your donation helps support the continued development and delivery of the free programmes for UK schools, while giving your organisation access to its own dedicated six-week programme.
What does my donation support?
Your donation helps The Calm Coach continue providing nervous system regulation programmes completely free to UK schools. It helps support the development of the programmes, the resources required to deliver them and the work involved in reaching more schools. Your organisation gets something valuable for its own team while helping make these skills accessible to more children.
How are the corporate sessions delivered?
The programme consists of six pre-recorded sessions, delivered online and designed to fit easily into the working day. There is no requirement for everyone to attend at the same time.
How long are the sessions?
Each session is around 20 minutes. The pre-recorded format means employees can work through the six-week programme at their own pace and revisit sessions whenever they find them useful.
Do we need any previous knowledge or experience?
No. Everything is explained from the ground up in straightforward, accessible language. No previous knowledge of nervous system regulation is required.
Who is the programme for?
The programme is suitable for organisations and teams of all sizes and can be particularly valuable for teams working in high-pressure environments where stress, workload and competing demands are part of everyday working life.
What will employees actually learn?
Employees will learn how the nervous system responds to stress, how to recognise their own early signs of overwhelm and practical ways to support regulation during the working day. The aim is to give people simple tools they can continue using beyond the six-week programme.
Can the programme be used alongside existing workplace wellbeing support?
Absolutely. The Calm Coach is designed to complement existing workplace wellbeing provision rather than replace it. It provides practical nervous system education and regulation tools that can sit alongside other forms of employee support.
Is this a replacement for professional mental health support?
No. The Calm Coach is an educational and preventative programme. It is not a substitute for medical, psychological or therapeutic support where this is needed.
What happens after the six weeks?
The programme is designed to give employees practical tools they can continue using beyond the six-week period. Because the sessions are pre-recorded, they can also be revisited whenever employees find them useful.
What is the cancellation and refund policy?
The donation is made in full before access to the programme is provided and is non-refundable.
Is The Calm Coach VAT registered?
No. The Calm Coach is not currently VAT registered, so VAT is not added to the donation.
ABOUT VICTORIA
What are Victoria’s qualifications?
Victoria has almost a decade of hands-on experience working as a Teaching Assistant in a primary school. She is also a qualified Craniosacral Therapist, Reflexologist and Yoga Nidra Teacher, with additional training and experience in body-based wellbeing practices.
This combination of classroom experience and nervous-system-focused therapeutic training underpins every programme within The Calm Coach.
Has this been developed with real schools and children in mind?
Yes. The programmes have been developed directly from years of working alongside children and staff in a real primary school environment. They have been designed with the realities of school life in mind, including attention spans, time pressures, busy classrooms and the need for resources that staff can actually use.
GETTING STARTED
How do we get started as a school?
The free school programmes can be accessed directly through the Schools tab on the Calm Coach website. Simply select the relevant programme for your pupils or staff and access the pre-recorded videos whenever they fit your school’s timetable and routines.
How do I get started as a parent or carer?
Simply click the button below and complete the payment of £29 for access to the specialist Parents & Carers Programme. Once payment is complete, you’ll receive access to the full programme and can work through the sessions at a time that suits you.
How does an organisation get started?
Organisations can access the Corporate Programme through the link below. The programme is offered on a contribution basis, with organisations able to choose a level of support that feels appropriate for them. Once your contribution has been received, you’ll receive access to the six video lessons, which you can share with your staff in whatever way works best for your organisation, whether through your intranet, internal communications or existing wellbeing resources.
Contact Victoria
