FAQs

Academic coaching is tailored and personalised through a 1:1 meeting with a trained academic coach who helps students to improve their skills and ultimately their performance. Working with an academic coach helps ‘students to study smarter not harder’ by developing their skills in organisation, time management, goal setting, planning, note taking, self advocacy, test & exams preparation and study/revision. The overall principal is helping students to become more independent and find ways that help them to make school and life less stressful and overwhelming.

Academic Coaching is often referred to as Executive Function Coaching as well. In our sessions with students this also includes supporting them to develop their executive function skills across all areas including planning, prioritising, focusing, problem solving, working memory and the list goes on.

There are 3 main stages for students which are:

1. learn and gain a new understanding on a strategy or skill for them to implement and how it will assist;
2. take the next step to practise their new skills during an academic coaching session with support and guidance; and
3. then have the confidence and independence to apply these new skills on their own.

Each student is unique and therefore the Student Success Program is designed to identify the key areas that a student requires support, strategies and tools to learn or further develop their skills and implement them both academically and in life.

A tutor is usually hired when a student is struggling with a particular subject ie maths, biology, english. A tutor therefore helps equip a student with specific content relating to learning and understanding that specific subject better. An academic coach helps students with skills that carry over ALL of their subjects and classes such as organisation, time management, study skills, advocacy and more.

In our coaching experience we pride ourselves on meeting students and establishing both connections and bonds with them. Usually we would encourage all students to at least undertake the Student Success Program and the development of the Plan which allows them the opportunity to meet with one of our coaches and for them to learn more about what is involved and how the process works. In many cases for students it can be the fear of the unknown. We usually tell students that we am not here to make their lives harder, in the contrary, it is about equipping them with the skills to ‘study smarter not harder‘ and take away some of the stress or anxiety they may be feeling.

Areas covered in a session are usually dictated by the needs of the student.  In our initial meeting with a student, and their parent/s or carers, the areas are usually identified that they require assistance with and these are then noted in the Student Success Plan for further discussion.  Some sessions focus on teaching students specific skills where as others focus on assisting them with a particular need at the time ie how to prepare for an upcoming exam or assist the with putting together a plan to ensure they don’t forget all the work they need to do and that it is handed in on time.

Students can expect to learn tools and routines to:

• help improve their actions and follow-through
• increase their motivation
• deal with procrastination and distractions
• increase their focus and stay on task as required
• be more consistent with homework completion
• establish new habits and routines
• improve their relationships with family members
• be prepared for assignments, tests and exams
• learn self advocacy skills
• increase their confidence and independence.

As noted above, every session is tailored to the needs of the student however we do usually follow a similar agenda:

• check in – see how the student is doing since our last session
• follow up – on any actions that were asked of the student to see how they went
• habit tracking – if they are a regular student ie working with us then we go through their weekly habits to see changes and improvement
• skill building – with the student we discuss skills that apply to them at that time ie organising their schedule, preparing for a test or exam or introduce skills for future use
• action items – we set together and go through prior at the end of the session the action items that need to be accomplished prior to the next session.

Most sessions go for either 30 minutes or 1 hour in length.

After each session parents are copied into the session summary emailed to students with notes, reminders, tip sheets and other resources from the session.  This helps parents and carers provide support, promotes understanding and discussion.

The confidentiality of the student is important and therefore coaches use their discretion or seek the permission of the student at times on what information they provide to parents.  The only exception to this is if the student is a risk to themselves, or others, or if it is possible the student is being harmed.  This confidentiality is important as it gives the student a safe space to discuss their concerns and or frustrations.

Should a student share anything during a session in confidence and they wish not to share with their parents the coach will either:

• seek the students approval before preparing a session summary or email, or
• encourage them to create a dialogue themselves with their parents or carer.

Yes – with technology our Academic Life and Executive Function Coaches are able to meet with students virtually using Zoom which allows us to meet and talk in real time, share screens and resources, papers and more during our sessions.  Many of our local students even prefer to work together this way as it is easy, convenient and students feel more comfortable in their own environment.

Organising Student’s Coaches support:

• primary school age students in the younger years through sessions with their parents so they can be supporting them in the development of executive functions including a focus on organisation and time management tools.
• senior primary students from Year 5 and their parents as they prepare for the significant milestone of transition to secondary school.
• secondary school students in Years 7-12, including additional support to focus on exam planning.
• University and adults.

Our programs are suitable for all students including those with special needs and learning difficulties such as Executive Function, ADHD and Autism (ASD).  Students who have a diagnosis that impacts their executive function benefit from additional support to develop these life skills for both their academic learning as well as developing independence across all aspects of their lives ie daily life tasks and activities.

We support many NDIS participants, working with the students themselves, their parents and supports including care teams, schools and allied health professionals.

Working in collaboration with students’ support networks can afford them better access to the supports and accommodations they require to optimise their learning and build confidence not only academically but in all areas of their life.

Our coaches support student advocacy and build skills of independence with a focus on improving executive functions using tools and strategies.  We work with both Self-Managed and Plan Managed NDIS clients.  As each NDIS participant has a specific Plan approved by the NDIS, please check with your NDIS representative if you have any questions about you or your student’s funding and the claiming of our services.

Naturally this is often the ultimate goal and yes academic coaching can help marks to increase.  However, many factors contribute to a student’s success, not necessarily measured by school exam score or assessment results; and learning new study and life skills takes time, effort and patience.  The level of a child’s maturity, and their willingness to make suggested changes, can also play a significant part as well.

We work with students 1:1 to support their learning style, pace & challenges and results for each student may be valued or prioritised differently.  At the beginning of the process we assess students and prepare a report that targets their specific needs and goals.

It is not something that will happen overnight and can take time and effort to achieve.  Usually we like to highlight and focus on the other areas of improvement like increasing time management skills, better planning, prioritisation, increased organisation and routines, adopting more useful study techniques.  All of these will help a student to become a better student and in turn assist them to work towards achieving a better outcome.

Each situation and student are different and therefore it usually depends upon the recommendations that come out of the Student Success Plan – some students require weekly, fortnightly or monthly sessions on a regular basis where as for others it can be 6-8 sessions.

The most important part of this is for students to not only they learn the necessary tools and strategies but seeing them incorporate these into their daily routines so they become a habit.  The focus of the programs are on sustained long-term change and building success.  Learning, developing and building on new habits and skills takes time, and often students who have acquired the skills and are actually applying the tools and strategies continue with sessions to keep them accountable and on track.

However, having said that one off sessions can still be discussed as an option.  Usually when one off sessions occur they are with past students and used to reinforce particular skills or strategies or to work with a student to address a specific issue, exam preparation or planning.

Our 1:1 Coaching Sessions for Secondary Students are usually booked by students as they work with their coaches after their initial Student Success Planning meeting and the report. At times there is a higher demand for our services, and it is necessary to have a waitlist to ensure we provide the best support for all our current clients and any new students. If we can’t offer you a place, we can add you to our waitlist, usually for just a few weeks, and we will keep you updated of any progress or changes along the way.

All Organising Students Coaches hold Working With Children Checks.  Details are available upon request.

As each student’s needs are usually different it is best to get in touch for a chat and we can discuss your situation and the students’ specific needs.  We tailor our support and services & are usually based on time.  Please book a chat by clicking here, so we can both learn more about he support needs for you or your child.

A students’ privacy is of the utmost importance and their details and situation will always be kept confidential.  Please see our Privacy Policy by clicking here.

Invoices are issued after each session and are due on the day of service or upon receipt of the invoice. We accept direct deposit, and offer bulk session payments upon request.

Thank you for considering a career with Organising Students. While we are not actively expanding our team at this time, we appreciate your interest. Please feel free to submit your details, and we will contact you should opportunities align with our future needs.

We value your interest in joining our team. You can submit your details here.