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Updated:
October 12, 2026
Written By:
Liz Robson
Our coach training course provides a comprehensive introduction to coaching young people. It is an interactive and engaging learning experience that gives you the tools necessary to coach teenagers and young adults.
You will learn the fundamentals of effective coaching with young people. The course covers topics like active listening, goal-setting, and positive psychology coaching approaches that help young people improve wellbeing and become more resilient.
The course is designed to help you feel confident and able to offer individual or group coaching programmes with young people you work with either as a private coach or in a current teaching or support role.
Worth-it was originally founded in 2011 to provide young people with access to innovative coaching interventions that would support the prevention of mental health problems in at risk youth. We wanted to provide coaching and group work programmes that gave targeted groups of young people a chance to connect and learn skills for wellbeing that would help them create positive change in their lives. We did this for several years and were funded by the NHS, Children in Need and local authorities and schools to offer community or school-based 1-2-1 or group coaching interventions for young people.
In 2013 we started to develop and provide our own coaching skills courses. We worked with staff from multiple agencies that included homelessness prevention, youth work, CAMHS, schools and family support to integrate coaching into their work with young people.
Since then, we have been on a mission to increase workforce capacity to provide more coaching interventions for young people by training practitioners to use coaching in their work with young people.
That’s why we created the problem-solving course – to equip coaches with the knowledge and skills they need to support young people’s growth and development. During the pandemic, we developed our established a two-day online training course, 'Coaching At-Risk Young People' and ran a pilot cohort.
Following the pilot in 2021 we applied for course accreditation through the association of coaching. Our course was accredited as an Award in Coach Training (AACT) which means coaches that join our course can join the association for coaching as a student and following the training can work towards being a member of the association and an accredited coach.
For more information about the accreditation process read this article.
Adolescent wellbeing coaching is the specialist approach at the heart of Worth-it Coach Training. It combines positive psychology and coaching psychology to help young people aged 11 to 25 build the skills and resources that protect their wellbeing and resilience.
Unlike general life coaching, it's designed specifically around adolescent development. It focuses on prevention and early intervention: supporting young people who are struggling, but below the threshold for specialist services, before difficulties escalate. It isn't therapy or counselling, and adolescent wellbeing coaches are trained to know when a young person needs specialist help instead.
Through our work and research, we've found that young people develop resilience and wellbeing skills through two things: the coaching relationship itself, and explicitly learning wellbeing strategies with their coach (Robson-Kelly and van Nieuwerburgh, 2016).
Our approach empowers young people to take charge of their thoughts,emotions and actions. Practising these skills and strategies, both during and between coaching sessions, is essential for young people to develop wellbeing strategies that last.
The skills and strategies young people develop through adolescent wellbeing coaching fall into three areas:
Interpersonal and relationship skills
Skills and strategies for building positive relationships and maintaining them, including communication, friendship and teamwork skills.
Self and emotional awareness
Skills and strategies for understanding and regulating emotions, to help young people look after their mental health. These include healthy coping skills, emotional management, relaxation techniques, stress management and resilience building.
Thinking skills
Skills that help young people develop a positive outlook, deal with challenges and take responsibility for their progress, through goal setting, action planning and problem solving.
The Worth-it Coach Training course is a comprehensive blended online learning programme that covers a range of topics related to coaching young people. During the training, you will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of effective coaching.
The Worth-it Coach Training course covers a range of topics central to coach practice with young people, including:
More details about the content of the modules can be found on the Coach Training Page here.
“The training was so useful and I will find it really useful with the young people I am working with.”
Emma Sharpe – Project Worker, The Children’s Society
The coach training course runs twice a year over the Autumn/Winter term and during school Summer Holidays. Applications are open all year round to apply to join the next cohort. The course has set training dates, which can be found on the 'What will I learn' section of the Coach Training Information Page.
The course is delivered online in two parts. Our next course is' running in Autumn 2026 and Winter 2027 over 10 weeks. The course blends short online videos, with reflective tasks, practical activities and 6x4-hour practical workshops hosted on zoom.
The course starts on the 9th November 2026 with 2.5 hours of online learning to complete before the live workshops. All live workshops are hosted on Zoom 10am-2pm (UK time).
In between the workshops are 90 minutes worth of online learning, practical tasks and reflective practice. These are followed up with 2 x 2-hour online group support sessions, online reflective coaching logs, tutor feedback and a bonus 3-hour group coaching module and planning toolkit.
You'll also be able to access bonus workshops to build your business development knowledge if you want to establish yourself as an independent coach that works with young people.
In order to become an accredited coach, you will have to complete 21 hours of live practical workshops, to practice and develop your coaching skills. If you are unable to join a workshop for whatever reason, you will be able to join the next cohort workshop, within your 12-month access and catch up on the session you missed.
All sessions are recorded so if you have an emergency or are ill you can catch up with a recording so you don't miss out.
However, the real value is in attending live and discussing your experiences working with young people and practising your coaching skills with peer trainee coaches on the course.
The coach training course comes with 12 months of access to a comprehensive online resource that includes over 30 practical coaching tools, templates and resources to use with young people.
To help and motivate you to complete the 20 hours of coaching practice with young people required to complete the course, you can access ongoing support and motivation through your training through the live practical workshops, online coaching reflective log, follow-up support, including peer supervision sessions and bonus CPD workshops.
You also get access to the Worth-it Coaches Network, where you can join our Facebook community and get support from course trainers, alumni and peers.
Free student access to the Association for Coaching for the time you are completing your course.
Finally, after completing the course you will receive a certificate of completion that is accredited by the Association for Coaching and enables you to progress to becoming a member of the Association of Coaching. As an accredited training provider of the ACCPH you will also be able to apply to become an ACCPH member once you have completed the training with us.
The course includes 24 hours of live workshops, about 24 hours of online learning and 20 hours of coaching practice with young people. Most people complete it in 3 to 6 months, and you have 12 months' access. Your AACT certificate is the first step towards accreditation with the Association for Coaching.
Worth-it Coach Training is the first step in our two-step pathway to becoming an accredited adolescent wellbeing coach.
Step 1: Trained Adolescent Wellbeing Coach
This course is an Accredited Award in Coach Training (AACT) with the Association for Coaching (AC), and is recognised by the ACCPH (Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists) as Level 3 equivalent [check]. When you complete it, you'll receive your AACT certificate and can describe yourself as a Trained Worth-it Adolescent Wellbeing Coach. Many practitioners stop here and use coaching in their current role.
Step 2: Certified Adolescent Wellbeing Coach
If you want to become an accredited coach, you can continue to our Certified Worth-it Coach programme. It's an accelerated route to Foundation Coach accreditation with the AC. You'll complete:
Certified coaches also get ongoing supervision, specialist CPD, monthly mentoring, coaching resources and a profile on our website. Step 2 can be completed in as little as 3 months, with 12 months' access, and you have up to 3 years from your AACT certificate to become accredited. The full pathway is 110 hours.
Find out more about becoming a Certified Adolescent Wellbeing Coach
One of the most important things about our coach training is that our course is evidence-based and practical. All of the tools and resources we provide on our course have been inspired by the direct work we have done with young people we worked with.
Our coaching toolkit is designed to be used with young people in the real world. It includes activities, exercises and tools for coaches to use with their clients during sessions and between sessions.
The toolkit looks at a range of topics such as thinking skills, emotions, stress management, strengths, resilience building and goal setting.
We have also included information and resources in the course about how to prepare for and start your coaching sessions, how to review the coaching process and end coaching sessions. You will learn how to work with parents or partner agencies and organisations such as schools. The course also provides a workshop on how to develop and run group coaching programmes using the tools and resources shared in the course.
The Worth-it Coach Training Course is for anyone wanting to become a coach who works with young people. It's suitable for current or aspiring coaches, youth workers, teachers, mentors, counsellors or any other professional working with young people. The training provides in-depth training into how to use positive psychology coaching with young people to prevent the onset of mental health problems and support them to flourish in life.
“The ability to practice theory and models of positive and coaching psychology, it is refreshing and more engaging way to consider how the tools will enable my practice.”
Lucy Hart - Homeless Prevention Coach, P3
We use a short application form for anyone interested in taking part in the course. We look for people who have some form of experience or background working with young people, or those who can demonstrate their commitment and enthusiasm to learn about coaching young people.
Our application process also checks for the necessary access to young people between the ages of 11-25 to practice the coaching on which is an integral part of the course as well as asks for commitment to complete the training. Places on the course are limited. This helps make sure the course participants get the most out of the learning experience and it provides practical opportunities for them to practise coaching and reflect on their skills development.
All applications are reviewed by our team and successful applicants will be contacted to be invited to an optional 1-2-1 zoom call where they can discuss their aims and plans for the course or any questions they may have. Once the application has been passed they will be able to enrol on the next course cohort. If your application has been unsuccessful we will let you know what you can do to re-apply or suggest other programmes that may suit you better.
Most applications are unsuccessful if applicants don't have access to 3-5 young people between the ages of 11-25 for example if you work with primary-aged children or if you are not able to commit to the learning required to complete the course in 12 months.
If you enrol and find the Coach Training Course isn’t for you then you can cancel your place on the course. Just let us know and we can sort the rest out for you. What’s more, we're even giving you 14 days to change your mind! If it’s not for you, just let us know in the first two weeks from enrolment and we'll happily refund your money.
Discover whether the coach training meets your personal and professional goals by downloading our Worth-it Coach Training Prospectus
Well if you’ve been looking for ways to effectively support the young people you work with to develop positive mental health and wellbeing then this course will help you do that. Not only will you learn how to coach young people, but we’ll also provide all the support and resources you need to succeed using coaching in your role or independently.
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