When coaching it is important to promote basic skills. That can be done by keeping in mind these six golden guidelines:

• Coaching is founded on confidentiality, mutual trust and respect.
• Solutions lie within the coachee (student).
• There is no judgment or fixed agenda, but there is an agreed goal.
• Coaching is about the whole person.
• The coach and coachee are equal partners.
• Coaching looks to the future and next actions.

Whether coaching conversations with students are informal in the moment, or formally planned, they can follow a set pattern. Several studies have been conducted into the most effective structure of the coaching session, one of the most commonly used is the GROW model.  It is a structure for the flow of questions from the coach towards the coachee in order to illicit the development requirements for both parties..