‘The Parent Centre’ is the trading name used by Frances Byatt-Smith - I am a Registered Nurse and Registered Health Visitor and follow the code of practice of the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC). I have worked for over twenty years in the National Health Service, studied Psychology and graduated in 1993 with a BA (Hons) degree. I am also a trained supervisor, assessor and mentor and a trainer for parenting facilitators.

I am a member and consultant with Parenting UK, a member of the Royal College of Nursing and the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and have Enhanced Disclosure Scotland.

I am now studying for the Diploma in Life Coaching at the Coaching Academy London and follow their code of professional conduct. I also have first hand experience of all the stages of the parenting cycle.

I am passionate about helping parents to be their best and also about improving the self-esteem of children, helping them to develop confidence and belief in themselves so that they can reach their potential and be happy confident adults.

About the Courses

The one-to-one and group coaching courses run by The Parent Centre help parents to find new ways of responding to their children which change their lives forever.

The courses for children and teenagers help them to learn skills and strategies for more effective relationships and interactions at home and at school.

The coaching courses have been developed by Family Caring and have been extensively evaluated. I have been involved in the validation process for Family Caring’s Pram to Primary School Programme and in the evaluation of its other three courses which the Parent Centre offers.

The Developing Early Relationships Programme 0-2 years was developed at the University of Washington and has been extensively researched and validated.

The Assertiveness, Confidence and Self-Esteem coaching course was developed by Tina Rae, Senior Educational Psychologist, Hillingdon UK and the Emotional Coaching Course for children aged 7-14 by Robyn Hromek Educational Psychologist.

Other methods used for helping parents are the Solihull Approach which is a practical approach for working with parents on four common difficulties - sleeping, eating, behaviour and toilet training. It was developed and researched by the Solihull Primary Care Trust and the University of Central England in Birmingham.

The key to successful coaching is goal setting and a well-informed goal. Frances uses the GROW model of coaching which enables parents to set powerful goals enabling them to develop skills to create a motivational future. This is the foundation for all her work with parents and children and is incorporated into every model used for helping parents.

Corporate Talks & Seminars

The Parent Centre also provides talks, seminars and parent drop-in sessions for businesses and professionals looking to maximise the effectiveness of their workforce by helping their working parents. Call Frances for more details.