What do I get?

• Within this qualification, which has been designed with the support and accreditation of NCFE CACHE, you will gain the opportunity to learn all about the importance of sleep and gain an understanding of practical sleep strategies that can be used when working with families of babies and young children. The qualification promotes gentle sleep practices in its approach and as such, you will be able to support your clients with healthy and holistic sleep promotion strategies that promote the healthy development of the babies and their families. This qualification is suitable for: - Parents who are looking to gain an understanding of sleep strategies to support their own families - Existing Parent or Child Coaches who are looking to develop their practice in this specialist area - Child care practitioners or others who would like to start their own sleep coaching practice to support babies, children, and families. Within this programme, which covers a range of knowledge and skills, you will study the following units: Unit 1: The Function of Sleep Within this first unit you will have the opportunity to gain the firm foundational knowledge of sleep, the importance of sleep, and the impacts of lack of sleep on children and their families. You will explore the regulation and rhythm of sleep and how sleep deprivation might negatively impact well-being. You will investigate sleep cycles and how these change and develop over time, and other factors that might impact sleep cycles. Unit 2: Practical Strategies in Sleep Coaching Within this unit, you will gain an understanding of what sleep coaching is, including a background and history of sleep coaching alongside different strategies and types of sleep coaching methods that you might have heard of. You will focus upon holistic sleep coaching and begin to explore some gentle sleep coaching practices for babies and young children of different ages groups and also strategies in working with multiple children. Unit 3: Crying, Communication, and Behaviour This unit will explore the reasons why babies cry and how they communicate their needs, in addition to supporting co-regulation, self-regulation, and self-soothing in readiness for sleep. The unit will also cover the condition of colic and how to care for a baby who is suffering with colic, including the impact that this can have on the baby's sleep. The unit will explore behaviours such as thumb-sucking and the health implications of thumb-sucking. Unit 4: Child Development and the Impact on Sleep You will learn about the range of developmental needs on babies and children and how this impacts sleep, or indeed how sleep impacts a child's development, such as plagiocephaly and torticollis and how the risk of these conditionals can be minimised. You will also explore the roles of other professionals and consultants involved in the support and promotion of sleep support with babies, children, and families- such as Health Visitors, G.P.s, and Paediatricians. Unit 5: Feeding, Food, and Sleep This unit allows you to explore the the impact of food upon sleep, healthy sleeping habits, and the sleep cycle. You will also gain an understanding of infant feeding problems and how this could impact the baby's sleep. Unit 6: Sensory Needs, Anxiety, and Chronic Health and Sleep Needs In this specialist unit, you will have the opportunity to learn about babies and children who have additional special or chronic health needs and the support you can provide to families where sleep has been impacted by these needs. You will also explore the impact of lack of sleep and how this might create anxiety in children and well as their parents or carers. Additionally, you will consider how anxiety itself might impact healthy sleep. You will also learn about sleep pathology and neurodiversity including obstructive sleep apnoea and periodic limb-movement disorder. Unit 7: Sleep Coaching in Practice This unit is a practical unit, which will allow you to put your knowledge into practice and demonstrate your skills as a Holistic Sleep Coach. To complete this unit and your qualification, you will work with a minimum of two families to complete a full case study from review of the family needs, setting goals, and coaching with appropriate sleep strategies for the baby or child and their family. You will gain feedback from your families and reflect upon your practice to aid your own development as a professional. Additionally, this unit will cover ethical and legislative requirements that you will need to know as a part of your practice, such as confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding, and joining professional bodies.

What do I need?

• N/A