The Programme Curriculum.
A progressive professional pathway designed to develop clinical reasoning, integrative assessment skills and sustainable practice, built on a deep understanding of sleep as a multisystem process.
Book a free strategy callFour phases, each building deliberately on the last.
This is what distinguishes holistic practice from technique-based approaches: not a list of methods, but a structured way of thinking.
Foundations
Attachment and family-centred care as the relational foundation of practice.
Sleep Biology
Circadian rhythms, sleep pressure and developmental transitions.
Clinical Integration
Multifactorial assessment of complex, real-world cases.
Professional Practice
Building a sustainable, values-led sleep coaching business.
Foundations of Attachment & Family-Centred Practice
The relational and theoretical groundwork of holistic sleep practice: attachment, co-regulation and family-centred care as the basis for ethical, responsive support.
Attachment
The attachment relationship shapes a child’s lifelong experiences. Learn to support attachment confidently when working with families in a multitude of circumstances.
- What attachment is and why it matters
- Attachment theory applied to sleep
- Co-regulation and emotional availability
- Supporting secure attachment in sleep contexts
Introduction to Sleep & Family-Centred Care
Understand the wider variables that contribute to parental tiredness, so you can improve outcomes for the whole family, not just the child.
- The broader context of family exhaustion
- Sleep as part of whole-family wellbeing
- Family-centred care principles
- Cultural and contextual influences on sleep
Sleep Biology & Architecture
Develop a comprehensive understanding of sleep regulation, distinguishing age-appropriate patterns from clinically relevant concerns.
Sleep Biology
Learn how our biology impacts how, when and why we sleep the way we do.
- Why sleep matters: functions and benefits
- Sleep architecture and regulation systems
- Biological foundations of sleep-wake cycles
- Sleep across species and evolutionary context
Sleep Cycles Across the Lifespan
Dig deep into sleep theory and terminology to confidently unpick your clients’ sleep diaries.
- Types and features of different sleep stages
- How cycles change from infancy to adulthood
- Developmental transitions and regressions
- Sleep disorders, pathology and parasomnias
Sleep Hygiene, Routines & Environment
Why sleep hygiene affects the quality and quantity of sleep, and how routines can be optimised.
- Sleep hygiene principles
- Creating optimal sleep environments
- Bedtime routines that support regulation
- Safe sleep, bed-sharing and SIDS risk reduction
Clinical Integration & Complex Case Analysis
Sleep rarely exists in isolation. Examine the interplay between sleep and feeding, temperament, neurodevelopment, health and family dynamics. This is the clinical depth that sets holistic practice apart.
Consultation Skills & Sleep Strategies
Consult with clients from first contact to recommendations. We lay bare the research and show why there is no evidence that controlled crying and cry-it-out methods work.
- The consultation process and client experience
- Interpreting sleep diary information
- Evidence-based, family-appropriate recommendations
- Why we reject non-responsive sleep training
Child Temperament, Development, Behaviour & Parenting
Not all strategies work with all children. Learn how personality and development influence the success of any sleep approach.
- Temperament and personality differences
- Gentle, age-appropriate behaviour strategies
- Developmental milestones, stages and phases
Feeding Problems, Reflux, Colic & Wind
Feeding problems are often interlinked with sleep. Learn when and how to refer families appropriately.
- Breast and bottle feeding considerations
- Reflux, silent reflux and digestive discomfort
- Colic, wind and infant anatomical issues
Food, Eating & Nutrition
A healthy relationship with food from as early as possible, and how nutrition affects sleep.
- Normal eating behaviour in children
- Foods and nutrients that inhibit or promote sleep
- Building a healthy relationship with food
Allergies & Intolerance
How allergic responses and intolerances affect sleep and wellbeing.
- How allergies affect sleep
- Common food allergies and lactose intolerance
- Navigating elimination diets with families
Health
Support holistic wellness for acute, chronic, inherited and acquired health conditions that affect sleep.
- Health conditions that affect sleep
- Supporting families during and after illness
- When to refer to medical professionals
Anxiety & Sleep
The bidirectional relationship between anxiety and sleep in both children and adults.
- How anxiety affects sleep
- Recognising and supporting anxious children
- Adult anxiety, parental mental health and trauma-informed care
Neurodivergence, Sensory Processing & Disability
Support sleep in children with developmental differences and sensory needs (over 50% experience sleep problems).
- Neurodevelopmental conditions (autism, ADHD and more)
- Sensory processing differences
- Adapting sleep support for neurodivergent children
Race, Culture & Structural Context
A deeper understanding of diverse traditions and the structural factors that shape sleep, parenting and access to support.
- Cultural influences on sleep practices
- Racism, structural inequality and access to care
- Providing culturally responsive care and examining bias
Professional Practice & Sustainable Business
Clinical depth without a sustainable business means you cannot help families long-term. This phase treats business as essential professional competence, not an afterthought.
A business, not just a qualification.
Most sleep training ends at the certificate. Ours doesn’t. Emma, our co-founder and business & marketing lead, teaches you to turn your accreditation into a working practice, with monthly live marketing calls guiding you as you launch and grow.
- ✓Professional identity and reflective practice
- ✓Positioning and marketing that reflects your values
- ✓Pricing confidence: charging appropriately for skilled work
- ✓Client-acquisition systems that feel authentic, not salesy
- ✓Building your online presence and finding your first clients
- ✓Sustainable systems that prevent burnout
- ✓Long-term business growth and professional development
Communication
Become an active listener and communicate with clarity, compassion and confidence.
- Navigating difficult conversations
- Clear, compassionate, evidence-based language
- Maintaining boundaries and managing expectations
Learning outcomes.
By completion of this programme, graduates will be able to:
Clinical practice
- Apply structured clinical reasoning to complex, multifactorial sleep presentations
- Critically appraise sleep research and quality of evidence
- Integrate biological, developmental and psychosocial factors into holistic assessment
- Identify red flags requiring medical referral within scope
Ethical, family-centred care
- Provide family-centred, culturally responsive care
- Communicate recommendations without undermining parental confidence
- Establish and maintain professional boundaries
- Practise ethically within scope and refer appropriately
Sustainable practice
- Develop clear professional positioning and service delivery
- Build values-led, sustainable practice systems
- Communicate your professional value confidently
- Maintain your own wellbeing alongside client care
Assessment that builds confidence.
Designed to develop genuine competence, not to create barriers. If you don’t pass first time, you receive detailed feedback and can resubmit.
Written assignments
Demonstrate your understanding of core concepts through analytical work.
Applied case analysis
Show integrated clinical reasoning through real-world family scenarios.
Reflective practice
Evidence your personal and professional growth throughout.
Module quizzes
Consolidate learning and identify areas for revision.
“Assessment should build your confidence, not test it into the ground.”
Many of our students complete the programme having not studied for years, or with English as a second language. Support is available throughout, and resubmissions are always permitted.
What you earn on completion.
OCN Level 6 certification
An internationally recognised qualification, equivalent to a university foundation year, with a digital badge for your professional profiles and website.
Graduate directory listing
Listed on the searchable graduate directory that families and referrers use to find qualified holistic sleep coaches.
Ongoing CPD & community
Continued professional development sessions and a graduate community for peer support, supervision and ongoing learning.
OCN Level 6 is recognised as a professional-level qualification across the UK and internationally, and is approved for 18.75 CERP credits for IBCLCs.
You’ve seen what’s inside. Now apply.
Book a free strategy call and we’ll help you decide if the Holistic Sleep Coaching Program is the right fit. We’ll be in touch within 24 hours.
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