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Parent Coaching The Power in Collaborating, Empowering & Educating

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Parent Coaching:
The Power in Collaborating, Empowering & Educating

The Power in Parent Coaching

When being a parent and working with parents, there is a specific change in how much a parent carries. There are increases in the mental, physical, emotional, financial and any other tasks to remember and action each day. It is constantly varying in intensity depending on each day. The list can extend for each child if you have more, or with life management including home and work. There is only so much you can think about and do at one point in time, and this is where the value comes from Parent Coaching. 

Engaging in Occupational Therapy (OT) can be the start of the journey. There is so much to learn, process, determine, prioritise and implement meaning that more often than not, there are a few concerns happening at once. Sometimes, these can all connect together, which can make it feel more overwhelming and difficult to know where to start in order to help your children. Parent Coaching can have a profound impact in this space. 

What is Parent Coaching?

Parent Coaching is about providing opportunities for parents/caregivers to connect with the clinician whilst working together to build knowledge of concerns for their child on a deeper level, reviewing how ongoing support will occur for their child, increasing problem solving and emotional support and connectedness. 

Each clinician can implement parent coaching in an array of different ways and formats. For Explore and Soar, we offer and work with our families from the beginning when first commencing with us. This includes;

  • Parent Education Session: this is held after an OT assessment or clinical observations. This parent education session is based on providing OT assessment results, background information around what is happening specifically for their children, and the why. This part of parent coaching is significant in providing baseline foundational information for the parents/caregivers to understand their children on another level, learn what is happening to help empower them, to have knowledge and confidence to ask more questions and understand more deeply. The depth of understanding helps set realistic goals, being on the same page to work collaboratively together, to implement therapy sessions and set specific home programs to assist. The power of being on the same page, at the start of the journey together. 
  • Parent Coaching Sessions: These sessions are often booked throughout the journey or OT intervention, where both parent/caregivers and therapists can talk through concerns, identify and work towards goals or address specific questions or concerns in real time to find the best solutions and supports for daily life and routines. These sessions of collaboration are developed through trust, respect and the relationship built over time with the OT and family often increases the parents/caregivers confidence and the feel of being emotionally supported. For us, it is about how to make life easier, not harder, and help set routines through offering a safe space to try and try again. Personally, I know when I am in the thick of life I don’t always see what is right in front of me. I can struggle to problem solve the best way to make improvements, for example switching the children’s habits for getting dressed in the bathroom vs bedroom after a night time shower, to improve the bedtime routine. 
  • Quarterly Continuity Support Plans: At the beginning of each term we engage in ongoing appointments, taking the time to check in and reflect on goals addressed previously, identify what is working, what is a priority, what is not and make refinements to existing goals for the coming term. This powerful tool allows us to ensure the therapist is working closely with the child and family in meeting their goals and consistent improvements show progress is made for our families and children.

Challenges Parents & Families are facing?

We understand there is so much each parent and family are going through. 

  • Multiple children: ensuring that all children feel seen and their needs are met, in their own individual ways. 
  • Time poor: we are all time poor with increased expectations and daily pressures put onto us. 
  • Financial pressures: the financial strain of wanting to do and provide the best for your child/family but can only do so much.
  • Multiple health professionals: the balance of prioritising and working with multiple health professionals if required. How to plan appointments, implement recommendations, and still do everything else. 

What are the benefits?

  • Better understanding of foundational skills, long term planning of goals and short term goals/targets to hit along the way.
  • Connection and ability to share a concern or challenge no big or small. But most importantly, someone to share in the wins as well. 
  • Outside perspective – when you’re in it you don’t always see the little things right in front of you, that you know you should have seen – I’ve definitely been there a few times.
  • A moment to check in and receive support for yourself, to not feel alone. If you as a parent feel supported, then so do our children. 

How Explore and Soar OT’s support our parents:

  • Check in each session and ask the parents how they are and genuinely care and want to help support them.
  • Actively listen; either offering support or solutions to help – depending on individual needs at that time. 
  • Problem solve or get creative in finding solutions to help.
  • Assist with adjusting routines, transitions, and anything that is around daily life activities, including school, preschool community and home. 
  • Provide strategies to help the whole family, not just the one person, as often as possible. 
  • Consistently check-in, providing ongoing support – a person who is walking beside you in this Journey!  

At Explore and Soar, building deep connections and relationships with our clients and families is at the very core of what we do. It is so important to us; because you matter! When our parents are not ok, neither are our children. So providing parent coaching opportunities for our families is a high priority. Having a community around you is paramount, we are here for you and you do not have to do this alone. If you’d like to chat to us today about how we can further support you and your family, reach out to us either through your treating clinician, via phone 0477 708 217 or our online form.

Until next time,
Jess

If you’d like to chat more, please don’t hesitate to contact us today! Call us on 0477 708 217 or email admin@exploreandsoar.com.au

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2026

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Reclaiming Potential with Clarity

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WELCOME TO 2026:
A YEAR OF RECLAIMING POTENTIAL WITH CLARITY

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2026!

We are starting the year strong and we’re thrilled to hold our biannual School Holiday Social Group Programs and Intensive Programs commencing on Monday, 12 January. We cannot wait to see you all there. Until then, we are still enjoying some time off, resting and enjoying the sun! 

2026 Annual Theme: Reclaiming Potential with Clarity

Every year seems to get busier with more expectations put on us to do everything, be everything and more. As a team we are feeling it, and from our observations, so are our families. Each year we think deeply about what is happening with everyone and how our annual theme can resonate with our team, clients and families as well as our wider communities. 

For us this year, it’s about going back to the foundations. By ensuring that we have aced the basics, reclaiming what we are in control of and can achieve, we can restabilise our base of support with clarity for us to then launch off again. This can be in anything that we do, but most importantly it’s about starting with each client’s potential and applying where our knowledge is needed the most. 

What does ‘reclaiming’ mean to us?

First and foremost, ‘reclaiming’ for us means to take back, have ownership, independence or control over what is important to you. This is very personalised and will be different for each person, as your priorities, interests and from an OT perspective, goals are varied. 

This is where our team at Explore and Soar work so closely with you, as we want our clients to have ownership of their goals, progress and become independent in achieving them. Our role is to support, give guidance and strategies to achieve this. 

There has been a lot of noise with changes to NDIS and other governing bodies last year that a lot has felt out of our control due to a level of uncertainty and reactivity to how we can continue to give what we need for our children, and how Explore and Soar will continue to provide OT services to you – our clients. By refocusing and reclaiming what we have, will give strength to ground and feel confident for the year to come to build resilience, adaptability and independence in achieving each individual goal that is set for the year. 

What is ‘potential’ in OT?

The potential in OT is in everything we do, from play, to engaging at school, to eating or sleeping. It is about us all reaching our potential, having access and being provided with the best opportunities to reach our goals and achieve independence. 

Each person’s potential is unique, encompassing their own interests, goals and motivations to achieve this. As OT’s our role is to work alongside each of our clients and families to help them see their strengths, individualise intervention sessions and strategies to highlight these skills and give each client and family the confidence to want to keep practicing and working towards their goals, as all their goals are achievable.

By focusing on each client’s unique qualities and skill sets, we get to witness self confidence and resilience grow, goals be achieved and see each one of our clients realise their own potential and what they can give to the world. 

How does clarity help with reclaiming potential?

Clarity refers to a clear understanding and sense of what you are going to achieve and work towards for the year. As OT’s, we help in providing clarity in the ‘HOW’. The ‘how’ is in the intervention approach, education and the specific activities for our clients to reach those specific goals. This could mean frequency in appointments change (eg: term appointments – clinic vs home vs community, intensives, peer sessions or group programs), different intervention modalities and activities to complete, refined home programming suggestions and activities, as well as continued parent coaching for unwavering encouragement, reinforcement of your current achievements and advocacy to help all our families achieve their goals. 

For our clients and families, knowing you have an allied health team around you who can help provide that clarity and build that support network around you is paramount to your successes! You are not alone, we are right here with you!

Explore and Soar’s commitment to reclaiming potential with clarity

Our team continues to remain focused on strengthening our skills in supporting our clients by further focusing on our parent education and support, finding those go to and achievable strategies for our families that will help reduce the overwhelm, and reclaim our potential and niche as a company. We are really looking forward to remaining focused on our strengths in our foundational knowledge and support to our clients, providing sponsorships within our local communities, as well as exploring what else we have to offer to our clients and families in our local communities. 

We are excited about what this year has to offer us all, how we will grow together and continue to make our clients and communities stronger! 
Keep an eye out for our monthly blogs, termly newsletters and our social media in how Explore and Soar will continue to Reclaim Potential with Clarity over the next 12 months. 

Until next time,
Jess

If you’d like to chat more, please don’t hesitate to contact us today! Call us on 0477 708 217 or email admin@exploreandsoar.com.au

PUBLISHED JANUARY 2026

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A Year of Community for Wellbeing and End of Year Celebrations

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A YEAR OF COMMUNITY FOR WELLBEING & END OF YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Our Focus

This year we have continued to support, shape and refine our support to all families by helping them achieve their goals. The main focus was on how our families are accessing their community to help them, as well as how we can help expand their achievement of goals not just in the home, but in a range of different environments as well. 

The Successes!

As the whole team has reflected on this, we are so proud of what we have achieved together! 

For our clients and their communities: we have had clients successfully engage in their first experience of team sports over the winter as well as some clients that have learnt new skills within a clinic environment and transferred to home or in the community. Our families leaned in and allowed us to continue to support them with any challenge that has come their way this year. We have been absolutely overjoyed watching all these successes with the excitement and confidence it has given all our clients and their families! It is the reminder each year of why we are here to support you and remaining true to our values – working within our local communities. 

For our team: we have loved being present by providing our ongoing, consistent support to our monthly parent and caregiver support group as well as our ongoing social group programs. We also successfully passed our NDIS reregistration and were able to adapt quickly to support our team, clients and community with all the NDIS changes!

The Challenges!

I don’t know about our clients and families, but this year has come with an array of challenges that we have needed to address and overcome in order to continue to support ourselves, our team and the Explore & Soar community! 

For Explore & Soar specifically, there is no lie, at the beginning of the year we had some staffing changes which impacted our consistency of interventions and support initially for some clients. We had to be flexible and creative in adapting to the NDIS changes in July and continue to do so for all our clients for the rest of the year. We are beyond grateful for our team and community in supporting us in doing so over the last 12 months with these changes!

For our clients and their communities; the financial, time and NDIS pressures have definitely taken its toll this year. We are seeing increased challenges for our caregivers when trying to problem solve how to give everything they can for their children whilst navigating these challenges. This has contributed to the increased pressures and demands of everyday life – only increasing stress and fatigue! We see you, we hear you and we are also navigating the same challenges personally with you. We hope that we can continue to be a support around you still helping navigate success within the chaos! 

End of Year Celebrations and the Year Ahead

The Explore & Soar team took a well earned afternoon off to celebrate the end of year with some great food, connection and some axe throwing to end the year with a challenge. It was so much fun to enjoy the quality time together and seeing who had the best aim with the axe. Can you guess which one of us has the best aim??? If you guessed Sophie, then you are right! She definitely threw it out of the park, with many bullseyes, while the rest of us were just trying to let the axe stick!

We also spent some time sitting on what we would like to focus on and support our clients into 2026 based on what we have seen the common themes for the coming year! We are excited to share the theme for 2026 with you in January and direct our focus again in the new year to  provide support, knowledge and high quality interventions to achieve your goals!  

Important Dates: Holiday Closure and Upcoming January School Holiday Programs

As the year comes to a close our team will be taking a well-deserved break to rest, recharge to either stay at home, visit a new place or spend some time with our family or friends. 

This year, our end of year closure will begin at the end of business Friday 19th December 2025. We will return with our January School Holiday Group Programs & Intensives on Monday 12th January 2026!

If you would like to join our January programs, be sure to secure your spot today! These fun and engaging programs will run from January 12 to 16 & 19 to 23 January 2026. We cannot wait to see you there. CLICK HERE to see more about the programs and secure your spot.

Our intensive programs will be running each week in the January school holidays, including the 27 to 30 January 2026! Enquire today on which week will suit you best! 

We wish all of our Explore & Soar families and communities a joyful Christmas and New Year break. We look forward to continuing our journey together in 2026 with lots more support coming! 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Until next time,
Jess

If you’d like to chat more, please don’t hesitate to contact us today! Call us on 0477 708 217 or email admin@exploreandsoar.com.au

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2025

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School Readiness Transitioning to Kindergarten

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SCHOOL READINESS: TRANSITIONING TO KINDERGARTEN

As term four starts, we see lots of our younger clients completing some kindergarten transition sessions or programs to help familiarise them to feel confident with the big step of starting school the next year. Transitioning into the primary school setting can be a tricky time for lots of children. It is a very exciting period, filled with new friends, new teachers and new activities. But it can also be a stressful time, as there is a lot of change in our routines, structures and expectations within every day.

What is School Readiness?

School readiness refers to the foundational skills that support a child’s body, mind and wellbeing as they transition into the primary school environment. School readiness skills are about more than just reading, writing and maths; they also incorporate the emotional, social and sensory skill development of each child in ensuring success for them to thrive.

What are the main skills that parents, teachers and the child, need to feel confident in doing for a successful, happy and enjoyable day at school?

  • Can they manage their school uniform? Are they able to undo buttons, zips, shoe Velcro or laces so that they can go to the bathroom or put their shoes on and off to go in the sandpit?
  • Have they practiced going to a toilet in a public space? This includes closing and locking the door, unlocking and opening the door. If you have boys, do they know what a urinal trough is and how to use this if the school still has a urinal trough?
  • Can they open snack containers, water bottles, lunch boxes or bags so that they can access their food and drink with minimal help?
  • Do they know how to, or have they had exposure to holding a pencil, using scissors or a glue stick? 
  • Can they recognise their own name when it is written even if they do not know the letters or how to write their name?

These key areas along with others such as some foundational social skills like turn taking, cooperation, simple problem solving, as well as gross motor skills including running, kicking a ball and balancing on one leg, are all things that our kindergartener’s will need to support a successful transition to school.

So how can you help support your child in their transition to school?

Make sure you talk with the school and teachers about how transition to school sessions have gone. Ask about the bathroom facilities so you can provide an opportunity to educate your child in how to use them, avoiding scary or daunting situations for them during those first few days and weeks, or ask to check them out if you’re still unsure.

What are some activities you can do at home?

  • Encourage your child to open their own snacks and containers.
  • Encourage your child to start drinking out of a water bottle.
  • Encourage your child to be responsible for their own items, packing them, and then packing them away. 
  • Follow a morning and evening routine to support your child’s ability to understand and follow structures. This can be supported by the use of a visual schedule of ordered pictures of each step that needs to be performed. 
  • Support transitions within the home with the use of a visual and/or auditory timer to mimic the bell system used within schools and support your child’s understanding of time, space and transitions. 
  • Practice with your child getting dressed and undressed with their school uniform once you have purchased it. 
  • Practice and role-play the drop-off and pick-up routine ahead of time. Also discuss and role-play changes in routine and unexpected events i.e., somebody else picking them up. 
  • Engage your child in arts and craft activities at home. Use pencils, crayons, paints, string and beads, scissors and glue to create masterpieces together. 
  • Encourage your child to participate in colouring in activities, tic-tac, toe, mazes, colouring in, dot to dots, etc. 
  • Engage your child in card and board games that will teach them turn taking, sharing, and problem solving skills. 
  • Play and create obstacle courses within the home to practice your child’s movement and gross motor skills. Include jumping, balancing and hopping. 
  • Teach and expose your child to common group games such as tips, hide and seek, bullrush etc. 
  • Facilitate safe social encounters with similar aged children for your child to practice play and social skills with. 
  • Support your child to identify their emotions and explore and practice different ways to calm their body when in a heightened state of arousal. For example, practice deep breathing, drinking cold water, movement breaks or other tricks that work for them as an individual. 

Check out Explore & Soar’s School Readiness Handbook for your child as a guide and reference to help you with an array of ideas for the coming months.

How can Explore & Soar help?

Explore & Soar can offer an OT assessment to determine your child’s current skill level, provide parent education and interventions strategies such as one on one sessions, home programming with an array of individualised strategies to build confidence or small group program intervention sessions mimicking school activities and peer interactions. 

Our small Group Programs offer opportunities for children heading off to school to attend our Big School STARs small group program. This five day group program is designed specifically for kids heading to kindergarten and provides another opportunity for your child to practice transitions, activities such as sitting on the mat and craft, interacting with different peers while supported by our wonderful OT’s. If you are interested in your child attending this program, please see our News page for more information, fill in our online booking form or if you have more questions, please call us on 0477 708 217. We would love to have your child in our group!

If you’d like to chat more, please don’t hesitate to contact us today! Call us on 0477 708 217 or email admin@exploreandsoar.com.au

Until next time, 
Lori

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2025

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Occupational Therapy in Action for Wellbeing

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OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN ACTION FOR WELLBEING

Celebrating OT Week from 27 October to 2 November, 2025

World OT Day is 27 October 2025 marking the beginning of OT week – this year has certainly gone by quickly. We love celebrating OT in all that we do, how we help our clients and further continue to build and strengthen our local communities.

We are now ready to deep dive into term four and the last leg of the year and we are really excited to see the year out stronger and bigger than how you started! We use this time to sit and reflect with our clients together with their families on what we are working towards within therapy sessions. This helps to ground us in the what and why of our intervention and maintain the purposefulness and meaningfulness of each session. Some sessions may
require a pivot from what our initial goal was, if life has thrown something unexpected in our client’s direction – and that is ok! As OT’s, we are adaptable and resourceful to move and meet our clients where they need us to be.

Where are you up to in your OT goals?

Have you taken the time to reflect on what your goals or intentions were from the start of the year and where you are up to with them? Have you had to change course slightly or do a full 180º because of what life has thrown your way?

Has this year gone as expected? Have you exceeded your expectations?

You are not alone in this. Even within our team we have noticed our personal and professional goals shift and change as our circumstances have altered over the last 10 months. Some of us have hit massive goals quickly whilst others have tackled new and unexpected goals that showed themselves instead, taking longer with smaller, deliberate steps to achieve. Isn’t it crazy to think how quickly things can vary and how frequently we,
as human beings, are having to pivot or revise plans based on external or internal circumstances.

This only further intensifies and highlights the importance of creating community connections and support during these times to help keep us grounded and moving forward. We hope that how we have focused our year of OT in Action with the Community for Wellbeing has helped you as much as it has helped direct our intentions as a team this year too!
There have been many ways that Explore & Soar have been focusing on Occupational Therapy In Action this year.

Within our Explore & Soar Team Community:

  • We have all been working on our own wellbeing through our Wellbeing Planners
  • Company and Personal Resilience Plans: every three months, we have been personally and professionally working on reflecting and developing our own resilience, ensuring we hold each other accountable to achieve our goals.
  • We have attended professional development courses to expand our knowledge across a broad range of areas that support our clients and families in their own wellbeing through our intervention supports.

Within Our Explore & Soar Outer Community:

  • We have created our Monthly Parent & Caregiver Support Group to help build connections with other like minded parents within our local communities.
  • Continued to provide small social group programs for ongoing social connections with our clients and families in a positive way in January and July school holidays. Keep a look out for our January 2026 Group Programs, registrations open soon!
  • Parent information handouts and monthly blogs for ongoing education and access to OT knowledge that could help promote questions and better understanding of how we can support you and your family.

Quicklinks on other OT strategies and ideas in action: 

Have a read of some of our other past blogs for other ideas on how to use some of the strategies and ideas of OT in your own daily life.

As always, if anything peaks your interest or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us today or speak with your treating clinician. We always love to help!

If you’d like to chat more, please don’t hesitate to contact us today! Call us on 0477 708 217 or email admin@exploreandsoar.com.au

Until next time, 
Lori

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2025

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