Coaching and Coaching Supervision
Space to think. Support to grow.
Kate Smith coaches senior professionals through the moments that matter, and supervises coaches who are serious about their practice. Both are one-to-one relationships built on trust, honesty, and the willingness to sit with the questions most people would rather avoid.
This page covers both. If you're an individual looking for coaching, scroll to Coaching below. If you're a coach looking for supervision, scroll to Coaching Supervision. If you're not sure which fits, get in touch and we'll help you work it out.
If you work for an organisation and are looking for 1:1, group or Team coaching, Internal Coach Supervision, Mentoring Programme support, Firestarter Circles, Please visit Explore Coaching Services for Organisations →
1:1 Coaching
For professionals navigating something significant.
Kate coaches professionals through the moments that matter: the promotion that feels like it should be a celebration but isn't, the return to leadership after maternity leave, the late-diagnosis ADHD that suddenly explains everything and changes nothing, the redundancy no one saw coming, the quiet realisation that the strategies that got you here are the ones now holding you back.
Her clients tend to find her at a transition point. Some are coming back from parental leave and trying to work out who they are now in a role that has carried on without them. Some have just received an ADHD diagnosis in their forties or fifties and are reckoning with what that means for a career built on willpower and overcompensation. Others are senior leaders facing organisational change, considering redundancy, or asking themselves whether the next promotion is really the answer. Some are stuck in a role that used to fit and no longer does, and are trying to work out whether to stay, leave, or reshape it.
How Kate works
What clients say they value is that Kate cuts through complexity quickly. She has spent a career in senior commercial leadership and understands the systems and politics you're navigating, which means sessions don't get wasted on her catching up. She brings warmth and directness in equal measure, and she'll ask you the questions you've been avoiding asking yourself.
Her coaching is grounded in positive psychology, neurodiversity-informed, and person-centred. She holds a Masters in Coaching and Mentoring from Oxford Brookes University and is an EMCC Accredited Senior Practitioner. Beyond the coaching qualifications, she brings twenty-five years of senior commercial leadership, an MBA, and postgraduate training in psychology and human resources.
Although Kate's niche is senior women and the transitions above, she also coaches more broadly across leadership development, executive presence, redundancy, and career inflection points for clients of any gender who feel her approach fits. The free chemistry call exists precisely so both parties can work that out before committing.
We have team members at We Are Firestarter who also hold coaching accreditations giving you a breadth of coaching experience and styles to choose from
What clients leave with
Greater clarity about what they actually want, which is rarely the thing they walked in saying. Stronger self-knowledge and a more honest relationship with their own ambition. Practical strategies they can apply on Monday morning, grounded in the realities of corporate life rather than coaching theory.
How it works
Every engagement starts with a free chemistry call to see whether it's a fit. Most clients then commit to a programme of six to ten sessions, scoped to the work you want to do. Sessions are usually online, occasionally in person if you're within reach of Banbury and would prefer it. Kate works internationally and is comfortable across time zones.
Fees
Individual coaching is £75 plus VAT per session, with discounts available for programmes of six to ten sessions. Kate is deliberately transparent about pricing because individual coaching should be accessible to the people who need it, at the point when they need it - not gated behind a "get in touch for a quote" conversation.
“I was so thankful for Kate's coaching support on my return to work after maternity leave. It framed my goals and objectives in my career and encouraged me to believe in myself more than I thought possible! I have now become a coach myself based on the positive experience I had with Kate and her framework and tools.”
Laura, Business Development Manager
Coaching Supervision
For coaches who are serious about their practice.
Coaching supervision isn't optional. It's what separates the coaches who keep growing from the ones who plateau, and it's what protects your clients, your ethics, and your own sustainability as a practitioner. If you're a coach and you're not being supervised, it's worth asking why.
Kate supervises self-employed coaches and internal coaches at organisations. Some of her supervisees are newly accredited and building their practice. Others are experienced practitioners working with complex clients who want a thinking partner they can trust with the messy stuff. Both are welcome, and the supervision looks different depending on where you are.
How Kate supervises
Kate brings the same warmth and directness to supervision that she brings to coaching, which means sessions aren't spent in comfortable agreement. Supervision with her is reflective and challenging in equal measure. She'll ask you the questions your clients don't ask you, and the questions you've stopped asking yourself. She'll surface the patterns you can't see because you're inside them.
Her supervision is EMCC accredited and grounded in the Seven-Eyed Model, alongside her own integration of psychological and systems thinking. She holds the Professional Certificate of Advanced Study in Coaching Supervision from Oxford Brookes University and is an EMCC Accredited Coaching Supervisor. She is currently working toward the ICF Coaching Supervisor Specialization credential.
How it works
Supervision runs as regular one-to-one sessions, typically monthly, though frequency is agreed based on your caseload and needs. Sessions are ninety minutes and delivered online. Kate supervises coaches internationally.
She also offers group supervision for internal coaching communities inside organisations. For group supervision, get in touch to discuss what fits.
Fees
Coaching supervision is £100 per session for individual coaches. Group supervision for organisational coaching communities is scoped to the size of the group and the scope of the work.
“Working with Kate as my coach supervisor has been a genuinely valuable experience. Her supervision provides a reflective, thoughtful, and supportive space while offering the right level of challenge to deepen my practice. Her insight, skilful questioning, and ability to surface blind spots have significantly enhanced my confidence and helped me grow as a coach”
Paul Mosson, Executive Coach
Frequently asked questions
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If you're a professional trying to navigate a work or life challenge, that's coaching. If you're a coach trying to develop your practice, that's supervision. If you're both (a coach who also has coaching challenges of their own), you'll want both, ideally with different practitioners so neither relationship gets muddied.
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Individual coaching runs as a programme of six to ten sessions, typically over three to six months. Supervision is an ongoing relationship rather than a fixed programme, though frequency is agreed and reviewed together.
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Yes. Everything discussed stays between you and Kate, with the exception of the very small number of circumstances where safeguarding or professional ethics would require her to raise a concern. Those exceptions are explained at the start of any engagement.
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A free twenty-minute conversation, usually online, to see whether Kate is the right coach or supervisor for you. You tell her what's going on and what you're looking for. She tells you honestly whether she's the right fit. If she isn't, she'll do her best to suggest someone who is. There's no obligation and no pressure.
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Yes, and it's covered separately on the Organisational Coaching Services page. If you're commissioning coaching for a team, a leadership programme, or an internal coaching community, that's where to look.description
Still have queries?
Use the contact form, or drop us a line at hello@wearefirestarter.com