Guidance sessions for students, with parents in the room

Plan student sessions around three things: school hours, application deadlines and the parent's place in the process. Open student slots after school, on Wednesday afternoons where that applies, on Saturdays and during school holidays; make the parent's role explicit in each service description, for example present for the first and last quarter of an hour; and open extra sessions in the weeks before applications close. The parent usually books, so the booking goes in their name, with the student's first name and year in the note.

For a teenager, a parent fills in the booking form: their first name, last name, email and phone, which are all required, plus an optional note. That's who gets the confirmation email, and who you call if something changes. In the note, ask for the student's first name, school year, and one line on where they stand: "no idea at all", "torn between two courses", "wants to change after first year". You get it in your new-booking email.

A university student over 18 can book for themselves. Say so in the description, so a parent doesn't book on their behalf without them knowing.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end:

Lengths and prices are examples: set your own. Writing the parent's role into each description avoids an awkward moment at the door when a parent expects to stay and the student wants to talk alone.

Teenagers may not say what they really want in front of their parents. A simple rule helps: parent in for the first few minutes to share their view, then out, then back for the last minutes when you sum up. Say it in the description; parents who know the rule in advance accept it more easily.

Create these slots on the weekdays you choose and repeat them each week until an end date. For holidays, add extra slots for those weeks only.

Course applications follow fixed dates, and the weeks before they close are when families want help. Look at the dates for your students' system, and open extra student sessions in the weeks leading up to them. Say in the description which deadline the session is designed for, so families book early enough. After the deadline, a follow-up session to prepare for answers and interviews can be its own service.

Families can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you move or cancel from your bookings list. Book doesn't email them about changes, so confirm new times yourself. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.