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Category: Service Spotlight

Farewell to the Befriending Service!

The image shows two people, a woman sat on the left and a man sat on the right, they are sat a table that is dressed with plates, food and teacups. The woman is eating a sandwich, and wears a white and grey striped jumper. The man smiles at her whilst wearing a Christmas jumper that is red with penguins and reindeer on. There are people chatting in the background.
Posted on by Aimee Webb

Fresh Futures wishes to share some important news. On 30th June, the Befriending Service was officially handed over to Age UK Calderdale & Kirklees.

This decision was not made lightly; it followed careful thought and planning. The Charity firmly believes that handing the service over to Age UK is the best way to ensure the project continues to deliver outstanding support for isolated individuals, while allowing Fresh Futures to focus on its core charity values – supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people in Kirklees and the surrounding areas.

Fresh Futures has worked closely with Age UK for many years, including during the pandemic when the two organisations collaborated to deliver the Befriending Partnership. The Charity knows firsthand how exceptional Age UK is at providing caring, community-based support for older people. Fresh Futures is confident that Age UK will continue to offer the same warm, friendly connections that have made this service so special.

The image shows two women smiling at the camera, it looks like a living room setting with pictures on the wall. The woman on the left is elderly, with white hair and wears a purple cardigan, the woman on the right has dark hair, with a fringe and dark rimmed glasses.
A client with their befriending volunteer
The image shows six women, stood in a line all posing for the picture. The background looks like a classroom with a projection on the wall in the lefthand half of the picture. The women range from 30s to middle aged and they are all smiling at the camera.
Staff involved in the befriending service

The Charity would like to take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to everyone who has been part of this journey. To all the staff and volunteers, your time, dedication, and kindness have made a significant difference in many people’s lives. To everyone who has taken part in the service, thank you for the connections made and the moments shared.

As Fresh Futures takes the next steps in delivering its core projects for children and young people, the Charity remains proud of everything the Befriending Service has achieved over the years. It has been a privilege to witness the support that has been provided and the joy that has come from the relationships built through the project.

Fresh Futures is excited to see the Befriending Service continue to thrive under the leadership of Age UK and is confident it will continue to make a meaningful difference in the community for years to come.

The image shows three women posing for the picture, it looks like it is Christmas as there is a tree and presents in the background, they are all dressed in red and all have blonde hair.
Staff involved in the befriending service
The image shows two women in a living rooms, there is a fireplace and a stack of video tapes in the background. The room is decorated in beiges and browns. One of the women is on the right, sat in a comfy chair and appears to be in the middle of saying something. The other woman is sat behind a elevated dinner tray and is laughing, she is wearing a teal jumper.
Clients and volunteers of the befriending service

To keep up to date with the Befriending Service and Age UK Calderdale and Kirklees, please visit their website, and their Facebook page.

Spotlight On Family Time

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

Fresh Futures Family Time service is a child contact centre which provides multiple levels of support to children and families. The service offers a safe and child friendly space for children to have contact with their relatives. Please see the website for further detail for the levels of support offered: https://freshfutures.org.uk/family-time/

Family Time service works closely with Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), alongside the Family court arena and accepts private referrals.

The aim of the service is to support children re/establish relationships with a relative where their contact has broken.

Family Time staff pride themselves on listening to the voice of the child and emphasise it, while supporting children and families agree future arrangements. In addition, Family Time supports parents establish and maintain communication in a child focused manner.

Family Time focus on neurodiversity and have recently implemented sensory spaces to better support children. The team have developed their knowledge on ways of working with children and families with neurodiverse needs, focusing on communication, specifically when children are non-verbal.

A high percentage of children who attend Family Time have been exposed to lengthy court proceedings. In 2025, Family Time staff plan to promote the service to external services who work with families, with an emphasis on Family Time being use as early intervention, to hopefully prevent families from applying to the Family Courts.

The Family Time Team includes one service manager and three child contact officers who play crucial roles in facilitating contact between children and their relatives. Additionally, Family Time often have support from students and volunteers.

The team’s primary role is prioritising the child’s physical and emotional wellbeing, supervising contact sessions and providing detailed reports from their observation of Family Time.

Additionally, they tailor unique plans to best support the children and relatives in areas such as conflict management, communication, relationship building and ways to overcome barriers which may be preventing the child’s contact progressing positively with their relative. Family Time reports are confidential documents which make recommendations for future plans for the child/ren which can support judiciary decision making during family court proceedings when developing a child arrangement order.

Fresh Futures hosts its first parents’ evening at Brian Jackson College

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

At Brian Jackson College, we understand that supporting our pupils’ development goes beyond the classroom. A holistic approach — where education is a shared journey between school and home — is at the core of everything we do. Strong, trusting relationships with parents and carers are fundamental to this vision, and our parents’ evenings was a key opportunity to nurture those partnership.

On Tuesday 13th May, the Heckmondwike provision held its first parents’ evening, welcoming families into the school between 4:30pm and 7:00pm. The event provided a dedicated space for parents and carers to speak directly with subject teachers, discussing their child’s academic progress, behaviour, and overall wellbeing. Together, staff and families explored strategies to support learning and identify areas for further development, laying the groundwork for better supporting our pupils and improving educational outcomes.

In addition to subject teachers, key members of the school team were on hand to offer guidance and support. The Attendance Lead and Behaviour Lead were available to address concerns and explore positive interventions. The Nurture and Wellbeing Lead shared details of bespoke support programmes, while our school counsellor offered private appointments, providing advice on mental health services and resources for managing exam-related anxiety — particularly timely for pupils preparing for GCSEs and mock exams.

Our careers advisor also joined the evening, offering drop-in sessions for pupils from all year groups to discuss future pathways, from post-16 education to employment and training opportunities.

The evening was a fantastic success, with 16 families attending — many bringing siblings and other relatives, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere. It was especially rewarding for the team from Fresh Futures to meet with parents and carers in an informal setting, building meaningful connections beyond the usual school day.

Feedback from parents and carers was overwhelmingly positive. Here are just a few of the comments we received:

“I never thought I’d have a parents’ evening as positive as this —I  can’t believe how far he has come.”

“The change in him at home is massive. He’s back to being my happy son again.”

“I used to have to fight with him every day to get him to school. Now he’s up and ready every morning — no arguments, no meltdowns. It’s amazing.”

“This is the first proper parents’ evening I’ve been invited to. In the past, I was only called in to talk about her behaviour. It means so much to come here and hear something positive.”

A Fresh Futures, we’re incredibly grateful to all the families who attended and helped make the evening so special.

Service Spotlight: Healthy Start

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk. If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in UK shops and your benefit will be added onto this card every 4 weeks.

You can use your card to buy:

  • plain liquid cow’s milk
  • infant formula milk
  • fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables and
  • fresh, dried, and tinned pulses

You can also use your card to collect Healthy Start Maternal vitamins (these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding) and Healthy Start vitamin drops for babies and young children (these are suitable from birth to 4 years old).

Who can access the service?

The Healthy Start scheme is open to children under the age of 4, and women who are at least 10 weeks pregnant. In order to qualify, you must be receiving any of the following:

  • You, your partner, or your carer get Working Tax Credit run-on only after you have reported you’re working 16 hours or less per week
  • Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
  • Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

You will also be eligible for Healthy Start vouchers if:

  • You’re under 18 and pregnant, even if you are not claiming any benefits
  • You claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are over 10 weeks pregnant

Please apply online by clicking the following link https://services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/apply-for-healthy-start/where-you-live 

If you have any questions about this service, please feel free to check out our FAQ page

Service Spotlight: Room Hire

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

Within the Fresh Futures Charity’s buildings, right in the centre of Huddersfield and Batley, are fully equipped rooms and event spaces that are available for rent, whether you need it for an afternoon, or a year!

  • Meeting Rooms: Ideal for a one-off meeting or event, rent a room for a half or full day.
  • Offices: Perfect if you want your own private office space for you, your team, or a whole company, in the heart of town.
  • Event Space: We have several event spaces to cater to different sizes and event types, such as community clubs, parties, job fayres, training days, and much more! Catering and equipment available.
  • Our rates are very competitive, and 100% of the proceeds from all room rentals goes straight into the charity’s pot, to support even more members of the local community.

‘KYA loves being based in Brian Jackson House alongside other key VCS organisations. Our space is perfect and we are big fans of the new café on the ground floor. Our work sits nicely alongside the Vision and Aims of Yorkshire Children’s Centre, which makes them more of a friend than a landlord!’ KYA – Tenant at Brian Jackson House.

For more information on YCC’s room hire please click here, email [email protected] or call 01484 519988.

Service Spotlight: Accident Prevention eLearning

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

This free training course is designed to raise the awareness of parents, carers, and practitioners of the causes of childhood accidents, by teaching adults how to reduce risks and keep children safe.

Unintentional childhood injury results in over 2 million visits to A&E in the UK and over half of these injuries occur in the home. On average 62 children under the age of five died as a result of an accident and over 76,000 under the age of 14 are admitted for treatment, of which over 40% are under 5 years of age.

This e-learning course enables parents, carers and practitioners to:

  • Identify risks in the home and elsewhere that are the common causes of childhood accidents
  • Describe steps you are able to take in order to reduce the risk and prevent childhood accidents
  • To be confident in making changes or supporting families to make changes, to keep children safer.

The training takes approximately 30 – 40 minutes to complete. On completion you will receive a certificate.

If you are a parent or carer of a young child or children or a professional working with/supporting young children, we strongly advise you to complete this training to develop your knowledge on child accident prevention. This will enable you to go on to make a difference in reducing childhood accidents in Kirklees.

Anyone with an interest in developing their knowledge on child accident prevention. There is no eligibility criteria for accessing this training.

Service Spotlight: Community Anchor

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

Supporting Local Groups to Make Great Things Happen

The Community Anchor Service exists to provide support to local groups and provisions in line with community needs in Batley and Spen. Working alongside local Primary Care Networks and the local authority, we identify needs, create provisions to tackle needs, and nurture existing groups and provisions to support with the identified needs. 

Our network of community organisations and mutual aid groups are working with us and our partners from the local authority, health, and third sector organisations to directly focus on how we can better support our local communities. Collectively, we are working to build stronger and supportive communities and to ensure the third sector is better connected and influenced by:

  • Building a picture of local activity
  • Contributing to and supporting the development of local plans
  • Encouraging third sector involvement and working with local partners to identify and develop community-based solutions
  • Supporting the development of social prescribing

As well as forming the partner network forum, Our Community Forum, we have several exciting projects which include: 

  • Community Champions 
  • Digital Inclusion
  • Mental Health First Aid

This is a free service available to any local group or service across Batley and Spen. Contact the team on [email protected] or 07849 398 734 and one of our Community Anchors will be able to assist you.

Service Spotlight: Child Contact

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

Fresh Futures think of contact as ‘time for children’ with an emphasis on the quality of that time. The focus should be on meeting the needs of the child as best as possible to ensure their time spent with parents or carers is of value to them.

About Child Contact

This service is for parents, grandparents or other family members who no longer live with their children. We provide a range of toys and games to enable contact to be a positive experience in a safe and secure environment. Child Contact centres can help when there are safety considerations or help increase trust and reliability between parents and carers. We can assist parents or carers who need time to agree alternative plans, or when relationships need support to develop, to benefit the child.

How to access the service

Arrangements are by referral, which can be made by a social worker, solicitor, family mediator, CAFCASS Family Court Advisor or another appropriate professional. We can also accept self-referrals from parents or family members that do not have legal representation, subject to safeguarding checks, and they will be accepted at the discretion of the contact centre co-ordinator.

Once a referral is accepted, we will arrange payment of the referral fee, then each adult party will be booked in for an introductory meeting or visit with a contact worker. Following completion of introductory meetings, and once we are satisfied that it is appropriate to commence contact, we aim to arrange the first session at the first available opportunity.

To learn more about the Contact Centres at Fresh Futures please click here, email [email protected] or call 01484 519988.

Service Spotlight: Brian Jackson College

Posted on by Samantha Latchayya

Did you know that Fresh Futures owns and manages not one, but TWO alternative provision colleges?

The Brian Jackson Colleges are ‘alternative provisions’ providing vocational and core subject education for students aged 13-16, who have been excluded or are looking at permanent exclusion from a mainstream school. The colleges, based at Huddersfield and Heckmondwike, support students in many ways. Here are just a few….

At Brian Jackson College, we:

  • Teach core subjects in preparation for GCSE examinations,
  • Teach a large variety of vocational subjects, such as hairdressing, food tech and motor vehicle courses – which support pupils into ‘positive destinations’, such as employment or apprenticeships after graduation,
  • Support all pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties by working with SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinators) and Nurture Managers,
  • Work together with each pupil to create a bespoke EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan) whenever required.
  • Deliver Key Worker sessions where students learn about conflict resolution, social media awareness and dealing with emotions.
  • Prepare pupils for life after Brian Jackson College, including the accredited Financial Education Award that helps pupils plan to support themselves and live independently in the future.
  • Make sure that the pupils have FUN and access to the normal experiences that teenagers should have – such as fitness coaching sessions, ice cream days, allotment visits, sports days, and MUCH MORE!!!

Leadership Team Coordinator, Samantha Latchayya, told us: “Brian Jackson College isn’t just a safe space for pupils to learn; it offers a new opportunity for these students who often feel let down by mainstream education, to discover their strengths, pursue their passions, and become successful adults. The work that the colleges do is simply inspiring!“.

Our most recent Ofsted report in March 2019 stated that ‘The school’s ethos and culture promotes all aspects of pupils’ welfare. Staff help pupils with previously unsuccessful experiences of school to overcome the barriers that exist and re-engage well with education. One pupil said, ‘They give us a future.’

Jacqui Green, BJC Headteacher

Brian Jackson College shares the same mission as all of the Fresh Futures departments, to IMPROVE LIVES AND INSPIRE CHANGE. And boy do they deliver! Check out the 3 minute video below to gain a greater insight into Brian Jackson College…

Watch our short video to learn all about YCC’s Brian Jackson College!

Did you know that Brian Jackson College is currently recruiting? Click HERE to view the college’s current vacancies and join an incredible team of people!

Learn more about the colleges by visiting their website: www.brianjacksoncollege.co.uk

#WeAreFresh Futures #BrianJacksonCollege

Service Spotlight: Safety In The Home

Posted on by Samantha Latchayya

Supporting families in reducing preventable home accidents through education and the provision and installation of home safety equipment.

This month we are taking a look into what YCC’s Thriving Kirklees department have to offer to make your home safe for young children.

The aim of YCC’s Safety in the Home service is to reduce the risk and prevent childhood accidents in the home by supplying and fitting home safety equipment into the property of eligible families.

This can include safety gates, fire guards, bathmats, cupboard locks, corner cushions and cord winders. 

We focus on the TOP 5 most common childhood accidents that occur in the home such as, slips, trips and falls, burns and scalds, poisoning, fire and strangulation. Our fitters provide families with information & advice on how to reduce these risks.

As part of this service, Fresh Futures are also working in partnership with West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue service to ensure every eligible family also receives a free home fire safety check, which can result in new smoke detectors being fitted.