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Tag: #FreshFutures

Coffee Morning

Fresh Futures is hosting a town wide coffee morning to celebrate Yorkshire Day on Friday 1st August 2025 and we’d love you to be part of it! We’re inviting local cafés to join in by hosting their own mini coffee mornings, decorated with Fresh Futures goodies, to help raise vital funds and bring our amazing community together.

We’ll send you a fundraising pack with everything you need! All we ask is for participating cafés to donate a percentage of their profits from the day to support our work.

It’s a perfect chance to celebrate Yorkshire Day with your customers, connect with other local cafés & support a brilliant local cause!

Want to get involved? Email us at [email protected] today!

Charity Golf Day

Date: Friday, 8th May 2026
Location: Meltham Golf Club

Fresh Futures is excited to invite businesses across Yorkshire to take part in our first-ever Charity Golf Day! Whether you’re looking to network with other professionals, showcase your brand, or simply enjoy a fantastic day of golf, this event is the perfect opportunity to do so – all while supporting an incredible cause.

We’re calling on businesses to register a team of four for a great day on the green! Enjoy friendly competition, engage with like-minded professionals, and promote your company in a relaxed and enjoyable environment. Your entry includes a coffee and breakfast roll on arrival, followed by a round of golf at the stunning Meltham Golf Club. After the game, enjoy a post-match meal and fantastic networking opportunities. During the day, there will also be opportunity to compete for incredible prizes in both the winning team and putting competitions, and chance take part in our exciting silent auction, where you can bid on exclusive items.

Stay and Play

Come and join us for our Stay & Play sessions every Tuesday morning at Brian Jackson House Huddersfield, HD1 5JP.

Sessions run 10:30am-12pm, and are open for children aged 0-5 and their parents/carers and healthy snacks are provided.

Due to limited capacity, please reserve your place by texting 07849 398709 before 5pm on a Monday.

Elevate Connect

We facilitate regular groups and events to engage in, and offer opportunities to start a friendship with a like-minded person of a similar age. We help young people start a friendship with a like-minded person of a similar age, to build confidence and self-esteem.

We create and facilitate regular groups and events, offering the chance to meet new people and socialise. Young people can also initiate ideas and make decisions about the direction of the service, as part of our Thinking Group, which helps them gain valuable skills and experience for future employment.

When: Every Monday & Wednesday 13.00 – 15:30

Where: Brian Jackson House, Huddersfield, HD1 5JP

Email: [email protected]

Phone:  01484 415 465

Text: 07354 903 165

Fresh Futures Launches Summer Holiday Provision in Huddersfield

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

Fresh Futures is thrilled to announce that we’ve secured funding to run holiday provision, supporting local families and young people during the summer break.

The programme will take place throughout August at Brian Jackson House, in the centre of Huddersfield, and will run Monday to Thursday, from 10am to 2pm. Aimed at 11 to 13-year olds, the sessions are completely free for children who receive free school meals.

Each day, young people will be offered a healthy, nutritious meal, with all dietary requirements catered for, ensuring everyone can enjoy lunch together in a relaxed and inclusive setting.

What is on offer?

Our holiday provision is designed to be fun, engaging and supportive, with a wide range of activities planned to keep young people active, creative and connected. These include:

  • Sports and physical activities to get moving and build teamwork
  • Cooking classes and baking competitions to spark culinary creativity
  • Arts and crafts sessions to encourage self-expression
  • Chill Zone – Board games and time for socialising and relaxation
  • Weekly access to our onsite cinema installation – a unique way to end the week in style

This new initiative marks an exciting step forward for Fresh Futures as we continue our mission to support children, young people and their families from across Kirklees. We’re passionate about creating opportunities that inspire confidence, promote wellbeing, and help every child thrive.

“We’re incredibly proud to be launching our holiday provision at Fresh Futures,” said Mark Farmer, Chief Executive. “This project represents a step forward in how we support local children, young people and their families, particularly during the long summer break when access to activities and meals can be a challenge. Every young person will receive a healthy meal each day, with dietary needs fully catered for. We’re excited to launch this new project to increase the support we provide for families from across the region.”

Sessions will run Monday to Thursday between 10am and 2pm during weeks commencing 4th, 11th and 18th August. Due to the bank holiday on 25th August, sessions that week will run Tuesday to Friday.

Places are limited to 15 young people and are expected to book very quickly so parents and carers are encouraged to reserve their place for free as soon as possible. To book a place for a young person, please click HERE.

What can you expect each day?

DayMain Activity FocusAdditional Notes
Monday🎯 Sports Tournaments (indoor: Pool, Darts, Dodgeball, Table Tennis – Outdoor: Football, Cricket, Rounders)Arts & Crafts and Chill Zone open in afternoon 
Tuesday🍳 Intro to Cooking (Buy, simple meal prep & eat)Group cooking
Wednesday🏏 Sports Tournaments (indoor: Pool, Darts, Dodgeball, Tennis – Outdoor: Football, Cricket, Rounders)Arts & Crafts and Chill Zone open in afternoon 
Thursday🧁 Bake off day (Cupcakes, Cookies, Biscuits)Bake + decorate + take home or eat at lunch

🖌️plus access additional activities throughout the sessions including…….

🗣️ Hangout Area:

music, reading, relaxed social vibe

🎨 Creative Corner:

colouring, painting, pottery painting

🎥 Chill Zone:

films, board games, card games, internet access

Poster for Fresh Futures’ “Schools Out Summer Club” in August at Brian Jackson House, Huddersfield, for 11–13-year-olds on free school dinners. Runs Monday–Thursday, 10am–2pm. Activities include sports, cooking, arts & crafts, chill zone, and cinema. Limited places available. QR code for registration shown. Bright, playful design with illustrations of children.
Fresh Futures Schools Out Summer Club Poster

Volunteer of the Month – June 2025

Posted on by Aimee Webb

Volunteer of the month is when we get to shout about our amazing volunteers and the, quite literally, life changing work they do to help Fresh Futures run smoothly and effectively.

This month we would like to say a big THANK YOU to Faatimah who is a Telephone Befriender. We caught up with Faatimah to hear about her Fresh Futures volunteering journey so far…

Tell us a bit about yourself:

As a small business owner, I promote kindness and mental health through various activities. I’ve created my own activity book and have many different hobbies, including reading and baking.

I love learning new things and challenging myself to step outside my comfort zone.

How long have you been volunteering for Fresh Futures?

I’ve been volunteering for three years.

Explain your volunteering role:

As a telephone befriending volunteer I call people who may be lonely and need a friend. I have befriended 6 people in my time at Fresh Futures.

What made you want to start volunteering with Fresh Futures?

I was searching for a volunteer opportunity where I could give my time, and Fresh Futures was the perfect fit.

I believe in ambition, drive, and the kindness of everyone, and these qualities make volunteering at Fresh Futures a genuinely enjoyable experience.

What is a typical day of volunteering for you?

My typical day involves giving up an hour of my time to people who need it, by giving them a call!

And finally, what advice would you give to people considering volunteering with Fresh Futures?

I would highly recommend volunteering with Fresh Futures to anyone considering it. Volunteering has a profound impact on people’s lives, including your own.

It’s incredibly rewarding and fulfilling, so you absolutely must give it a try!

Bright, cheerful poster for ‘Fresh Futures’ announcing its ‘Volunteer of the Month.’ A central photo, tilted playfully, shows a volunteer dressed in full firefighter gear standing part-way up an outdoor ladder, arms raised triumphantly against a blue-sky backdrop. Around the photo are cartoon clouds, curved yellow shapes and a small gold-trophy icon. Large white headline text reads ‘Volunteer of the Month.’ Beneath the picture, a speech-bubble panel displays the volunteer’s name in bold red letters, and a yellow tag below notes their role as ‘Telephone Befriender.’
Volunteer of the Month June 2025 – Faatimah

If you feel inspired to become a volunteer like Faatimah, or if you would like to volunteer in any way for our charity, please contact Lucy on 01484 519988 or [email protected]

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.

Volunteer of the Month – May 2025

Posted on by Aimee Webb

Volunteer of the month is when we get to shout about our amazing volunteers and the, quite literally, life changing work they do to help Fresh Futures run smoothly and effectively.

This month we would like to say a big THANK YOU to Lawrence who volunteers as a Community Friend. We caught up with Lawrence to hear about his Fresh Futures volunteering journey so far…

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I am a Scouser but have lived in the Huddersfield area since the 1980s. I am now retired and used to be a University lecturer in Manchester.

In the 80s and 90s I worked in the NHS for Huddersfield Health Authority.

How long have you been volunteering for Fresh Futures?

I have been volunteering for about 18 months for this charity and another local one.

Tell us more about your volunteering role:

My role is a very simple but enjoyable one which consists of visiting an elderly man who lives locally. We have a chat of an hour every week.

What’s a typical day volunteering like for you?

Its only an hour and we talk about where the conversation leads. The guy I have befriended is very interested in how Huddersfield is trying to survive as a town and follows the local news far better than I.

We talk a lot about the past and for instance, how public transport now seems so advanced, especially when you think of Huddersfield trams , branch railway lines and even trolley buses.

What made you want to start volunteering with Fresh Futures?

I wanted to give back a little in my retirement and do voluntary work, I am a bit chatty myself so doing a befriending role seemed ideal!

I am also interested in history so talking and listening to someone in their 90s about the local history of Huddersfield and surrounding towns is fascinating .

And finally, what advice would you give to people considering volunteering at Fresh Futures?

Try it out and be open to listening about the past and experiences of someone who has led a long and happy life.

The role can be very important to someone who may not get lots of visitors in a typical day or week. 

Lawrence Benson, a smiling bald man wearing glasses, is named Volunteer of the Month by Fresh Futures. The background includes playful cloud graphics and a gold trophy icon. His role is listed as Community Friend.
Volunteer of the Month – Lawrence

If you feel inspired to become a volunteer like Lawrence, or if you would like to volunteer in any way for our charity, please contact Lucy on 01484 519988 or [email protected]

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.

Celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Day at Brian Jackson College

Posted on by Aimee Webb

Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day, and at Fresh Futures, we’re taking a moment to shine a light on the remarkable team at Brian Jackson College, our alternative education provision.

A group of people cooking in a communal kitchen setting. In the foreground, a woman is peeling mushrooms over a metal bowl, while others are busy with food preparation along a counter lined with ingredients and utensils. A mirror reflects the activity, and posters and kitchen supplies are visible in the background.
Food technology at Brian Jackson College

At Brian Jackson College, our staff do so much more than deliver lessons — they create safe, supportive, and inspiring environments for young people with social, emotional, and mental health needs. Their work is transformative, sometimes challenging, and always deeply impactful.

Two people sit in a relaxed setting on black cushioned chairs. One person, a young man in a black hoodie and shorts, appears quiet and thoughtful. The other person, an adult with visible tattoos and glasses, is speaking and gesturing with one hand. A scenic photograph of a wooden dock over water with mountains in the background hangs on the wall behind them.
Staff and students at Brian Jackson College

On this special day, Jacqui Green, Headteacher at Brian Jackson College, shared a heartfelt message of gratitude:

“On this National Teachers’ Day, I want to extend my deepest gratitude and admiration for the unwavering dedication, compassion, and resilience you bring to your work every single day.
Supporting young people with SEMH needs requires not just skill and expertise, but an immense amount of patience, understanding, and kindness. You are more than teachers—you are mentors, advocates, and champions of hope. You provide stability where there is uncertainty, encouragement where there is doubt, and a safe haven where there is struggle. Your presence and perseverance make an immeasurable impact, shaping lives in ways that may not always be visible but are always deeply felt.

Please remember that your efforts are seen, valued, and appreciated. Every breakthrough, no matter how small, is a victory. Every moment of connection you foster is a step toward a brighter future for the young people in your care.

Today, and every day, we celebrate you—your commitment, your passion, and the difference you make in the lives of those who need you most.
Thank you for all that you do.”

Three individuals in a workshop setting engaged in a hands-on activity. One adult, wearing a beanie and overalls, appears to be instructing or demonstrating something to two teenage boys. One boy is wearing a blue sports jersey and apron, while the other, in safety goggles and a blue hoodie, looks on attentively. Various tools, wooden pieces, and copper piping displays are visible in the background.
The construction workshop at Brian Jackson College

We are incredibly proud of the work being done every day at Brian Jackson College. The staff are not only changing lives — they are opening doors to brighter futures.

To all our educators: we see you, we thank you, and today, we celebrate you!