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.
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.
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:
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.
| Day | Main Activity Focus | Additional 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 |
music, reading, relaxed social vibe
colouring, painting, pottery painting
films, board games, card games, internet access
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.
Fresh Futures are thrilled to update you about the 100 Top Kirklees Companies event that took place at Brian Jackson House last month. This event, hosted by Fresh Futures and coordinated by a partnership including 3M, Huddersfield University, Huddersfield Examiner, and Huddersfield Hub, was a resounding success.
Fresh Futures was delighted to invite companies into our main hub, Brian Jackson House in central Huddersfield, to raise awareness about the charity and to offer a summer networking opportunity to the corporate sector of Kirklees. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of all involved, we achieved this and more.
Sue Cooke, Chief Executive Officer of 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, encapsulated the spirit of the evening perfectly:
“A big thank you to Fresh Futures for hosting the annual summer networking event for the Kirklees Top 100 Companies. It was fantastic to see so many local organisations come together to connect and build relationships. There was a real buzz around the room, and it certainly felt like a celebration of our local business community, with inspiring speakers, from emerging to longstanding companies, that shared their success stories, topped off with amazing food and drink
The evening was an opportunity to network and find out more about the exciting developments in the commercial sector within Kirklees and Fresh Futures’ employees would like to share their appreciation for all those who delivered motivating and informative speeches on the night. Additionally, Fresh Futures was delighted to welcome representatives from the top 100 companies in Kirklees, alongside SMEs and key stakeholders, including some of our much-valued Patrons.
Katie Shephard, Head of Engagement at Fresh Futures, said:
“It was a pleasure to deliver such an exciting event for the commercial sector of Kirklees. Despite the ongoing economic challenges, the country continues to face, it was fantastic to host an event attended by businesses to better understand their ongoing contributions to the local community. Fresh Futures’ vision is to engage with children, young people and families from Kirklees and this event was our opportunity help celebrate the contribution that the corporate sector makes to our region.”
On behalf of all employees at Fresh Futures, thank you once again to everyone who contributed to making this event a great success. Fresh Futures look forward to more opportunities to connect and collaborate with our local business community.
Fresh Futures would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join the Fresh Futures Patron Scheme. As a Patron, you will play a vital role in supporting our mission to provide opportunities and support for children, young people and families across Kirklees. Your involvement will help Fresh Futures continue work in education, skills development, and community engagement.
Your support is crucial to our mission of empowering the next generation. Together, we can create a brighter future for our community.
For more information on how to become a Patron and supporting Fresh Futures, please visit Fresh Futures website or contact us directly via [email protected]
Stay tuned for further updates and future events! #FreshFutures
The youth unemployment rate has increased, and young people experience many barriers when looking for a job. From their work with young adults, Fresh Futures have learnt low confidence and self-esteem, social anxiety, emotional issues and mental health challenges prevent young people from accessing work.
Fresh Futures have developed their innovative Employability Programme to help young people get employment ready and equip them with the skills, experience and understanding to feel confident applying for jobs.
Over the course of one week, the Programme will empower young people to build their skill set and feel confident about searching for job opportunities.
The mornings will focus on building core employability skills, e.g., CV writing, interview techniques and how to research for jobs. Fresh Futures will also provide a free lunch to each young adult attending the Programme.
In the afternoons, the focus will shift towards working with the young people to provide useful experiences to overcome the barriers they face on their journey into employment. This might include trips out, visiting guest speakers or learning new, creative skills such as photography or video editing.
After completing the Programme, the young people will be given the opportunity to undertake 10 hours of voluntary work within an employer from across Kirklees to help build their experience and bolster their CV. Placements will be tailored to young adults’ personal career goals for the future.
Christine Rhodes, Community Connections Services Manager, says: “This new programme is an exciting opportunity for young people to gain valuable knowledge about how to access employment as well as gaining experience of the workplace. We’re keen to offer placements for young people in a variety of different industries across Kirklees and if this is something your business could accommodate, we’d urge you to get in touch today to find out more.”
Fresh Futures have a wealth of experience working with different organisations across the region to support young people through a range of projects. Over the last four months, they have been working with Youth Social to produce a podcast series promoting the benefits of youth volunteering. You can listen to Omar, the Sustainability Volunteer and Freya, a Young Adult Volunteer at Fresh Futures on Episode 5, Part 2. Daisy Whitby, the Volunteer Support Officer at Fresh Futures, also features on Episode 6, where she shares her insights on the volunteering opportunities Fresh Futures offers young adults.
These podcasts are now available on all the main podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts – Search ‘Youth Social Podcast’, or click the following links:
If you’re struggling to find a career path, or don’t know how to progress into employment, Fresh Futures can help you!
Contact the Community Connections team to find out more about Fresh Futures’ Employability Programme email [email protected] or call 01484 415465.
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 Annette who volunteers for the charity as a Community Friend.
We caught up with Annette to hear about her Fresh Futures Volunteering journey so far…
How long have you been volunteering for the charity? 15 months.
Tell us a bit about yourself: I have been married to John for 45 years and we have 5 daughters and 15 grandchildren, I have lived in the Holme Valley since I was 12 and I walk 6k every day. I also love reading and baking.
Tell us about your volunteering role: I visit Ken every week, for a chat, shopping, eating or a drive in the country.
Tell us about a typical day in your role: If Ken is feeling ok we will go shopping, go to a garden centre, or just go for a drive to enjoy the countryside, once a month I take him to the barbers and if he has a doctors appointment I take him to that. If he’s having a bad day we just stay in a chat until we have put the world to rights.
What made you want to start volunteering with Fresh Futures? My daughter volunteers, and until she did I have never heard of such a thing, so I wanted to help someone who might be experiencing loneliness as I can’t imagine how terrible it would be not to talk to anyone for days at a time.
And finally, what advice would you give to people considering volunteering with Fresh Futures? Just give it a go it will enrich your life and the person to whom you visit.
If you feel inspired to become a volunteer like Annette, or if you would like to volunteer in any way for our charity, please contact Lucy on 01484 519988 or [email protected]
As part of our campaign to showcase 50 Faces of Fresh Futures to celebrate our 50th birthday, we’re shining the spotlight on Lucy Jackson.
Brian Jackson founded the charity in 1974 and Lucy is Brian’s daughter. Lucy continues her involvement in the charity to this day – she has recently joined the Board of Trustees at Fresh Futures and also sits on the Income and Partnerships committee.
In 1974 – when I was 11 – my father (Brian Jackson) founded what was then called ‘The National Children Centre’. We had just moved back to Yorkshire, and being a very proud Yorkshireman he was really keen to develop something in his home town of Huddersfield that would make a difference to the people of the town (especially children under 5) and also have a wider impact on national policy and research.
I have a clear memory of going to busy sessions at Longroyd Bridge (the first home of the charity) and seeing lots of colourful activities, toddlers from all different communities, laughing and running around. I used to help empty vans of resources which dad had managed to convince people to give us. It was always a happy place to pop into, which we seemed to do regularly…
Dad was very passionate about working class communities, and also multicultural communities. He saw the impact that education and wider social, emotional and practical support could make to the future of children from all communities living in poverty. He was also very passionate about Huddersfield (including Huddersfield Town) and Yorkshire (especially the cricket)!
In 1974, when we moved back to Yorkshire from Cambridge, I think he saw an opportunity to bring his passions together. At the time he was working on a study about childminders – the world they lived in and the influence the registered, but mainly unregistered, childminders had on very young children. He was also looking at the lack of support childminders received. For him, supporting childminders was critical to supporting the future development of young children from working class communities.
As with everything dad did, he never wanted to leave it as ‘an interesting research project’ to have published in relevant journals – for him the prize was always making a difference to and seeing action within the lives of children and communities. For him the vision of Yorkshire’s Children’s Centre (as was) was to have somewhere that could both provide both practical support for childminders, parents and others supporting children, and provide somewhere for young children to develop and flourish.
I don’t think I ever consciously went into my profession of Public Health, because of my dad’s legacy – but for me my public health values, beliefs and ethics are exactly why Fresh Futures is so important today (as much as it was 50 years ago) to the present and future communities of West Yorkshire.
Child poverty is at its highest level for over 20 years. Families are experiencing a range of issues from poverty to housing crisis, and facing increased physical and mental health issues. All of which impact significantly on future generations. There is a need for practical and emotional support for families, children and young people to support them to reach their full potential which Fresh Futures’ can provide.
Securing Longroyd Bridge was obviously the first significant event. The play bus and taking the vision out into the streets was significant – the charity’s focus of going out to communities is high in my memory in the early days.
I remember as things developed, and as I became a teenager, dad also brought support for young people more into focus.
However, once we moved to Bristol and my visits to Yorkshire became less I lost touch with what was happening at the charity. – although it was a household joke of how often there were still calls between dad and Hazel (the CEO at the time). I had just completed my A levels and was at a David Bowie concert the day that dad and my younger brother ran the charity race in Huddersfield to raise money for the charity . It was only when I returned from the concert that I received the phone call to say he had collapsed on the run and died.
From there, my connection to the charity over the next years was intermittent – I remember being invited to the opening of Brian Jackson Centre (now House) and feeling really proud of dad’s lasting legacy. I also went to memorial lectures the charity organised each year with Huddersfield Polytechnic, aimed at keeping the cause in the national eye with high profile speakers.
The launching of the Charity’s first alternative provision college for young people was for me the next significant event that I became aware of. Thinking back to the days of the ‘Youth Opportunities Programme ‘ – this felt very much in line with dad’s vision. Again my own life took over with 3 young children and a career, so it wasn’t until a few years ago when social media connected me to another walk (rather than run) in aid of the charity that I once more became aware of the brilliant work happening 50 years later. Although these events are about the physical buildings – its dad’s ethos has remained which for me is most significant – Fresh Futures today is about people working together can change the future of children and young people, just as it was 50 years ago when it was launched by dad.
Lucy has recently starred in a documentary aired on YouTube, interviewing famous sociologists wives to better understand the support they gave to their husbands work over the years, you can watch it here.