Focusing Minds CIC

Two people standing beside a Focusing Minds banner at Penistone Grammar School.

Focusing Minds Starts Support at Penistone Grammar School

Focusing Minds CIC is pleased to have started supporting students at Penistone Grammar School, providing person-centred mentoring and coaching tailored to individual needs. This new opportunity brings together a shared commitment to helping young people feel accepted, understood and supported to make progress. A shared belief that ‘everyone belongs’ At the start of this academic year, Penistone Grammar School introduced its new way of working, built around the message that ‘everyone belongs’. This aligns perfectly with the approach Focusing Minds brings to supporting young people. We recognise that every student has their own experiences, strengths and challenges. Our support starts… Read More »Focusing Minds Starts Support at Penistone Grammar School

Focusing Minds team at the Ossett and Gawthorpe Maypole Parade

Focusing Minds Celebrates Community Spirit at Ossett and Gawthorpe Maypole Parade

Focusing Minds was proud to take part in the annual Ossett and Gawthorpe Maypole Parade. The event brought together local organisations, businesses and families. It was another fantastic celebration of one of the area’s longest-standing community traditions. As an Ossett-based Community Interest Company, we were delighted to get involved. The parade also gave us an opportunity to raise awareness of the support available through Focusing Minds. We provide mental health, wellbeing, counselling, SEND and personal development support across Ossett, Wakefield and the wider West Yorkshire area. The history of the Ossett and Gawthorpe Maypole Parade The Ossett and Gawthorpe Maypole… Read More »Focusing Minds Celebrates Community Spirit at Ossett and Gawthorpe Maypole Parade

Focusing Minds director Andy after completing his 60km sponsored treadmill walk

Andy Completes Grueling 60km Sponsored Treadmill Walk

Focusing Minds director Andy has successfully completed a gruelling 60km sponsored treadmill walk in Wakefield, raising an incredible £1,000 to support the organisation’s community-based work with children, young people and families. A Grueling 60km Sponsored Treadmill Walk Andy began the challenge early in the morning at Total Fitness in Wakefield, determined to complete the entire 60km distance in a single day. After walking continuously for just under 13 hours, Andy successfully reached his target and brought the demanding endurance challenge to an end. Completing a 60km sponsored treadmill walk required considerable physical and mental determination. The encouragement Andy received throughout… Read More »Andy Completes Grueling 60km Sponsored Treadmill Walk

Lockdown: the impacts on our children

The government recently announced expectations for all children to return to school in September. By this time, the majority will have been absent from the classroom for a staggering six months. Naturally, it is not just the teaching and learning time the students have missed out on; UNICEF claiming that children will have missed out on some 700 million days of teacher contact time. For some, school is a place of safety, a place of routine, a place where they can learn a whole host of life skills outside the pressures of receiving good grades and results. The period of… Read More »Lockdown: the impacts on our children

Keep a healthy mind: Covid-19 lockdown

These are unprecedented times. The Covid-19 outbreak is a global problem affecting every continent on the planet: wreaking havoc across health services, stifling economies and significantly, since being introduced in the UK on March 23rd, plunging us into an often described ‘new way of living’ through lockdown. The restrictions of the lockdown, the requests to stay at home for all but essential travel for supplies, food, medical appointments, exercise or work, are being described by most outlets as ‘draconian’ but however it’s viewed, it’s a reality we all have to cope with. The pressures raised by the lockdown, in terms… Read More »Keep a healthy mind: Covid-19 lockdown

Stay safe online: a handy parent guide

The internet: home of vast quantities of information and imagery at the click of a button. It has its many benefits of course but in this growing digital age, where many people have easy access to the web and social media platforms through personal tech, it has given rise to many children getting on the bandwagon too. According to a report, published in February 2020, by Ofcom, the UKs communications regulator, parents and carers are giving their children greater digital independence from a younger age. The same report however also found that, for the first time, more parents feel the… Read More »Stay safe online: a handy parent guide