Flourished Minds coaches young people so that they can have their brightest futures

Flourished Minds is a wellbeing social enterprise that provides coaching to children and young people so that they can achieve their full potential. It was pioneered by CEO and accredited coach Karen Cruise in 2020, as she recognised the need for young people to have access to coaching, especially when navigating difficult circumstances. Using her own experiences, Karen has empowered young people to have the knowledge, understanding and practices they need to face any future challenges. 

How do we work together?

Since partnering with West London Zone in 2022, they have delivered over 100 hours of one-to-one coaching to 10 children on our programme across two schools, and will continue providing support in our partner secondary schools during the Spring term. The coaching focuses on putting young people back in control, offering support, friendly guidance and confidential listening to remove the blocks that may be in their way so that they can shine.

“Our collaboration with West London Zone has been very positive and successful. I personally delivered the coaching during our last programme. I love the detail and thought put into the programme, and we established a great relationship with the staff. Their Link Workers are friendly and knowledgeable about the students, and it was obvious just how much they want the best for the children they support.” 

                        Karen Cruise, CEO of Flourished Minds

One young person that benefited from our partnership was Scott in Year 8. His Link Worker, Jilna, had concerns about his confidence levels in social situations and so recommended that he attend coaching sessions with Flourished Minds. This took place over the first term which gave him a steady platform to continue his progress over the academic year.

"He set himself some goals about improving his confidence and feels that his approach in class – especially English – has improved. He has been very clear that his self-esteem and confidence are at a higher level. He has become much more conversational and it has been great to see his growth over the last few months."

Flourished Minds facilitator

What is so important about their work?

Karen has been a qualified life coach for over 17 years and has spent the last six years working directly with schools and universities in the north and south of England to support students with their social and emotional wellbeing. After starting the company by herself, Karen now has a team of 14 professional life coaches and a robust Board of Non-Executive Directors supporting her to drive the business forward. Over the last three years, they have delivered over 2000 coaching sessions to hundreds of young people across the country.

Flourished Minds support children and young people from diverse backgrounds and cultures – no one is excluded – but they do have a track record of focusing on issues where there are specific needs. One example is the mentoring and coaching programme they have delivered to students of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage at the University of Leeds, addressing the inequalities that exist nationally for ethnic minority students in terms of retention and attainment gaps. It has resulted in every student on the programme successfully completing their first year at university. 

Plans for the future

Flourished Minds are passionate about the work they do. There is a huge demand for their service, which not only supports children and young people but also their teachers, parents and guardians. They intend to continue to expand their work in helping young people realise their strengths and abilities, and will do so whilst ensuring that their core values; Honesty, Kindness and Fun underpin all that they do.