Imagine if children learned they could transform their own minds...
Imagine if they knew how to grow compassion...
Imagine if they developed the resilience to meet challenges...
Imagine the future they could shape for themselves.
You can make mindfulness fun and inspiring with the Youth Mindfulness Kids Programme
High-Quality Teacher Training
LIVE interactive Zoom calls, easy-to-use learning platform, high-quality resources and over 40 hours of in-depth training!
Fun & Inspiring Curriculum (7-11 year olds)
16 lessons packed with games, activities, videos and meditations the kids will love!
Learn With Passionate People
Join a community of like-minded peers as you go on a rich and transformative 12 week learning journey.
A curriculum kids will love
The truth is... kids won't want to learn mindfulness if they think it's boring.
... And focusing on the breath sounds kind of boring to most kids.
This is why it's so important to make mindfulness fun.
The Youth Mindfulness Kids Programme is 16 one-hour lessons, jam-packed with games, videos and activities that make mindfulness interesting and inspiring for 7-11 year olds.
You’ll engage in 4+hours learning a week for 12 weeks including...
LIVE training sessions via Zoom
This is the heart of the training and will take place twice a week. You'll experience all 16 lessons as they would be taught to kids. You'll also join live meditations to deepen your understanding of the key themes of the curriculum as well as the teaching skills of guiding and inquiry.
On demand video lectures & meditations
You'll have access to more than 30 video meditations to support your personal engagement with the course themes as well as lectures exploring the science and theory of the Kids Programme. These are on-demand so you can access them when it suits.
Mini practice pods
You'll join rotating practice pods of 3-4 people where you'll connect with your fellow students. In these virtual mini-group meet-ups you'll practice guiding meditations and leading the inquiry process as well practice teaching aspects of the Kids Programme.
Do you have a passion to make a positive impact? Join the movement!
We train school teachers, therapists, social workers, yoga teachers, mindfulness practitioners, counsellors, youth workers and more.
Hear from a recent graduate...
And all you need to access the training is a laptop or computer that can access zoom. It's really easy. If you have any concerns about the technology side of things just send us an email and we can walk you through things before the course starts: info@youthmindfulness.org
Join thousands of educators from more than 40 countries already teaching the Kids Programme
Your course instructor
and author of the Kids Programme
Michael Bready
Michael's been a passionate practitioner of mindfulness for over 18 years and has spent long stretches on retreat in various meditation traditions in Nepal, India, France and the UK. He holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and founded Youth Mindfulness in 2011. Since then, he's taught mindfulness to thousands of children, teenagers and adults as well as trained thousands of educators. He led the development of the first mindfulness programme for young men in prison in Scotland and has taught mindfulness to Members of the Scottish Parliament. His current passion is exploring what science is telling us about human nature and how this can lead us to a brighter, wiser and more humane future.
Lorna Walker
Lorna is a mindfulness teacher and trainer with decades of experience in the education and social care sectors. She was previously a principal teacher and wellbeing advisor at Quarriers and is one of Youth Mindfulness’ lead trainers and co-author of the Youth Mindfulness SOMA Programme. Lorna has a passionate interest in building compassionate communities, and takes a systems-based approach to nurturing the wellbeing of staff teams. She has a particular specialisation in harm reduction and works closely with CALM Training to bring mindfulness and compassion training to staff teams both in the UK and internationally.
Our Partners and Collaborations
Youth Mindfulness is internationally recognised as a leader in mindfulness-based education.
We advise several organisations and work jointly in national and international collaborations to support the development of the field.
FAQ
What technology do I need to access the training?
All you need is a device that can access the internet and access zoom. Ideally you'll have a laptop, tablet, or computer, but you could follow the course with just a smartphone. You can test zoom here: https://zoom.us/test. If you would like some help or have any concerns just ping us an email: info@youthmindfulness.org.
What's the story of the Youth Mindfulness Kids Programme?
While the Kids Programme is now taught in more than 25 countries, it had humble beginnings. Youth Mindfulness founder and director, Michael Bready, began developing the programme as part of his Masters thesis while studying Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He delivered and developed the programme over several years to thousands of children in Glasgow in Scotland.
In 2014, Youth Mindfulness offered its first teacher training. In 2015 It was featured in the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Report on Mindfulness: A Mindful Nation and in 2019 was adopted by the Directorate of Health in Iceland to roll out to every child in Iceland.
Do you need previous experience or qualifications to join the training?
In a word, no. The only prerequisites to join the training are that you have an established regular personal mindfulness practice and have completed some form of introductory mindfulness of training like an introductory course. If you're not sure whether you meet these prerequisites our intelligent booking form will let you know as you book.
I’m not a school teacher, can I still do the training?
Yes! Anybody can train with us. The only thing that is necessary is that you already practice mindfulness and have a passion to bring this practice to children.
I’ve only just started practising mindfulness, can I join?
It depends. How long have you been practising? If just a week, then we recommend that you take some time to develop your own practice first. If you'd like to do an introductory course with us email us here: info@youthmindfulness.org. If you've been practising for at least 3 months and have regular ongoing practice you'll be eligible to join.
What are the pre-requisites?
To join the training you need to have an established regular personal mindfulness practice and have completed some form of introductory mindfulness training like an introductory course. If you're not sure whether you meet the prerequisites our intelligent booking form will let you know as you book.
I don't meet the pre-requisites, where should I do my initial training?
You can do it with us. Just ping as an email: info@youthmindfulness.org and let us know you're interested. We regularly run online introductory trainings and we'll let you know when the next one is.
Pricing
The full cost - including all training materials, digital resources and delivery of manuals - is £649
