Mind Missions
Challenge, Communicate, Engage and Progress
Mind Missions are hands-on maths, thinking and team-building 'expeditions', devised by top educators. Up to 60 students can take part in each 'expedition' (with up to four different ‘expeditions’ per day).
What is a Mind Missions day?
Each team is given an age and ability-appropriate mission to complete. To achieve this, they will need to work together effectively, solving hands-on challenges requiring a wide variety of mathematical and thinking skills, collecting the pieces of information that will enable them to complete the mission.
The challenges are brand new and are tailored to suit each age group and ability level.
What makes these workshops so valuable and different?
Mind Missions allow students of all abilities to really engage with challenges, enhance a wide range of skills, make real progress in developing their skills and improve their academic performance at school.
Students have the opportunity to shine in practical programmes outside of the normal curriculum, build their confidence, improve their learning skills and raise their own expectations of what they can achieve. The progress that they make will have long-term benefits.
Teachers have a rare opportunity to take a step back and watch their students perform as part of a team, sharing ideas, displaying leadership skills and working as part of a team.
How To Structure Your Workshop
Reception to Post 16
Fully DBS checked
300 students per day
60 students per session
Feedback On Our Mind Missions Workshops
"Mind Missions day at the Canterbury Primary school was an entertaining and fun experience from reception to year 6! The teachers had time to watch, as well as work with small groups. It highlighted children's strengths in leadership as well as problem solving. Observing how they tackled each new challenge was interesting and has resulted in KS2 incorporating more problem solving into their classwork. Pupils who don't always shine at numeracy did surprisingly well in logical thinking and gave them a confidence boost."
Ms Dawn Wellard,
The Canterbury Primary School
“We held some Mind Missions workshops for some of our senior students and invited students from one of our mainstream partner schools. It was inspiring to see both sets of youngsters interacting and working towards a goal in a fun environment. Students were also able to show progress in key areas of using and applying and space, shape and measure, including discussing patterns and problem solving. The puzzle activities are fantastic for developing our students’ spatial awareness, co-ordination, social and fine motor skills and we have now incorporated many puzzles into our daily lessons. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these events to other special schools."
Phil Seddon,
Maths Leader
“The students encounter a variety of fun, but challenging 3D hands-on puzzle tasks, which they have to complete in teams. Most challenges last for no more than a few minutes, but require each team to work together and carefully develop strategies in order to find a solution. The temptation to give up might appear from time to time, but the programme teaches the students how to persevere, put their own skills to better use as part of a team and overcome difficulties by approaching problems from different perspectives. With the advent of the new GCSE curriculum, where a stronger emphasis on problem solving is being placed, we feel this day is an ideal springboard and foundation in Key Stage 3. In addition, our pupils have fun while they learn!"
Tracie Walker,
Teacher Of Mathematics
This workshop is great for developing...
- Persisting
- Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
- Managing impulsivity
- Listening with understanding and empathy
- Creating, imagining, and innovating
- Thinking flexibly
- Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
- Taking responsible risks
- Questioning and posing problems
- Thinking interdependently
- Applying past knowledge to new situations
- Remaining open to continuous learning
At the end of each of our workshops, students are asked what they feel they have learned that will help them in the future. Almost always, we hear the same three answers...
"Never Give Up!"
"The importance of working as a team"
"That nothing needs to be impossible"
Many schools host a MIND MISSIONS programme...
- As an activity to help develop thinking skills.
- As part of an activity week, maths week or enrichment week
- As a team-building activity that will benefit students of all abilities, including those with specific learning difficulties.
- As a beginning/end of year activity for a class or a year group, or for students visiting from other schools
- As an INSET programme for staff
