Pause Breathe Smile
Pause Breathe Smile Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust that delivers a free, evidence-based 8-week mindfulness curriculum to primary and intermediate schools, fully funded by Southern Cross Healthcare and serving children aged 5-12.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew Zealand, New Zealand
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Pause Breathe Smile does
Pause Breathe Smile Trust is a New Zealand-registered charitable trust (CC57579) that delivers the Pause Breathe Smile programme, an evidence-based, 8-week school mindfulness curriculum for children aged 5-12 aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum and incorporating the Te Whare Tapa Whā Māori health framework. The programme is taught in classrooms by trained teachers, RTLB, SENCOs, school counsellors and healthcare professionals and includes guided practices (mindful breathing, movements, eating, gratitude, body scan), lesson plans, a mobile app and at-home resources; a Te Reo Māori localisation called Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau serves kura and Māori immersion settings. Supporting products include the BREATHE online mindfulness course and the Foundations of Mindfulness course, with teacher professional development delivered both via workshops and a new on-demand, self-paced LearnDash platform. The programme was developed in 2013 by Grant Rix at the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and is now operated under licence from the Mindfulness Education Group, led by Rix and co-leader Natasha Rix.
The business model is non-commercial: as a charitable trust, Pause Breathe Smile does not charge schools. Since 2020 the entire programme has been fully funded by Southern Cross Healthcare through the Southern Cross Health Trust, a for-purpose organisation, which has enabled free access for any primary or intermediate school in New Zealand and driven reach to over 100,000 tamariki, 9,700+ kaiako and 399+ kura. The historical price for teacher PLD was approximately $895+GST per educator and the BREATHE course was $79+GST, but both are now delivered at no cost to educators under the Southern Cross funding model. The organisation runs with approximately 7 employees, is governed by a Board of Trustees, and is delivered under licence from 1CR; Sir Ashley Bloomfield serves as a high-profile ambassador.
Pause Breathe Smile firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pause Breathe Smile
- Legal name
- Pause Breathe Smile Trust
- Website
- https://pausebreathesmile.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Pause Breathe Smile Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust that delivers a free, evidence-based 8-week mindfulness curriculum to primary and intermediate schools, fully funded by Southern Cross Healthcare and serving children aged 5-12.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pause Breathe Smile industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Social-Emotional Wellbeing Education
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Student Well-Being, Mindfulness & Stress-Reduction Programs (EDAKAMAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Mindfulness-Based Coaching & Training (MBSR/MBCT-style) (HSADAJAB), Guided Meditation Instruction (1:1 & Group) (HSADAJAA)
Keywords
Where Pause Breathe Smile is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Zealand
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pause Breathe Smile business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Southern Cross Healthcare Sponsorship: Southern Cross Healthcare (via Southern Cross Health Trust, a for-purpose organisation) fully funds the Pause Breathe Smile Charitable Trust programme. This funding covers professional development training for educators at no cost to schools, making the programme free for any primary or intermediate school in New Zealand. The company is a charitable trust and does not charge schools for programme delivery.
- Professional Development PLD (historically paid): Before full Southern Cross funding was in place, teacher training was offered at approximately $895 + GST per teacher for the full mindfulness professional development pathway and certification. With the full funding from Southern Cross (effective from 2020), all PLD is now provided free of charge to educators.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free PLD for all NZ primary and intermediate educators |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Pause Breathe Smile product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pause Breathe Smile is a school-based mindfulness mind health programme for children aged 5–12, comprising an eight-week classroom curriculum aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum with guided practices (breathing, movement, eating, gratitude, body scans). The programme is delivered by trained teachers who are certified via free professional learning and development (PLD) pathways, fully funded by Southern Cross Healthcare and made available at no cost to any primary or intermediate school in New Zealand. Supporting offerings include the PBS mobile app, at-home resources, online mindfulness courses, and a Te Reo Māori version (Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau).
Product overview
Pause Breathe Smile is a school-based mindfulness mind health programme operated by the Mindfulness Education Group. The core offering is the Pause Breathe Smile (PBS) programme, an 8-week mindfulness curriculum aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum for children aged 5-12 years. The programme is supported by professional development training for educators, delivered through both on-demand online courses and in-person workshops. Supporting offerings include the PBS App for educators, free at-home resources including guided audio practices, and specialized online courses such as the BREATHE 8-session mindfulness course and Foundations of Mindfulness. A Te Reo Māori version called Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau serves Māori medium schools. All offerings for schools are fully funded by Southern Cross Healthcare.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau: The Te Reo Māori version of the Pause Breathe Smile programme for kura and Māori immersion settings.
Products and services
- Pause Breathe Smile Programme An 8-week school-based mindfulness mind health programme for children aged 5–12 that helps students regulate emotions, pay attention and build positive relationships. Aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum and incorporating Te Whare Tapa Whā, the programme is delivered by trained teachers using guided practices such as mindful breathing, mindful movements, mindful eating, gratitude practice and body scans.
- Professional Development Training
Quantifiable outcome
- 21% of aggregate wellbeing scores moved above baseline average one year after implementing PBS (Mindquip 2024 Wellbeing Survey)
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Pause Breathe Smile
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Pause Breathe Smile technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Pause Breathe Smile partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sir Ashley BloomfieldcoreSir Ashley Bloomfield (former Director-General of Health and now population health professor at the University of Auckland) serves as a high-profile ambassador for Pause Breathe Smile. He travels the country speaking to school children about the benefits of breathing techniques and mindfulness. His involvement generates significant media coverage and credibility. He also participates in events like Round the Bays in support of the programme.
- Mindfulness Education Group (MEG)coreThe Mindfulness Education Group operates the Pause Breathe Smile programme. Founded and led by Grant Rix, MEG provides high quality mindfulness training to teachers and education professionals, certifying them to deliver PBS in their schools. MEG developed the programme and continues to evolve and research it. The organisation also developed the BREATHE online mindfulness course.
- Mental Health Foundation of New ZealandminorThe Pause Breathe Smile programme was incubated and developed at the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, led by Grant Rix. The Foundation continues to support the programme. The Foundation's response to the He Ara Oranga Mental Health Inquiry referenced the importance of mindfulness for children.
- AUT UniversityminorAUT University researchers (including Dr Ross Bernay, Dr Daniel Devcich, and Esther Graham) have collaborated on multiple research studies of the PBS programme, including the 2013 pilot and subsequent published studies in the Journal of Applied School Psychology. AUT also hosted the International Conference on Mindfulness (ICM NZ 2019) where Grant Rix presented.
- University of AucklandminorUniversity of Auckland researchers collaborated on published research studies of the PBS programme alongside AUT, contributing to studies demonstrating statistically significant wellbeing improvements. Research published in the Journal of Applied School Psychology.
- Joni GordonminorJoni Gordon worked with Pause Breathe Smile to develop the Te Reo Māori version (Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau) and has been exploring Māori approaches to mindfulness as part of her PhD research, supported by Trust Waikato. She is the voice of the te reo Māori versions of PBS guided audio tracks.
- 1CR (Institute of Clinical Reports)minorPause Breathe Smile is delivered under licence from 1CR. The 1CR logo appears on the website footer indicating a licensing or certification relationship.
- MindquipminorMindquip conducted the 2024 Wellbeing Survey tracking the impact of PBS on student wellbeing, behaviours, and attitudes over time. For a third consecutive year, their research found teachers continue to report improvements in student outcomes.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pause Breathe Smile competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Insight Timer: Largest free meditation app globally with extensive teacher-led content including children's mindfulness. Comparable as a broad mindfulness distribution channel but lacks a school-embedded curriculum model.
- Calm: Global meditation and sleep app that has partnered with schools and educators for content distribution. Adjacent incumbent with overlapping mindfulness content but no dedicated in-school curriculum equivalent to PBS.
- Waking Up: Mindfulness and meditation app with structured courses and a teacher/researcher-led approach. Comparable in evidence-based adult mindfulness delivery, but consumer-facing rather than school-embedded.
- Headspace: Global consumer mindfulness and meditation platform with a dedicated Headspace for Education offering for schools. Comparable as a broad mindfulness incumbent pursuing school-embedded distribution, but with a fundamentally different consumer/tech business model.
Direct peers
- Smiling Mind: Australian not-for-profit delivering school-based mindfulness programmes to children and young people, with a parallel consumer app. Most directly comparable to PBS in mission, target audience (primary/secondary students), and free-to-schools distribution model.
- Mindful Schools: US non-profit training educators to bring mindfulness into K–12 classrooms, with curriculum, online courses, and educator certification. Comparable in audience, training-led delivery, and not-for-profit funding approach.
- Inner Explorer: US-based non-profit offering daily mindfulness practices for K–12 classrooms via a structured educator-led programme. Directly comparable operating model — free/grant-funded, evidence-based, and dependent on teacher delivery.
- Mindfulness in Schools Project (.b / MiSP): UK charity that created .b and other curricula delivering mindfulness in primary and secondary schools via teacher training. Closest analogue in terms of teacher-led delivery, curriculum-based lessons, and charity-funded operations.
- MindUP (The Hawn Foundation): Evidence-based social and emotional learning programme for children in schools, founded by Goldie Hawn. Comparable in being a structured 8–15 lesson classroom mindfulness curriculum with educator training and a published research base.
Emerging players
- Positive Education Schools Association: Australian peak body promoting positive education (which often incorporates mindfulness and wellbeing curricula) across schools. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem player shaping how programmes like PBS are procured and adopted by schools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pause Breathe Smile social profiles
Digital presencePause Breathe Smile financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pause Breathe Smile leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Pause Breathe Smile funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pause Breathe Smile M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pause Breathe Smile
What does Pause Breathe Smile do?
Pause Breathe Smile is a school-based mindfulness mind health programme for children aged 5–12, comprising an eight-week classroom curriculum aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum with guided practices (breathing, movement, eating, gratitude, body scans). The programme is delivered by trained teachers who are certified via free professional learning and development (PLD) pathways, fully funded by Southern Cross Healthcare and made available at no cost to any primary or intermediate school in New Zealand. Supporting offerings include the PBS mobile app, at-home resources, online mindfulness courses, and a Te Reo Māori version (Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau).
Is Pause Breathe Smile a public or private company?
Pause Breathe Smile is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Pause Breathe Smile founded?
Pause Breathe Smile was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Pause Breathe Smile based?
Pause Breathe Smile is headquartered in New Zealand, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Pause Breathe Smile make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Southern Cross Healthcare Sponsorship is the primary driver. The others are professional Development PLD (historically paid).
Who are Pause Breathe Smile's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Insight Timer, Calm, Waking Up and Headspace. Direct peers are Smiling Mind, Mindful Schools, Inner Explorer, Mindfulness in Schools Project (.b / MiSP) and MindUP (The Hawn Foundation). Positive Education Schools Association is listed as an emerging player.
Does Pause Breathe Smile have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pause Breathe Smile.
What industry is Pause Breathe Smile in?
Pause Breathe Smile's product category is K-12 Social-Emotional Wellbeing Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAKAMAH, Student Well-Being, Mindfulness & Stress-Reduction Programs, with a secondary code of HSADAJAB, Mindfulness-Based Coaching & Training (MBSR/MBCT-style). Its NAICS code is 61171.