By Sammie Jones-
Around 50,000 disadvantaged children will be offered free meals and activities over the upcoming summer holidays, following a £9.1 million from the Department for Education.
The scheme follows a successful £2 million programme in the summer of 2018, which saw charities and community groups provide meals and activities such as football, play sessions and cooking classes for more than 18,000 children across the country.
Ministers say they have more than quadrupled the funding ahead of summer 2019 so that even more disadvantaged children can benefit. Among the beneficiaries of this cash injection is Leeds City Council which plans to extend the funding into the education sector in their community and benefit school pupils. to benefit
Ipswich and Communities for Suffolk Council have also been beneficiaries of the initiative. A wide range of organisations are poised to participate in the co-ordination of the plan, including a school, local authorities, community foundations and charities. The plan is for local providers to ensure the clubs reach the children who need them most.
Activities on offer this year will include a range of sports, healthy cooking classes for children and their parents or carers, as well as targeted support for the most vulnerable families who may already be working with social services.
Nadhim Zahawi, Minister for Children and Families, said:
School holidays should be a chance for children to have fun experiences and make lasting memories – and no child should miss out on that. That’s why we have quadrupled funding for free summer holiday clubs this year, with the aim of reaching around 50,000 of the most disadvantaged children across the country.
Yes, these clubs will ensure children get a nutritious meal – but they will also offer the chance to socialise with friends and take part in activities such as sports and healthy cooking classes, to keep pupils active and involved in their communities throughout the six-week break from school.
The 2019 programme will help the Department for Education continue to research how it can best support children eligible for free school meals during the holidays, testing a new model in which local co-ordinators oversee and fund clubs in their areas.
The 11 co-ordinators receiving a share of the £9.1 million are:
StreetGames (Newcastle, North East region)
Edsential (Chester and Cheshire West, North West region)
Transforming Lives for Good (Bradford, Yorkshire & the Humber region)
Happy Healthy Holidays consortium (Birmingham, West Midlands region)
Barnardo’s (Leicestershire, East Midlands region)
Suffolk County Council (East of England region)
Family Action (Croydon, London region)
The Romsey School (Hampshire, South East region)
Plymouth County Council (South West region)
Gateshead Council (North East region)
Leeds Community Foundation (Yorkshire & the Humber region)
David White, StreetGames Fit and Fed Campaign Director, said:
Since 2016, StreetGames has led the Fit and Fed campaign to reclaim the holidays for those children and young people at risk of holiday hunger, inactivity, and loneliness. In 2018 we worked with the Department for Education to successfully establish 14 clusters of free-to-access holiday activity programmes across England, and we are delighted to be collaborating again, along with our partners at Newcastle City Council to develop a comprehensive programme across Newcastle-upon-Tyne. We have already engaged more than 100 schools, sports clubs, and community groups across the city.
Kate Hainsworth, Chief Executive of Leeds Community Foundation, said:
Leeds Community Foundation is delighted to build on the work we have been delivering in the city over the past year with our valued partners: Leeds City Council, StreetGames, FareShare, Rethinking Food and the amazing third sector groups here in Leeds.
This funding not only builds community capacity but also extends this valuable resource into schools and council one-stop hubs to ensure even more children and families access healthy activities and food in the long holidays. We have already seen the significant impact that investing in Healthy Holidays can make here in our city and are keen to grow that further.