Newcastle Council, in partnership with Street Games, is working with over 50 community projects and leisure partners across more than 100 venues in the city to deliver a range of free fun activities, packed lunches and projects for children and young people over the Winter holiday.
One example is Kenton Park Sports Centre which laid on a successful ‘Winter Wonderland’ scheme for local youngsters.
Earlier in 2021 the Council was awarded £1.7m from central government to build on its successful Best Ever Summer programme. The Holiday Activity Fund secured for 2021 has covered Easter, summer, as well as the Christmas vacation. Hundreds of youngsters are taking part in the Best Winter Holiday programme. This is the first time that the council ,with its partners, has been to provide a fully costed programme during the Christmas holiday period.
We know from people’s lived experiences and expert opinion that school holidays for some households can be a challenging time, particularly those who rely on free school meals during term time.
Of-course, the UK government needs to be more to address child poverty and food insecurity. But the Council, alongside other neighbouring authorities in the region, is playing an important role to offer something meaningful and enjoyable for 10,000 city households during the 2021-22 holiday period.
