Cash to help kids who struggled in lockdown

CASH has been made available to support youngsters in parts of Kirklees who may have struggled in lockdown during the period of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kirklees Council has allocated £1m to be spent on supporting the mental health and well-being of children in the borough.

Now £120,000 of that fund has been set aside for children living in Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Liversedge and Gomersal and Mirfield as schools reopen.

The cash will be managed via the Spen Place Partnership, which is led by veteran Lib Dem councillor Andrew Pinnock.

It will cover 28 schools in the area, all of which will be invited to submit proposals to the place partnership.

The money will be targeted towards children that have experienced anxieties, bereavement, a change in family circumstance such as relationship strain, or loss of employment in the family.

It is hoped that the funding will also help in supporting children and young people as they settle back into an educational setting as well as coming to terms with issues they may have experienced during lockdown and due to restrictions around Covid-19.

In proposing the spending for approval, Clr Cathy Scott (Lab, Dewsbury East), the council’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Housing and Democracy, said young people’s mental health had been greatly impacted during the health emergency.

She said: “Welcoming schools to submit their proposals will be far more reaching and will ensure the young people receive the much needed support or resources needed.’”

There was cross-party support for the programme.

Lib Dem group leader Clr John Lawson (Cleckheaton) suggested that the project could be linked to the work of the NHS’s Child and

Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in schools.

Conservative group leader Clr David Hall (Liversedge and Gomersal) said he hoped the funding would last for several months and suggested it might cover peer help, mentoring or even clinical treatment for children that needed it.