Boost helps kids have fun over summer hols
THOUSANDS of children have been given the chance to take part in free activities, trips and fun sessions after a nationwide investment into holiday clubs.
Families receiving free school meal related benefits across Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland can benefit from the free holiday clubs taking place in schools, youth clubs and sport clubs. And one school in Middlesbrough has been given the chance to extend their annual summer school to three weeks because of the funding from the Holiday Activities and Food (HAFF) programme.
Unity City Academy, in Ormesby, has seen a huge response from families in the area, which is one of the most deprived areas in the country.
Katie Coates, student support leader at the school, said more than 140 young people are currently enrolled into the summer school which includes free breakfast and lunches and trips to places like Lightwater Valley and Billingham Forum.
She said the number has increased and believes families are more worried about their children missing out on trips because of
financial difficulties after the Covid19 pandemic.
Katie said: “We run it every year and each year we try to extend it because times are getting harder, especially for our families.
“We saw it after Covid, our behaviour, our attendance and all of our needs spiked. We’ve got an increase in numbers for three reasons.
“Some parents can’t get childcare in the holidays, we’ve got parents who are scared their kids have missed too much schooling because of Covid. Then we’ve got those parents who are still suffering financial strain from Covid, from job cuts and from the price increases.
“They send their children here to release a little bit of weight over the six-week holiday. That one for us in this area is the biggest one.”
The first week of the summer school involved catch-up English and Maths lessons to ensure there is still some learning taking place in the holidays. The second week is currently focusing on the fun activities some more deprived children would not get a chance to take part in.
The young people have been taking part in trampolining, table tennis, dance classes and even laser tag. A sandcastle competition is even planned for when the groups visit Redcar. The academy has opened its doors to students in Year 5 to Year 8 students across the area, and is not limiting the summer school to its own students.
Some older members of the academy have also been helping out with some of the sessions.
Karen Dean and Lauren Flood are two members of the new team behind the HAFF programme at Middlesbrough Council. Karen has been the programme manager for only four weeks but has made it her mission to visit every provider of the programme across the region, including Unity City Academy.
She said: “I think a lot of children take day trips for granted. We can give them the opportunity that they wouldn’t necessarily get because not every parent can afford to go to Lightwater Valley or Redcar.
“There was a little girl and little boy who said they had never been to one of our local museums. They said they would just stay at home and these children have missed out on two years of trips too. We all just assume that trips do happen but the reality is, they don’t. The additional things these trips bring for that child are priceless.”