Children and young people eligible for free school meals in Somerset will once again be offered free fun activities over the school holidays this winter.
Young people aged five to 16 years will have the opportunity to take part in enriching physical activities and be provided with a nutritious meal and information about eating healthily, as part of the Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme initiative.
Somerset County Council will again team up with Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) to deliver the programme across the county during December, following the previous success of the programme during the Easter and summer school holidays.
The summer saw a total of 5,852 individual children participating, with the majority attending for an average of six days, equating to more than 35,000-day places attended over the course of the summer holidays. Each activity day included four hours of fun activities as well as a nutritious meal and information about eating healthily.
Cllr Frances Nicholson, Somerset County Council Lead Member for Children’s Services said: “The programme has already proved to be popular, with children, parents and providers all giving positive feedback, and so I am pleased that the offer is returning for the winter school holidays for all eligible families.”