Thousands of Newcastle children and young people are being offered free activities and nutritious food over the Christmas holidays through a £1.7 million programme being delivered by Newcastle’s Labour-led council and its partners.
The council secured £1.7 million from the Department for Education for Newcastle’s 2021 Holiday Activities and Food programme, allowing support to be provided during the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays.
For the Christmas programme, Newcastle City Council is working with StreetGames and more than 50 community projects and leisure partners across over 100 venues throughout the city.
Around 10,000 families identified as potentially needing support have been contacted and invited to take part.
Children and young people can enjoy activities including trampoline parks, ice skating, climbing, circus skills, archery and swimming, alongside nutritious food.
The Christmas programme builds on the activities already provided to Newcastle children during the Easter and summer holidays, ensuring support for families continues when schools close.
Labour is also working with The Bread and Butter Thing for the first time to provide additional support to families facing food insecurity.
The organisation will provide 1,200 families whose children are taking part in the holiday programme with bags containing fruit, vegetables and cupboard staples.
The food will be distributed through holiday projects across Newcastle, helping families provide healthy meals during the Christmas break.
Cllr Paula Holland, Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “Working with StreetGames and the many community organisations who deliver these programmes, we’ve had great success providing activities and nutritious meals to children in the end-of-term holidays.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to deliver a similar programme during the Christmas holidays, but we’re looking forward to engaging with a lot of children and young people and making life that bit easier for families.
“School holidays can be a really tough time for people, especially those who rely on their children receiving free school meals during term time.”
The Christmas programme is part of Labour’s wider work with schools, voluntary organisations and community groups to support Newcastle’s children and families and ensure young people have opportunities to stay active, learn new skills and enjoy their school holidays.