Children's Minister visits Norfolk
She'll be visiting a school in Norwich
Children and Families Minister Vicky Ford is to visit Norfolk next week to hear about how the county is supporting some of its most vulnerable children.
Vicky Ford MP will be hosted by Norfolk County Council today (9 August), when she will hear about the work the council is doing to support its children and young people.
As part of the visit, the Minister will go to St William’s Primary School, in Norwich, to see children taking part in a range of holiday club activities, including Forest Schools, crafts and sports.
Some of the places on the activities are funded as part of the Big Norfolk Holiday Fun Scheme, known nationally as the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. Minister Ford will also visit a holiday scheme at Little Plumstead Village Hall.
The Department for Education funded HAF scheme supports those eligible for free school meals with holiday activities and healthy food.
Active Norfolk, the Active Partnership for the county that is hosted by Norfolk County Council, has worked with schools, holiday clubs and activity providers to create thousands of places, across a range of sporting, craft and outdoor activities.
Minister Ford will later meet with staff working in Children’s Services and will hear about the success of Norfolk County Council’s transformation programme, which is helping to improve the lives of the county’s children by supporting families earlier and reducing the number of children coming into care.
Cllr John Fisher, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Norfolk County Council, said:
“I’m really pleased that the Minister is visiting Norfolk to see the success of these schemes locally.
“As a county we’ve had great feedback about the holiday scheme we ran at Easter and we’re receiving national recognition for our work with vulnerable children.
“We’ve invested in transforming how we work with families, so that we can get the right help to children and parents sooner and help keep families together.
“We know the pandemic has caused increased hardship for many families and we will be discussing with the minister the challenges we are facing in Norfolk and how we can work together to support those in greatest need.”
Children and Families Minister Vicky Ford said:
“I am thrilled to be visiting St William’s Primary School to see the Big Norfolk Holiday Fun Scheme, funded by our national Holiday Activities and Food programme, in action.
“I’ve seen first-hand how our expanded programme, now running in every part of England this year, is supporting thousands of pupils with their wellbeing and enrichment. Norfolk County Council’s work with schools, holiday clubs and activity providers to create thousands of places for children will be incredibly beneficial, and I’m really looking forward to discussing with local leaders how we can go further in our support for the children who need it most.”