Christmas holiday support for Wiltshire children from low-income homes
The council's FUEL programme help 1,500 children over the summer
A programme that supported more than 1,500 Wiltshire children in the summer holidays is to return during the Christmas school holidays.
Wiltshire Council's Holiday Activity and Food programme, FUEL (Food, Unity, Energy, Laughter), is returning to provide enrichment activities, food and nutritional education whilst classrooms are closed.
The council receives over £1m from the Department for Education to deliver the programme this year, which supports children who are eligible eligible for benefit related Free School Meals.
6\1 camps have been delivered during 2023, including SEND specific sessions, with another four days of activities planned for the Christmas break.
This years camps have had a positive impact on children's physical and mental health, with a parent saying their son's confidence has grown after attending the camps.
"He absolutely thrives when the FUEL programme is on. He has just grown a lot.”
Another commented on how much her children have enjoyed participating and that it had “kept the children active and engaged - they did nothing but rave about it”
Cllr Laura Mayes, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said; “Research has shown that the school holidays can be pressure points for some families because of increased costs. Children from low-income households are less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health and more likely to experience social isolation.
“In Wiltshire, the FUEL programme is a response to tackling the triple inequalities of holiday hunger, physical inactivity, and social isolation.”
Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Leisure, and Public Health said: "FUEL continues to provide children with opportunities to have the best start in life, and to see the programme continue to thrive is not only pleasing but really important.
“Many of the organisations that supported us in the summer are back and we're pleased to be working alongside them once again to provide exciting activities and experiences for our children, nutritious lunchtime meals and, for the first time, breakfast, thanks to funding from the Household Support Fund."
"We hope that those eligible can take advantage of the programme and that it helps as many families as possible at a particularly busy time of the year."