School holiday programme given funding boost to expand activities.

Young people who take part in a holiday activity programme this year will benefit from more than £1.3 million in funding that has been provided to expand the hugely popular scheme.

In a further boost, North Yorkshire Together, a partnership between North Yorkshire Sport, North Yorkshire Youth and Rural Arts, has been awarded a two-year contract to deliver the FEAST programme across the county, with the first sessions during the forthcoming Easter holiday.

Open to all children and young people in North Yorkshire, those who receive benefits-related free school meals can attend for free and receive a hot meal or packed lunch.

North Yorkshire County Council has been allocated a total of £1,378,320 by the Department for Education for this year’s programme of Easter, summer and Christmas activities. The new contract enables event providers to apply for grants to deliver activities for more than one holiday period at a time.

The programme received bids worth £135,000 from 47 projects for Easter last year. This year, demand has almost doubled, with 74 applications requesting a total of £294,000 of funding.

North Yorkshire Together’s strategic director, Max May, said: “It’s heartening that we have the opportunity to build on the momentum of what we’ve achieved with FEAST and to reach even more families this year.

“We’re really encouraged to see so many providers applying this holiday, making it our best Easter yet in terms of the breadth and number of activities on offer.”

Thunk-it Theatre is among the organisations involved in the forthcoming FEAST programme over the Easter holiday. It is based in York, but will be running events for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at Carlton Lodge Activity Centre in Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk.

Artistic director Becky Lennon said: “Thunk-It Theatre have always wanted to organise events in different locations across the county, so when we were introduced to FEAST we knew that this was a great opportunity to meet more young people in North Yorkshire.”

The project, which has sessions for six to 11-year-olds and 12 to 18-year-olds, will see participants singing, dancing, improvising, crafting and taking part in other activities.

Miss Lennon said: “We believe that these programmes are incredibly important for young people, as they allow a space to play, explore and meet others.

“They also provide an environment to have fun and learn about themselves, healthy eating and how to stay active. We are really excited to be able to provide theatre and performance workshops in an area where there is little available for SEND young people, as we believe that everyone should have access to the arts no matter their location or disabilities.”

Also taking part in FEAST is the Base Camp, an open-air learning space, near Thirsk.

Hannah Secouet, who runs the venue, said: “At Base Camp, we’re fortunate to have 90 acres of private parkland for the children and young people to explore.

“This Easter we’ll be offering young people the chance to be real-life Robin Hoods. Thirsk Bowmen have an archery range in the park and their trained coaches will be teaching us to shoot arrows.

“We’ll also be exploring the woods through scavenger hunts and team-building games, as well as taking some time out to encourage our groups to try some forest bathing - the Japanese concept of placing your focus purely on the things you can see, hear, smell and feel. It’s a way of relaxing and de-stressing, but it’s actually harder than you think.”

Mrs Secouet said events such as these were important for a young person’s health and social and emotional development, especially when household finances are stretched.

“Base Camp’s activities are based outdoors,” she said. “There’s a huge amount of research telling us how important it is for us, as human beings, to connect with nature. However, for a lot of young people the thought of being outdoors is a big turn-off.

“Our aim is to make the activities as appealing, fun and accessible as possible, so the fact they are outdoors is irrelevant.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, said she was delighted with the success of the programme.

“The FEAST programme offers a vitally important service to families, especially at a time when people are experiencing difficulties caused by the increasing cost of living. It is also important that young people have something productive and fun to do during school holidays,” she said.

“Feedback over the past couple of years by those who attend has been very good and most go on to attend multiple sessions - learning new skills, making new friends and growing in confidence around what they are able to achieve.”

The North Yorkshire Together website contains online resources and inspiration for activities all families can enjoy over the holidays, as well as a directory of holiday clubs taking place across the county.

Details are available at northyorkshiretogether.co.uk/