Preston North End Community and Education Trust [PNECET] provided places for 150 primary school children to benefit from the Get Stuck In holiday programme throughout August.
Get Stuck In is a programme delivered by the charity Spring North, which aims to positively impact children and young people and their families through its provision by challenging inequality and societal disadvantages to enable them to meet their full potential.
The programme, also delivered in partnership with Lancashire County Council, forms part of the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme, which supports primary school children who are eligible for free school meals to maintain their educational attainment over the summer period.
Daily free lunches are provided as part of the programme, which was delivered by 11 providers in Preston this summer – including PNECET – with exciting educational and physical activity sessions to ensure children had an enjoyable experience.
PNECET’s delivery spanned across three venues this summer – taking place at Preston North End’s Deepdale home, Ribbleton Avenue Infant’s School and Tanterton Village Centre – with an inclusive provision that catered to children’s dietary requirements and individual needs.
Children have had the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of unique and inspiring activities, including ground tours of Deepdale and Bollywood dance classes with staff from Lancashire County Council.
Following the summer’s provision, PNECET Head of Health and Wellbeing Jessica Riley said: “We’ve been delighted to provide places to support 150 children a day across our three venues on the Get Stuck In programme this summer.
“Our provision we believe has provided children with a memorable experience during their summer break from school, with activities that have crucially helped them to stay healthy and active with engaging activities throughout August.
“We hope that it has been a memorable experience for all children involved this summer.”
All unused sandwiches from the initiative, across our three delivery sites throughout August, were donated to one of the Foxton Centre's emergency housing centres in the city.
The next Get Stuck In programme is expected to run in December, with more details about how to access the provision to be shared nearer the time. Email community@pne.com for more information.