More than 500 Fylde coast youngsters benefit from Wyre Council's summer holiday clubs

Wyre Council teamed up with Fylde Council, Fylde Coast YMCA, Flakefleet High School, St Aidan’s High School, Fylde Coast Holiday club, Acorn activity club in Hambleton, Fleetwood Town Football Club, the Play Inclusion Project and Lancashire Targeted Youth Support to host over 250 sessions during the summer holidays.

The holiday clubs, which were funded by the Department for Education, were held at venues across the borough for both primary and secondary-aged children who were eligible for free school meals.

Paid for places were also available for children who weren’t eligible to attend for free.

Following a successful launch of the clubs, the council said it was hoping to be able to provide them again during this year's Christmas holidays.

Activities for the youngsters included arts and crafts, cooking, bowling, kayaking and football, as well as activities for children with special education needs or disabilities.

Sessions were held at sites across the borough so that as many eligible children as possible could attend, Wyre Council said.

On Thursday (August 19), councillor Lynne Bowen, portfolio holder for Leisure, Health and Community Engagement at Wyre Council and councillor Andrea Kay, Wyre’s Mayor and Lead Member for Children and Young People, visited Thornton YMCA to see a session in action and speak to some of the young people who came along.

During the visit, children took part in various sports activities and learned about healthy eating and keeping active.

Coun Bowen said: “It’s been really good to see lots of children here today enjoying themselves, meeting new friends and learning about healthy eating. It’s been a team effort to host such a varied calendar of activities and I’d like to thank all the providers that we’ve worked with.

“I’d also like to thank Morrisons in Cleveleys and Asda in Fleetwood for donating food for healthy lunches. They were a great support to the food bank throughout the pandemic and it’s been really good to work with them again to help people in our area."

Councillor Kay added: “What a great day I had seeing one of the holiday clubs in action. Thank you to Wyre Council and our partners for bringing this together for young people. These clubs have allowed us to support parents over the summer holidays. They were able to bring their children here knowing they are safe, having fun and learning something new. It’s so important for children to socialise especially after such a long time in lockdown, it was great preparation for going back to school in September."