St Helens Borough Council’s Public Health team have produced a fantastic and expansive guide to support families during the summer holidays.
Featuring a wide range of activities taking place virtually and in venues such as children’s centres, the guide has been designed to suit the needs of all children and young people across the borough – with sessions suitable for children with SEN; yoga for families; and a number of virtual library events among the activities on offer.
The guide’s week-by-week calendar makes planning day-by-day activities easy, however some sessions are limited to numbers and should be booked in advance through Eventbrite.
To help parents and carers looking for meal inspiration when it comes to feeding their children and young people during the summer holidays, the guide also includes handy recipe cards, meal plans and shopping lists – developed to help eligible families spend the £15 a week, per child, free school meal voucher.
Councillor Anthony Burns, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure, Libraries, Arts and Heritage, said: “Although it might not be the school summer holidays as we know it – with many of us still choosing to spend more times in doors to stop the spread of Covid-19 – physical and mental wellbeing is as important as ever which is why we have put this guide together to keep our children and young people occupied over summer.
“I’d like to thank the staff involved with the running of these sessions for going above and beyond during such challenging times to ensure our children and young people can enjoy some sort of normality during their summer break – and it would be great to see support in return for their efforts.”
Keeping active is really important for good health. Physical activity, as well as a balanced diet helps to keep our hearts healthy, our bones and muscles strong, and reduces the risk of serious illnesses. Activity is also a great way of reducing stress levels and lifting moods.
Children and young people should aim to be active for at least 60 minutes per day, varying this time between moderate intensity activities, such as cycling, to vigorous intensity ones, like sprinting and tennis.
Adults should also be active every day, but should aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity, including weights, cycling, gardening and yoga, to name just a few.
