With the Easter holidays on the horizon, Healthy Holidays is back, with hundreds of free activities for children and young people aged 5 – 16. The fun starts on Monday March 25 and will include opportunities to get outside and make the most of spring, new activities to try and chances to learn or improve skills and sports. Each session also includes free, nutritious food.
Some of the sessions and activities available include:
- Sports camps
- Theatre
- Dance
- Arts and crafts
- Day trips
- Yoga
- Outdoor/nature activities
- Easter-themed fun
- Trampolining
- Skateboarding
- Healthy cooking sessions
- A dedicated SEND programme including swimming, drumming workshops, art classes, boxing, cooking and more.
There are sessions for all age groups and in all parts of the city – North, East and West – ensuring everyone has the opportunity to take part. There are activities where parents or carers can drop children off to participate in sessions, and others which are suitable for the whole family to enjoy together.
With the Easter holidays starting at the end of this week, now is a great time to check out www.healthyholidayshull.org and get planning – some sessions need to be booked in advance. Anyone without internet access can get online or get information at their local children’s centre, customer service centre or library.
Cllr Linda Tock, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People, Families and Learning, said: “We know that many families really look forward to the Healthy Holidays activity programmes and rely on them for free, varied entertainment. The offer is always incredibly varied, including the sports and games you might expect, as well as plenty of opportunities to be creative and learn new skills.
“The programme is open to absolutely everyone aged five to 16 and the inclusion of free food at almost all sessions is a bonus. This might be snacks, a pack-up or even a hot meal.
“We can’t talk about Healthy Holidays without recognising that it exists because we know families need to be able to access free, nutritious food when schools are closed. With the cost of living crisis still continuing, the programme has never been more important – our offer over Christmas saw the inclusion of family warm banks for the first time.
“Healthy Holidays combines food and activity in an accessible, fun way that’s open to all and hopefully relieves the pressure on families throughout school breaks”.
The Healthy Holidays programme has run for several years now, following an initial pilot in select wards in the city. In 2022, it received funding worth £1.4 million per year from the government, to ensure it can continue until at least 2025. Initially just taking place over the summer, the programme has expanded to provide Christmas and Easter sessions.
Visit www.healthyholidayshull.org to find activities listed – the site is divided into East, West and North Hull, to make it easy to find sessions near you. Follow @HullccNews on Twitter, @LoveHullHQ and @HealthyHolidaysHull on Instagram and follow Hull City Council News and @HealthyHolidaysHull on Facebook for information, and updates.
