Aberdeen City Council is investing more than £400,000 to help young people “make up for lost time” this summer.
Members of education committee has approved a summer of play programme to support the wellbeing of children and young people from low-income families.
It will be rolled out during the summer holidays, with a whole host of activities on offer.
Officials hope the venture will allow young people to re-connect with friends and the embrace the outdoors as lockdown restrictions continue to ease.
Make every moment count
Committee convener M. Taqueer Malik was pleased to approve the £418,000 funding for the scheme.
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we are on our way to delivering the biggest summer of play for young people in the city’s history and help children make up for time lost during lockdowns in doing the things they love doing once again.
“We are looking to make every moment count for each and every one of children and young people, regardless of their circumstances, and giving them a summer to remember, using the great natural assets and green spaces we have on our doorstep and the expertise we have at our disposal in the form of our staff and our partner organisations.”
Fun-filled summer in the north-east
The programme, supported by a Scottish Government grant, will offer a range of free activities, from sports to science, arts and crafts to interaction with the city’s wildlife and green spaces.
The activities were chosen based on a consultation, undertaken by the council, with children, young people and their parents giving feedback on the activities they missed most during lockdown.
Priority access to the programme will be given to individuals from low-income families, who have experienced the most significant negative impacts associated with extended periods of isolation and lack of participation in normal activities during the pandemic.
Mr Malik added: “From football and swimming to learning the ukulele in the Marischal College quad; adventure and dance to spending time in nature with our countryside rangers; the great Staycation and arts programmes to science experiments at the Aberdeen Science Centre; creative learning to kayaking in Rubislaw Quarry and overnight camping… there really is something for everyone during the school holidays.”