As families across Edinburgh search for ways to keep children entertained during the school summer holidays, Canopy Kitchen & Courtyard is launching a “Kids Eat Free” offer from 6 July to 6 August, creating the perfect family friendly day out at the Edinburgh Meadows.
Perched on the edge of one of the city’s most loved green spaces, within the historic Old Royal Infirmary, now The Edinburgh Futures Institute, Canopy Kitchen & Courtyard is perfectly placed for a family day out. Enjoy an afternoon in the park, a visit to the nearby playground, or simply some time outdoors before sitting down for a relaxed meal together.
More than just a restaurant, Canopy Kitchen & Courtyard has become a creative community hub, where guests are greeted by a bright family friendly atmosphere, and fresh menu of locally sourced classics. While the menu changes to make the most of fresh seasonal ingredients, children can expect familiar favourites such as cream of tomato soup, fluffy pancakes served with fresh strawberries or grilled pork sausages with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy.
Open to both locals and visitors, the month-long offer is designed to make family dining a little more affordable during the school holidays, while giving families another reason to enjoy time together outdoors this summer.
Available 6 July – 6 August. One complimentary children’s meal available with every adult main course purchased. Offer valid for children aged 12 and under. Subject to availability and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Last chance! Just two weeks left for grassroots teams in Scotland to win free, personalised football kits
Octopus Energy is giving away over 23,000 football shirts after already kitting out 50,000 young players across the UK
Local teams like Central Girls Football Academy U12s from Falkirk already dazzling opponents with flashy Octokits
As the World Cup moves into the knockout stages, Octopus Energy is bringing back its epic Octopus Kits for Kids giveaway for a hat-trick season – and the race is on for the final spots.*
Grassroots teams have just ten days left to apply for FREE personalised Octokits.
This year, Octopus is giving away over 23,000 shirts to 2,000 youth and grassroots teams in a random prize draw. So far, 1,000 lucky teams have already secured their free strips for the upcoming season – leaving 1,000 kits still up for grabs before applications close.
This leaves kits up for grabs for 100 more teams right here in Scotland.
The giveaway has exploded in popularity since it launched. Octopus initially planned to kit out just 500 teams, but due to overwhelming demand, the company rapidly expanded the programme, handing out 50,000 eye-catching Octokits to date.
Winning teams – known as Tentacle Teams – can choose from three different designs: the famous bright pink and purple Octokit, a plain kit in their own club colours, or a classic striped design. Every kit comes personalised with team numbers and the Octopus sponsorship badge.**
Local demand for Octokits is already soaring. So far, over 1,250 applications have flooded in from Scotland.
Tentacle Teams like Central Girls Football Academy U12s from Falkirk have already dazzled their opponents with their very own Octokits in previous giveaway seasons.
And the perks don’t stop at the pitch. Some Tentacle Teams have won unforgettable prizes, such as exclusive tours of the iconic Emirates Stadium, home to Premier League champions Arsenal.
Ian, Coach, Central Football Academy Girls U12s, said: “The strips are perfect, the design is fun and colours are perfect for our club, the players feel special wearing them.”
Erin, Player, Central Football Academy Girls U12s, said: “The new strips are cool and the octopus is cute.”
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Marketing Officer, Octopus Energy, said: “Grassroots football is where future World Cup dreams begin, so we’re buzzing to make it a hat-trick of helping teams look electrifying on the pitch.
“Whether it’s a rainy Sunday morning or a nerve-racking cup final, we want every player who puts on an Octokit to feel ready for their own big moment. Here’s to more great matches, muddy boots and future stars!”
The initiative is powered by Octoplus, Octopus Energy’s legendary rewards scheme, which is now used by over 2.8 million customers.
Parents and coaches have until 16th July to get their entries in via the Octoplus tab in the Octopus Energy app or online dashboard.
Edinburgh’s well-known Ryze Trampoline Park is being transformed into the UK’s first Ninja Kidz Action Park, backed by a £900,000 investment and launching with a grand opening on Saturday 1st August.
The rebrand sees Ryze partner with Ninja Kidz TV, the family-run YouTube channel with over 35 million combined subscribers and a substantial UK fanbase, to bring its action park concept to the UK for the very first time.
Ninja Kidz Action Parks already operate across North America, including the US and Canada, with Edinburgh and Dundee marking the brand’s first ever locations in the UK.
The grand opening will be marked by an exclusive VIP Meet & Greet with the real Ninja Kidz from the YouTube channel, who are travelling to Scotland to meet fans in person. Only 150 VIP tickets are available for the Edinburgh event, including a photo with the Ninja Kidz, a VIP play session at the park, and much more.
General grand opening tickets will be announced soon.
The investment funds a full transformation of the venue, introducing more than 18 new attractions, including adventure slides, a ninja frame, battle beam, wall-to-wall trampolines, air tracks, a dodgeball arena, foam pits and dedicated soft play for younger children.
The investment also represents a vote of confidence in Edinburgh as a destination for family entertainment, supporting local jobs and giving families across the city and surrounding areas a new, year-round activity option.
Ty Nielson, Co-Founder at Ninja Kidz Action Parks, said: “We are incredibly excited to partner with Ninja Kidz and bring the UK’s first Ninja Kidz Action Park to Edinburgh and Dundee.
“This is a huge moment for us, and a major investment into creating something truly special for families in Scotland and across the UK.”
Rory Fairgrieve, Sales Director at Ninja Kidz Action Parks UK, said: “We are really excited about this renovation to become a Ninja Kidz Action Park bringing a new and exciting venue for fun to the area.
“Ninja Kidz TV has millions of fans around the world, including so many here in the UK, we cannot wait to bring that energy into a real-life action park experience.
“Ryze has always been about active fun, family experiences and creating amazing memories. This partnership allows us to take that to a whole new level.”
Ninja Kidz Action Park Edinburgh opens on 1st August at the current Ryze Edinburgh site. VIP Meet & Greet tickets are on sale now, with general booking details coming soon.
An acute shortage of foster carers in Scotland is pointing to a care emergency
Children as young as three years old are being placed in residential homes
TACT Fostering, the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity, is calling on the government and all fostering providers to take urgent action
A recent statement issued by Scotland’s thirty-two Chief Social Work Officers has highlighted an acute shortage of available fostering homes in Scotland, with children as young as three being placed in residential homes.
Whilst a shortage of foster carers across the UK has been a long-standing issue, children under five years of age being placed in residential homes alongside much older young people is alarming. Local authority foster carers are historically approached first for very young children. Therefore children being housed in residential homes is less about a change of approach for local authorities, and more about a decrease in foster carers generally.
This should be triggering an urgent ‘call to action’ for the government and fostering providers to increase carer recruitment efforts.
Andy Elvin, TACT Fostering CEO and Chair of The Fairer Fostering Partnership, an umbrella group of charitable fostering providers, said: “With the recent statement issued by Scotland’s thirty-two Chief Social Work Officers with regards to the acute shortage of available fostering homes, it is clear that this is a care emergency. Children as young as three being placed in residential homes isn’t acceptable or in the best interests of children.
“Here at TACT Fostering, we’ve introduced a number of financial wellbeing initiatives to help make fostering viable for more people. We’ve also introduced our ‘making spaces’ program centred around increasing our carers’ spare bedroom capacity to provide additional care, particularly to help bring siblings together.
“However, we do need more action at a governmental level as a matter of urgency to bring more people to fostering across Scotland. We would happily work with our Scottish local authority colleagues and the Scottish government in a national foster carer recruitment effort.
“It is clear that we need to work together in concert to address this emergency. The new legislation requiring that all Independent Fostering Providers are charities is an excellent opportunity to promote fostering across Scotland.”
Whilst the initial response needs to be finding suitable foster homes for under fives that are being placed in residential environments, local authorities and independent fostering providers need to prioritise carer recruitment strategies.
Organisations should also be looking to nurture and upskill their current foster carers, where possible.
Moving forward, it does seem that there needs to be a general change in the way local authorities approach the foster carer/family finding process for under fives and, in fact, all young people. Most independent fostering providers prepare and nurture their foster carers to match the care need in each region, and usually this does not include very young children.
If all requests for care were to call on both in-house local authority and external agency carers simultaneously, with the ‘best match’ being the goal in every scenario, all fostering providers would be in a better position to respond to care emergencies such as this.
Ultimately it would help to create a wider pool of foster carers able to care for children of all ages and with differing needs.
Joanne Smith, NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs manager, said: “It is deeply concerning to hear from social work professionals that Scotland’s care system is in a state of emergency. The situations they describe highlight how overstretched the system has become.
“Every child who cannot live safely at home must have access to safe, consistent, nurturing and responsive care as early as possible. We have overwhelming evidence that failing to provide timely, high-quality care for children who have experienced early adversity can have devastating and lifelong consequences.
“The acute shortage of suitable homes and carers means that babies and children are left in unsafe, unstable, or inappropriate situations that harm their wellbeing immediately and can have lasting effects on their mental health, relationships and life chances.
“This must be a turning point. We need urgent action to increase the number of suitable foster placements, ensure better support for professionals and carers, and invest in early help so that fewer families reach crisis point in the first place.
“The Scottish Government has committed to keeping The Promise. To deliver its ambitions we must see much greater recognition that how we treat children at the start of their care journey could massively impact their life chances. Without immediate and sustained investment, we risk failing those children who are most vulnerable and need our protection the most.”
An additional £2.5 million is being invested to expand free after school activity clubs for primary school children from low-income families, starting this August.
The investment builds on the success of the Extra Time programme – delivered in partnership with the Scottish Football Association (SFA) – which currently supports around 5,000 children every week across 50 clubs in 27 local authority areas.
The new funding will test different activity provision across Scotland, focused on helping children and families who would not otherwise be able to afford access to after school activities.
The funding will support activities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Moray, Borders, Highland and Shetland, working with St Mirin’s Out of School Care, YouthLink Scotland and the SFA. Provision spans rural, island and border communities, with activities ranging from sport and arts to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and creative skills.
Cabinet Secretary for Education Màiri McAllan said: “Every child deserves the chance to take part in activities which support their health, wellbeing and confidence – regardless of their family’s income.
“This investment will open doors for more children who might otherwise miss out, while also helping their parents to work, increasing household incomes and tackling child poverty.
“Building on the strong foundations of the Extra Time programme we are now testing a wider range of models across Scotland – from island communities in Shetland to the Borders – so we can learn what works best and shape the future of school-age childcare.”
Activities run Monday–Friday, 3–6pm, for primary school children from low-income families. All providers will have safeguarding policies, PVG checks and insurance in place.
Join us during the summer holidays for a fun and creative crafting club where children can explore their imagination using recycled and nature-inspired materials.
Each session, children will create something special to take home, with crafts including handmade vases, clay dishes, garden twig mobiles and much more!
A lovely opportunity for children to get creative, learn new skills, and enjoy making something unique.
Parents/carers are required to be with their child during the session.
Dates: Every Monday starting 6th July – 3rd August
Time: 1pm – 2:30pm
Free lunch is available from 11:30am – 12:30pm
Booking is required for these sessions – you can book the whole block or just one or two session. Get in touch with us to book your spot!
KIDS SUMMER CRAFT CLUB 
Parents/carers are required to be with their child during the session.
Dates: Every Monday starting 6th July – 3rd August
Time: 1pm – 2:30pm
Free lunch is available from 11:30am – 12:30pm