Thousands of children from low-income families will benefit from free childcare, activities and healthy food as part of a £10 million summer programme.
Available to children and young people aged five to 14 years old who need it most, the funding has been allocated to local authorities to supplement existing holiday programmes or to develop new ones.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “School holidays can be expensive for families, especially when household bills are soaring. This funding means children and young people who really need it will be able to access coordinated childcare, activities and nutritious food over the summer.
“They will have opportunities to play, socialise and access a range of activities that broaden their experiences and supplement their learning.
“Support will be targeted at the six priority family types at greatest risk of poverty, including lone parent families and families with a disabled adult or child. We have a national mission to tackle child poverty and, along with £21.75 million in funding for alternative holiday food provision for families eligible for free school meals, this offer will provide much-needed support over the summer.”
COSLA Children and Young People’s Spokesperson Councillor Tony Buchanan said: “The rising cost of living is exacerbating the already stark and unacceptable reality of poverty in the lives of children, young people, families and communities.
“We are pleased that this additional funding will enable local authorities to build on their regular summer programmes to enhance opportunities and support for priority groups of children and young people.
“Councils and their local delivery partners will provide varied programmes, incorporating activities, childcare, and food provision, in line with local needs and guided by what children, young people, and families themselves say will make a difference.”
Lee Heard, Charity Director at the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) has sent his thanks to those who engaged with the charity’s annual Drowning Prevention Week as the campaign drew to a close on 25th June.
Drowning Prevention Week which has just ran for the ninth consecutive year aims to proactively raise awareness of water safety ahead of a summer outdoors. Throughout the week the Royal Life Saving Society UK asked people to engage and share posts, including a brand-new animation, across social media platforms, engaged with MPs at events at Westminster, and also offered schools, leisure centres, swimming clubs and parents a range of free educational resources to ensure that families are well prepared for a safe summer enjoying water safely.
Lee said “I wanted to say a huge thank you to all our members, staff, supporters, and strategic partners who have played a role in sharing our vital water safety messaging this year. I cannot communicate how grateful we are for the support and are still seeing lots of activity coming through.
“Since January I have been calling for a concerted effort to give everyone the skills to enjoy water safely this summer. It’s a message that requires everyone to roll up their sleeves and find ways to get this vital message out into their communities.
“It takes individuals, small and large organisations, water safety partners, leisure partners, local authorities, MPs, emergency services, schools, landowners, water companies and many more. We are exceptionally proud of everybody that has taken the time to make our vital campaign grow again this year.”
For the 2022 campaign, the charity aimed to take a slightly different approach to their national media campaign, working hard to better understand the claims that are often made about water safety and drowning prevention.
They aimed to shine a light on the importance of swimming but further explore the need for parents to invest additional time in themselves and their family understanding water safety.
These conversations are ones that the charity want to continue post Drowning Prevention Week and explore further. Another vital topic that the charity focussed on was the issue of cold water shock. Royal Life Saving Society UK analysed fatalities leading from cold water and stressed the importance to continue to highlight this critical factor in drowning and leverage tools to educate the public using expert knowledge that the charity holds.
Drowning Prevention Week saw great success with the campaign, with thousands of views of their brand-new 60-second animation encouraging everybody across the UK and Ireland to enjoy water safely, which meant it appeared over 173,000 times across social media networks.
The animation directed children and parents to free educational resources and this year, the charity exceeded the number of downloads during Drowning Prevention Week when compared to 2021, and the estimated number of children to be taught is over 300,000.
Lee added: “We have worked with national and local news agencies to support the delivery of over 150 Drowning Prevention Week press articles and over 150 radio and TV broadcasts, to raise awareness of the importance of water safety.
“We have attended parliament with Olympian Professor Greg Whyte OBE, Paralympian Ellie Robinson MBE, and over 50 other Parliamentarians to discuss the importance of spreading water safety awareness, as well as what practical steps could be taken in their constituencies to address the issue.
“There have been over 3,500 social media posts relating to #DrowningPreventionWeek, reflecting the fantastic engagement generated by the campaign. We have been able to draw on our recent survey and analysis to encourage discussion on Twitter around important water safety debates, for example ‘Is Swimming Enough?’ acknowledged by English former competitive swimmer, Sharron Davies as ‘a great thread’ and our other messages have shown resonance with victims’ families.
“At the Royal Life Saving Society UK, our aim is to ensure as many people as possible are safe in the knowledge that they, and their children, have the skills and understanding about water safety to keep them safe. Now that Drowning Prevention Week is over for another year, we will continue to work hard to raise awareness of water safety.”
Water safety campaigns continue throughout the year and the next comes direct from the National Water Safety Forum and partners for World Drowning Prevention Day on 25th July 2025.
Now that the Community Centres Crisis is over -at least for now – I feel more comfortable writing about a community event I attended in Royston Wardienurn last week.
The rebuilt Royston Wardieburn Community Centre opened ten years ago, and a day of events celebrated not only that milestone but also the completion of two notable projects completed by groups based in the community centre.
The centre’s Spring Chickens group produced ‘Living Through Lockdown’, a publication that captures the highs and lows of life under lockdown – and the importance of community and companionship offered by groups like the Spring Chickens in combating loneliness and isolation through these darkest of days.
Guest speaker Elizabeth Bryan from Age Scotland spoke of the damage caused by Covid and congratulated the group on it’s fine piece of work. The Spring Chickens then presented their report to a packed audience of invited guests.
That was impressive enough, but there was more to follow.
Royston Wardieburn’s Time for Change project participants worked with other groups from across the area to create a hand-stitched quilt that beautifully illustrates the local scenes and important places in the local area.
I was delighted to be invited to say a few words before the quilt was unfurled by members of the group:
ROYSTON WARDIEBURN: THE UNVEILING OF THE QUILT
Hello everyone, I’m delighted to be here with you today at this special event. I’ve been fortunate enough to have participated in many memorable events here over the years.
Royston Wardieburn is a centre that holds many fond memories, so it gives me great pleasure to be asked along to unveil the quilt/banner – you choose! – and thank you to the management committee for inviting me.
I know plaques are unveiled, and banners can be unveiled, but quilts? Do you unveil a quilt? Unwrap a quilt, maybe. Or how about defrock, even? Now that I’ve seen it close up, I’ve settled for unfurl!
But whatever we call this ceremony, before I have the honour of performing the task – perform makes it sound like I’m going to do something really spectacular – I’d like to give you some background to this impressive piece of work and thank those who have been involved in the process.
The quilt came about as a result of a collaboration between the Time for Change history group and the Time for Change crafting group. Lifelong Learning Worker Lynn McCabe worked with the Men’s History group and they used material that was first researched by the Power to the People group when they were doing their own local history project back in in 2012. I remember that group well and it does seem like a long time ago now!
The History Group saw presentations and participated in local tours before choosing their final selection of symbols and images to represent the area’s history. One a person note I was disappointed to find that there is no place for the Jubilee Supper Room!
The women from the Time for Change crafting group then took over. They worked with other local groups and designed and stitched the symbols on to panels which were then joined together painted and decorated to create the banner. Their work was supported throughout by artist Jess Howarth.
Many of the women had never stitched before so what you will see shortly really is an amazing achievement.
As you can imagine, given the scale of this project there are many organisations and individuals to thank for their support and involvement:
Royston Wardieburn CC management committee who funded the Time for Change programme of activities
Nancie Massey Charitable Trust for funding the artist workshops, and EVOC for their contribution.
Then there are the individuals: All the local activists who have helped to preserve the area’s rich social history – and, like today, helped to create a little piece of new history, too!
Local historians including Ian Moore, John Dickson, Bill Weir and Kenneth Williams. I would add others like Andrew Boath of the original Granton History Group, and local man George Scammell, who I’ll come on to later.
Betty McVay, Donald McDonald and the late Jenni Marrow, local activists who each gave up huge areas of their homes to house community archives.
Then there’s Jen at Screen Education Edinburgh, which many of you will still fondly remember as Pilton Video, who supported the history group by providing film achives.
And don’t forget Lynne and Lorrane, Lifelong Learning Workers here at RWCC.
And finally, Jessica Howarth, the community-based artist who put her heart and soul into creating this wonderful quilt and made it all possible.
Then there are all the groups who contributed, made and stitched and painted images and squares:
Both of the Time for Change Groups – the crafters and the history group.
Royston Wardieburn’s After School Club
Granton Youth
RW’s Spring Chickens group.
Power to the People group, and
Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
I do apologise if I have missed anyone. Please show your appreciation for all those who have been involved in this impressive collective effort.
Now, earlier on I mentioned George Scammell, who is one of the local characters who has helped to paint the area’s rich tapestry. George’s particular skill was model boat-building.
Geeorge’s greatest creation was a huge model of the Great Michael, a colossal warship which was built in Newhaven harbour and at the time was the biggest ship in the world.
George’s hand-crafted model was mighty too – so mighty that he couldn’t get it out of the hoose when it was finally completed!
The ship finally went on display at The Peacock in Newhaven before moving on to Ocean Terminal. I would imagine that flitting was a lot easier than the first one!
Over the years George built many, many boats and I would get regular calls to go and see the latest one to get pictures for the NEN. The trouble was that there were just too many models for one wee Granton flat. There were models – finished, half-finished and barely started – on every inch of flat surface.
And where there wasn’t room for a model there was an ash-tray! The house was thick with tobacco smoke and it became really difficult to navigate your way through the boatyard obstacle course get to the latest creation.
On my last visit, the inevitable happened and there was an almighty ‘CRACK’ when I stood on something ship -shaped. “Oh, no! Which one is it, George?”
“Dinnae worry yersel’, son” he said. “That was just a spare lump of wood. I was going to make the Titanic but you’ve saved me the bother! Ye’ve sunk her!”
Now, just before we perform The Unveiling of the Quilt – that really should be a song or a Highland Reel! – I will close by emphasising the importance of our community centres and projects like this one.
History is not just about dates on a calendar from days gone by, of battles fought long ago, of kings and queens and stately homes. WE have history too. Our communities have history – a proud history that’s more relevant to local folk than the date of the signing of the Magna Carta or the Battle of Agincourt.
Our communities’ stories need to be told. And the Time for Change quilt is now the first entry on the next page in our very own Local History story.
Scotland’s Baby Box has been refreshed in time for its fifth anniversary. The new look box has updated clothing designs and now includes a baby toothbrush to support early oral health.
Every newborn in Scotland is entitled to a Baby Box, with around 222,450 delivered to families since the scheme began in August 2017.
Speaking during a visit to APS (Group) Scotland in Edinburgh, who pack and distribute the box, Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “As every parent knows, the costs associated with having a baby are significant.
“Household budgets are under increasing pressure from the rising cost of living, so it is reassuring to know that all families in Scotland, regardless of their circumstances, have access to essential items needed for the first six months of their newborn’s life.
“Uptake for the Baby Box has grown to about 98% since it was introduced in 2017. As we head towards the fifth anniversary, I am proud that the Baby Box continues to support newborns and their families.”
Chief Dental Officer Tom Ferris said: “I am really pleased to see a toothbrush included in the Baby Box for the first time.
“Good oral habits are essential to achieving excellent mouth health, and this will allow us to support families in achieving this from the very beginning of life.”
Beverley Walsh, Head of Services at APS Group (Scotland), said: ““The Baby Box initiative has created sustainable employment opportunities for local people, where possible supporting targeted groups.
“We work with training organisations, local schools and colleges, with the Baby Box supporting up to four modern apprenticeship positions and work experience placements each year.”
Record investment of almost £8.5 billion was committed to support low income households between 2018-22, with almost £3.3 billion benefitting children.
The fourth annual progress report on child poverty, published yesterday, shows that all of the actions committed as part of the first Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Every Child, Every Chance, have been delivered.
The plan focused on three drivers of child poverty reduction – work and earnings, social security and household costs – and on the six priority family types at greatest risk of poverty, including lone parent families and families with a disabled adult or child.
Key achievements over the life of the plan (2018-22) include:
introduction of the Scottish Child Payment, with more than 1.2 million payments between February 2021 and March 2022 – a £58.6 million investment
increase in the number of real Living Wage accredited employers, with the proportion of people earning the real Living Wage or more rising from 80.6% in 2018 to 85.6% in 2021
increase in the funded hours for Early Learning and Childcare from 600 hours in 2018 to 1,140 hours in August 2021, saving families up to £4,900 per eligible child in 2021
delivery of 35,095 affordable homes, 25,562 of which were for social rent – supporting an estimated 11,585 households with children into affordable housing between 2018-22
extension of concessionary travel to all under 22s, with approximately 930,000 young people eligible for support – saving families up to £3,000 by the time their child turns 18
expansion of universal free school meals to children in primaries 4 and 5, saving families around £400 per child and increasing School Clothing Grant to at least £120 for eligible primary school children and £150 for those in secondary school in 2021
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “Over the last four years, we have strengthened the foundations of support for children and families and used our powers to support those most in need, particularly with the introduction of our new social security system.
“We are now supporting low income households, carers and helping disabled people lead independent lives through 12 benefits, seven of which are entirely new and not available anywhere else in the UK.
“We have made progress despite significant challenges. The pandemic and the continued impact of UK Government welfare reforms has disproportionately impacted the most disadvantaged and been severe. And, of course, households are all now facing the current cost of living crisis.
“That is why we remain determined to continue with our national mission to tackle child poverty. Our second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for 2022-26, Best Start, Bright Futures, is ambitious and has a range of actions to support families both immediately and in the long term to deliver change.
“We will also continue to call on the UK Government to reverse their welfare reforms, including the two-child limit. Analysis shows that reversing them would put an estimated £780 million in the pockets of Scottish households in 2023-24 and help to lift 70,000 people out of poverty, including 30,000 children.”
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Ball Game Ideas for Young Children
Ball games are fun at any age, and a great way to get our hearts pumping! Here we explore some games you can enjoy with the little ones in your life, whether they are babies, toddlers or pre-schoolers.
Don’t forget to praise their efforts and show them that you enjoy the games you play together, too!
Babies
Even babies can enjoy playing with a ball. When a baby can hold up their head while lying on their tummy, encourage them to reach for the ball, by placing it just out of reach. This will encourage them to explore their surroundings, reach and grab.
Toddlers
Encourage your child to throw, kick and roll the ball to you. Make this easier at first by sitting or standing close to each other. Practice makes perfect – don’t expect your little one to catch straight away. You could even use a cardboard box or washing basket as a goal.
Pre-schoolers
Show your child how to use their hand as a bat. Bowl the ball to them and encourage them to hit it! As your little one improves; change the rules so that they must run from one base to another after a hit. The next step is rounders or cricket!
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding thousands of parents and families in Scotland not to miss out on financial support that can help pay for childcare during the summer holidays.
Through Tax-Free Childcare, families can receive up to £2,000 a year per child – or £4,000 if their child is disabled – to put towards the cost of childcare. And it is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. The money can help towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes.
The UK Government will pay 20% of childcare costs by topping up the money paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account. This means for every £8 paid into the online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 in government top-up.
More than 22,700 families in Scotland used Tax-Free Childcare in March 2022 – the highest number of families recorded using the scheme since it was launched in April 2017 – but thousands more could be missing out. Research published earlier this year by HMRC estimated that about 1.3 million families could be eligible for this UK Government support.
Parents and carers are being urged find out more about Tax-Free Childcare via the Childcare Choices website.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Tax-Free Childcare can make a big difference to families, helping with the bills for things like holiday clubs, nurseries, childminders and after school clubs.
“It’s easy to register – search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.”
Helen Whately, HM Treasury’s Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Tax-Free Childcare helps families with the cost of childcare bills but we know that thousands of parents could be missing out.
“That is why I’m encouraging families to sign up now and save on childcare costs.
“There are lots of fantastic holiday clubs and childcare providers to help working parents during the summer holidays, so now is the time to take advantage of this support.”
For thousands of families who use Tax-Free Childcare, the money they save each month on their childcare costs is money that goes back into their pockets. Accounts can be opened at any time of the year and can be used straight away, and money can be deposited at any time and used when needed. Any unused money that is deposited can be simply withdrawn at any time.
During the school summer holidays, it is more important than ever that parents and carers are able to access the financial aid they qualify for. It can reduce their costs, help them to stay in work, or help them work more hours.
More than one million families in the UK are entitled to some form of UK Government childcare support and the government is encouraging those eligible to not miss out on their entitlements.
To ensure that parents get the childcare support they are entitled to, the government is launching an awareness raising advertising campaign this week.
Is bedtime a nightmare for you and your child? You’re probably not alone, three quarters (73%) of children aged 4-12 have night-time fears, such as monsters and bad dreams.
To help combat this, Happy Beds spoke to over 100 young children across the UK to find out what children really want in a ‘good’ monster under the bed to protect them from these fears.
Educational Child Psychologist, Karen Jones, has unpicked the most common monster characteristics from the experiment and applied them practically, explaining how these tips will help children get a better night’s sleep.
Five expert tips to help children sleep
1. “A monster who plays music to fight off the baddies”
Tip: Play a lullaby
Once your child is in bed, you rely on them feeling relaxed enough to sleep, however, they’re much more likely to enter into a stressed state if they’re sitting in the dark and tuned in to every noise. Playing relaxing music can be key to keeping them calm enough to sleep.
2. “My monster smells of my favourite fruit, raspberries and strawberries”
Tip: Spray familiar scents
Try spraying a familiar scent, such as mum or dad’s perfume or aftershave in their room or on their bedtime teddy. Smell allows a child to feel calm and protected thanks to the sensory recognition it creates and it can be a great way to soothe a child.
3. “A monster with blue fur and red paws”
Tip: Utilise primary colours
Whilst we tend to feel like pastel colours are always best as they are calming, when you’re decorating your child’s bedroom, consider brighter, primary colours – such as those that their favourite superhero wears or that they would recognise from a playground.
4. “My monster has a special glitter cape when I get scared”
Tip: Make a calming glitter jar
Using an old bottle or jar, create a calming jar with glitter, glue and hot water. Watching the swirls of glitter slowly glide from one end of the jar to the other, has a relaxing soothing effect on children and is proven to help with anxiety
5. “He has a soft tummy, fluffy arms and velvet legs”
Tip: Ensure their bed is cosy
Children love to cuddle – fill their bed with different textured soft items so they can self-soothe. This will help make a secure, safe space for a child to relax in.
Happy Beds, challenged children to design a new Happy Monster mascot to win a brand-new child’s bed worth £500, as well as have their monster properly designed into a real-life soft toy.
After hundreds of imaginative and exciting entries, a winner has been chosen, with Educational Child Psychologist, Karen Jones, giving her insight into the designs.
The winner… Superhugs, designed by Logan, aged 3 from Scotland.
This hairy blue and red monster, named Superhugs, was declared the winner.
Logan’s mum, who designed him said: “Superhugs monster senses tell him when bad dreams are coming, his blue fur tingles and sends a forcefield to banish all bad dreams away from the bedroom, then a warm hugging red glow appears and comforts the little one through the night.
“He smells of raspberries and strawberries and is super soft to touch, with a bright furry red face & paws.”
Karen Jones commented: “As children’s senses are much more sensitive than those of adults, this also makes them the best way to go from stressed to calm.
“Logan has given Superhugs certain sensory cues, such as bright, primary colours and a unique smell, which can be the quickest way to soothe a child.”
For tips on helping children sleep with night terrors, click here.
Over 5000 children in Edinburgh are on a journey to ‘Grow Strong’, a pilot project from social enterprise and charity Edinburgh Community Food and not-for-profit Veg Power, to help children learn about where food comes from and to encourage them to grow fruit and vegetables.
38 Edinburgh primary schools and local families received their Grow Packs earlier this year and have been carefully raising Cherry Tomatoes. The packs included propagators, seeds and compost kindly donated by Unwins Seeds.
The P2 Class at Liberton Primary School have been repotting their tomato plants ready to take home for the summer holidays with the help of Gracemount Community Garden and the new Deputy Lord Provost, Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron (top).
Over the school holidays, if our little growers are having trouble with their crop, children and families will be able to attend ‘Tomato Plant Surgeries’ taking place weekly at Broomhouse and Murrayburn & Hailesland Community Gardens.
Once the cherry tomatoes are ready to harvest the children will head to the kitchen to turn their tomatoes into a delicious pasta sauce.
The learning will continue throughout the Summer with a number of exciting events for children taking place at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which will help them on their Grow Strong journey and ensure the cherry tomatoes make a tasty pasta sauce.
One Parent Familes Scotland asked single parents accessing their services about the main issues affecting their lives and what needs to be done to tackle them.
