Hundreds of young people and their families in the Capital have taken part in a huge programme of summer activities delivered by over 100 City of Edinburgh Council and partner organisations.
The ‘get into Summer’ initiative was part of a nationwide scheme funded by the Scottish Government to support children and young people’s wellbeing during the summer after a year of disrupted school, out of school activities and periods of isolation from friends due to the pandemic.
The activities built on the regular summer programmes put on by the Council and partners and were delivered in communities across the city. They helped children and young people to get healthy, creative and most importantly, re-connect with each other.
A key focus of the programme included activities targeted at families from low income households who may otherwise have struggled to access such experiences during the holidays. It ensured that these groups and those living in poverty were able to access, at no cost, a full programme of summer activities, in many cases with travel and food costs also covered.
The overall programme had a focus on opportunities for youth and children’s work, very young children and their families, with opportunities for sport, outdoor, art and cultural activities.
The Get into Summer project included:
- Picnic in a Park trips saw over 200 children and their families take part
- Over 300 food and activity parcels being delivered to families every week of the school holidays
- Hundreds of activity sessions from over 150 different providers throughout the school holidays
There’s been really positive feedback from families such as:
One mum talking about her food box delivery said: “Huge thanks for our box, it was fantastic as always, we made good use of the sharing plate for all our veg as we had d.i.y rainbow wraps for dinner. Super yummy and encouraged the boys to try things they would not normally eat.”
Another mum said after her trip to a country park with her three children: “A huge thank you for the fantastic day, we loved Jupiter Artland and are already planning our next visit.”
Some of the partner organisations putting on events and providing support include: 6VT Edinburgh City Youth Café, Disability Services, Intercultural Youth Scotland, Edinburgh Young Carers, Lochend Football Academy, National Galleries of Scotland, Play2Learn Sports Coaching and Shakti Women’s Aid.
Councillor Ian Perry, Convener for Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Huge praise to all the different teams at the Council and our partners for providing such a fantastic programme of activities over the summer for our young people and their families.
“The pandemic has caused such a disruption to their wellbeing and our ‘Get into Summer’ programme brought as many of them together as possible to play and socialise over the holidays.
“There really was something for everyone with activities ranging from sports coaching to trip, to drama workshops, to local parks with many additional activities on top of what we usually offer during the holidays. This really has been a summer of fun for these families and I hope we’ll be able to do it all again next year!”
Councillor Alison Dickie, Vice Convener for Education, Children and Families Vice Convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It’s really positive to see what a huge difference this programme of activities has made to the daily lives of children and their families during the summer.
“We listened to their voices about the impact of lockdown on their mental health and wellbeing and this was an important first step to help them re-connect with their friends and interests over the holidays.
“Many families on low income struggle during the summer holidays so this targeted offer was a positive step forward and helped boost opportunities for those who have faced the greatest challenges in the past 17 months. This programme had children’s rights and needs at its heart and thanks must go to everyone who pulled all this together.”
