Parents across the borough are being encouraged to sign their children up to Croydon’s biggest school summer holiday activity programme.

Croydon Council and charity Family Action are co-ordinating the free Holiday Food and Fun programme, where dozens of local groups including schools and youth clubs offer sports, activities, healthy eating classes and local trips for children aged five to 16.

Each programme covering both activities and free holiday food lasts four weeks at locations around the borough, and more than 70 providers have already signed up.

The programmes will include:

• Sports ranging from cricket and athletics to boxing and basketball
• Trips including skateboarding, parks and museums
• Healthy eating activities, including cooking and growing fruit and vegetables
• Arts and crafts, and music

As well as encouraging youngsters to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle during the long summer holidays, the programme will also support their families to improve their finances and job prospects through budgeting advice, training and housing information offered by the council’s Gateway welfare service.

The council and Family Action give providers training, activity resources and recipes, a helpline, and peer-to-peer support sessions. The programme is being paid for in part by £657,000 funding from the Department for Education.

“This programme is a great opportunity for parents and children to spend quality time together and have fun during the long summer holidays,” said David Holmes, Family Action’s  CEO.

“It is also a lovely opportunity for Croydon families to develop new cooking skills and knowledge about healthy eating.”

For more information, visit the Family Action website.

• Under The Flyover – The Inside Croydon Podcast: Episode 1, Mark Butcher on music, racism and Ashes cricket. Listen here

• Become an Inside Croydon supporter today. For £5 per month enjoy access to exclusive content and money-saving special offers, while helping to support the borough’s only independent news outlet. Click here for more details

• Inside Croydon Events: click here for details of hundreds of other events in and around Croydon

• Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
• Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and BBC London News
• Inside Croydon named Journalist of the Year at 2018 Anna Kennedy Online Autism Heroes Awards
• ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: For two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018, Inside Croydon has been the source for two award-winning nominations in Private Eye magazine’s annual celebration of civic cock-ups
  
• In 2018, Inside Croydon had 1.6million pages viewed by more than half a million unique visitors
• If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or what to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com