This year’s Yo! Summer programme, organised by the City of Wolverhampton Council, was a great success with thousands of children and young people taking part in a wide range of fun days, sporting activities and holiday clubs across the city.
Held over the school holidays, there were hundreds of different activities, many of them free, including athletics and multi sports at WV Active, martial arts with Wolverhampton Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a summer camp at The Way Youth Zone, drama days with the Central Youth Theatre, WV10 Consortium's Rock School and Tech Play with LearnPlay Foundation.
Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) also enjoyed a variety of events organised by charities such as Let Us Play.
Among those organisations hosting events was the Positive Participation. Its Summer Activity Club provided free activities including cooking, sports, games, dance and photography for eligible children. Having reached capacity within the first week, it increased the number of places by a further 50%.
Gurbax Kaur from Positive Participation, said: “Our summer activity programme has gone well with record bookings. We are so pleased to be able to work in conjunction with the council to offer our children and young people an opportunity to have fun, learn new skills and build confidence during the school holidays.”
Councillor Beverley Momenabadi, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “This year’s Yo! Summer programme was designed to bring children and young people together through an exciting programme of events throughout the school holidays.
“With the combined help of our partners and funding from the council and the Department of Education, we certainly delivered a fantastic summer for our young people, and it was encouraging to see so many people get involved and make the most of the opportunities we created. But the fun doesn't stop there and we are now looking to fund and finalise plans for October half-term to ensure we continue to provide a wide range of holiday activities and opportunities for children and young people across Wolverhampton.”
The funding round for October and Christmas holidays is now open. Organisations working with children and young people are invited to visit: www.youthengagementstrategy.co.uk to find out more.
