More than a quarter of Hampshire’s 534 schools have benefited from £1.537 million ‘Healthy Pupils’ government funding — money for improving children and young people’s physical and mental health by increasing the availability of, and improving facilities for physical activity, mental health and wellbeing, and healthy eating.
Information about how the funding has been spent, was included in Hampshire County Council’s Children’s Services Capital Programme Report which was presented to the Council’s Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services and Young People, Councillor Patricia Stallard.
She commented: “I am delighted to see how far the funding has reached and it has clearly been maximised to the advantage of as many of the county’s children and young people as possible, targeting where it is most needed.”
Projects were delivered at Primary, Secondary and Special schools. In determining where the funding was most needed, Children’s Services officers worked closely with Public Health colleagues to better understand the many factors that impact on children’s health and wellbeing and what can be done to improve these areas.
In the past two years, almost 170 projects in schools across the county have been completed using this funding, including:
• Six swimming pool upgrades;
• 33 projects improving outdoor activity facilities (including playground resurfacing, new outdoor equipment, daily mile running tracks);
• 100 healthy eating projects, with schools being provided with new equipment and, in secondary schools, the rebranding of cafés;
• And new cycle and scooter sheds in 30 schools in support of the schools’ new travel initiatives.
A further nine projects are in the final stages of planning, to be delivered in the coming months.