Summer of Hope for Highland children and young people

20th May 2021

Children and young people across Highland will have access to playful, creative and engaging experiences over the summer. The Scottish Government has announced £20m nationally to support a ‘summer of play' as part of the recovery from Covid-19.

Chair of the Education Committee, Cllr John Finlayson said: "Covid-19 has impacted on important milestones for socialisation and wellbeing for many of our children and young people. Therefore, this work by Council officers in conjunction with our many Partners to plan for activities for pupils over the summer will go a long way to help build and sustain improved wellbeing during this time and in preparation for the new school session."

The Highland Council will work with schools and multi-agency partners to identify priority children and young people who will benefit the most from this programme of work. Officers will also work with Partners to support them to provide inclusive outdoor summer activities for priority children and young people at venues across Highland.

Partners include Eden Court, Youth Highland, High Life Highland, Health and Life Sciences Centre UHI, CALA, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, and Partners through Highland Third Sector Interface.

Activities will be creative, active and playful in nature.

The offer of the programme will not be identical across the region; however, every effort will be made to meet more of the specific needs of pupils by planning for experiences to reflect the unique cultural and economic profile of each local area. Schools will engage with parents and will be fully supporting this process.