Atherstone families benefit from a very healthy project!
A ‘healthy lifestyles’ pilot project that was granted more that £2,000 to get off the ground by Warwickshire County Council has been judged a success, following feedback from local parents and their children.
In fact, the pilot project has been so successful that parts of it will continue to be funded, thanks to the generosity of North Warwickshire Borough Council.
The Healthy Lifestyles Pilot Project was initially awarded a Well-Being Fund grant of over £2,000 by Warwickshire County Council’s North Warwickshire Area Committee.
The grant paid for an assortment of half hour ‘healthy lifestyle’ activities for local families, which took place alongside weekly Tumble Time sessions in Atherstone, over a one year period starting in June 2006.
The activities included sessions on the benefits of good hand washing, healthy eating and preparing a healthy menu, and the benefits of physical activity, as well as a group walk and teddy bears picnic. The sessions were aimed at parents, carers, children aged between 1 and 4 and their siblings.
Councillor Ray Sweet, Chair of Warwickshire County Council’s North Warwickshire Area Committee, said: “The Healthy Lifestyles Pilot Project has proved to be very successful in raising awareness of healthy lifestyles, and in educating local families about illness, healthy eating and physical activity, so we’re obviously delighted that we could help get this project off the ground.”
The success of the pilot project means that healthy snacks will now be offered at all Tumble Time sessions and Play Schemes run by North Warwickshire Borough Council.
A four-week plan of healthy living activities has also been built into all Tumble Time sessions on a ‘roll on roll off’ basis, and healthy living was also the topic of a Play Scheme held in February this year.
Councillor Anne Forwood, County and Borough Councillor for the Atherstone area, said: “The pilot project funded by Warwickshire County Council has highlighted to local families the importance of a healthy lifestyle to their long-term good health and longer life expectancy. I’m delighted that North Warwickshire Borough Council is now continuing the good work by funding further activities and healthy snacks.”