Free activities and food to be provided over Easter holidays for low income families in Milton Keynes

MK Council is funding more than 5,500 activity sessions for children and young people over the Easter holidays.

All families with children in receipt of benefit-related free school meals will be eligible to take part.

The activities will run between April 11 and April 14 and include egg hunts , cinema trips, cheerleading, team sports and baking.

The full programme of 5,500 individual play sessions, all developed and funded by the council, is now available to view online here.

Most of the activities are four-hour sessions and include nutritious, healthy meals.

The council is working with 16 local clubs, schools, charities and organisations to provide the activities alongside events offered by its own Children and Family Centres and Music Hub.

Each child in receipt of benefit related Free School Meals will be issued a letter with an eligibility code from their school.

They will need to book directly with the activity provider, taking a copy of the letter along to provide their eligibility code at the point of booking.

All of the event providers will be able to cater their events for young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

This new programme builds on last year’s Summer of Play that delivered more than 30,000 fully funded activity sessions and saw 28,000 free meals served to local families throughout August.

Cllr Zoe Nolan, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: “Once again we’ve worked with local organisations to put on a programme with something special for children of all ages, as we want to help families who might be struggling over the school holidays. Please help us to spread the word and encourage any friends and family who may be eligible to check out our webpage.”