UK to provide children free healthy meals and activities in the summer holidays

A series of projects, backed by £2million of government funding, will be run across the country including the North East, Birmingham, and London, providing activities such as free football classes, play sessions and cooking classes.

A series of projects, backed by £2million of government funding, will be run across the country including the North East, Birmingham, and London, providing activities such as free football classes, play sessions and cooking classes.

These projects, running across the summer, will also provide free meals for the most disadvantaged families who may rely on the Free School Meals they receive during term time.

Academic standards are rising across the country and there are now 1.9 million more children in schools rated good or outstanding than in 2010. Most importantly, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers has already shrunk by 10% at GCSE and 10.5% at KS2 since 2011.

The announcement is the latest in a series of government-backed schemes to help disadvantaged children. These include the £2.25billion Pupil Premium, Free School Meals and most recently a £26million investment to kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in at least 1,700 schools.

Evidence suggests that attending out-of-school activities can have a positive impact on children's educational, health and well-being outcomes. The projects announced today will be run by Children North East, Family Action, Feeding Britain, Birmingham Holiday Kitchen, Onside Youth Zones, Street Games and TLG (Transforming Lives for Good).