Nottinghamshire County Council is offering financial help to local groups wanting to put on play schemes for young people during the school summer holidays later this year and in 2017.

Grants of up to £1,000 per year, for the next two years, are available through the Summer Play Scheme Grant Aid fund, which aims to support the social and emotional development of Nottinghamshire children and young people through positive play experiences.

In total, £32,000 is being made available through the fund.

The Council is looking to support voluntary and community sector organised play schemes that:
•are safe, high-quality and varied
•will be of benefit to children and young people aged 5-14
•meet the needs of minority, diverse and excluded groups
•involve the community in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the scheme
•have good governance in place, such as effective management, policies, procedures and practice
•are in addition to summer play schemes the group would normally deliver

Applications opened at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/summer-play-scheme and will remain open until 9am on Monday, 22 February.

Groups will be informed of the outcome of their application after 17 May.

Councillor Joyce Bosnjak, Chairman of the Grant-Aid Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We hope our Summer Play Scheme Grant Aid fund will encourage groups to put on a wide variety of activities for young people throughout the county.

“Good, well-organised activities for young people can have a wide range of benefits for the children, parents and the community as a whole. Summer Play Schemes can have a positive impact on education, health and community safety as well as making it a memorable, busy summer for our youngsters.

“For the first time this year, we are awarding funding for schemes to cover a two year period. This will give groups time to develop schemes which are sustainable in their own right and become less reliant on grant aid funding in the longer term.”

For further information on the grants, visit the website www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/summer-play-scheme or contact the Community and Voluntary Sector team at Nottinghamshire County Council by phone on 0115 977 2041 or by email to [email protected]