Schools to benefit from £415m to transform facilities and encourage healthy lifestyles
Education Secretary Justine Greening announced £415m funding to boost school facilities and help pupils benefit from healthier, more active lifestyles.
The Healthy Pupils Capital Programme will be available to all primary, secondary and sixth-form colleges in 2018 – 2019 and will be paid from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, introduced by the Government last year to tackle childhood obesity.
The Government had also pledged £285m to fund longer days at secondary level for pupils to access more sport and art activities. According to Schools Week, these funds have now been diverted to help fund the Healthy Pupils Capital Programme instead. The Longer Working Day Scheme was first announced by former Chancellor George Osborne to help schools offer more extra-curricular arts and sports sessions.
Under the new programme, schools will be able to use the funding to support physical education (PE), after-school activities and healthy eating.
Schools will also be able to use the new healthy pupils capital programme to improve facilities for children with physical conditions or support young people struggling with mental health issues.
Local authorities and larger MATs will receive an allocation for schools and will make decisions locally on how this money is invested. Smaller MATs, individual academies and sixth-form centres will be able to bid for grants for specific one-off projects.
Education Secretary Justine Greening said:
Schools can really help our children get a healthy start in life from exercise and sport, and also from knowing what a healthy diet means. It’s not only good for them while they’re in education, but the health and wellbeing benefits can last a lifetime.
That’s why we’re investing £415 million in facilities to support sports, after-school activities and promoting healthy eating, so we can secure the future health of our young people.