Council work with Welsh Government on Winter of Wellbeing programme

BRIDGEND County Borough Council are working with Welsh Government to support the national Winter of Wellbeing programme for children and young people.

The programme builds upon the popular Summer of Fun programme in 2021 which saw local communities and organisations come together to create opportunities to be active, meet other young people and try new things to help them manage their wellbeing.

Following on from the success of the summer scheme, a further programme of activities and opportunities has been developed as part of the Winter of Wellbeing with additional activities available through January until March 31, including the February school holidays.

The Urdd will be developing creative arts workshops for primary and secondary aged children, rock band taser sessions and cookery workshops, and a weekend residential stay at Llangrannog in Ceredigion.

Halo Leisure will also be offering the holiday Active 4 Life and Mini Play 4 Life programmes for children and young people, and the national free swimming programme will continue to offer free access to pools and fun aquatic sessions.

Local leisure centres will also be hosting a variety of activities including the JumpIn Gym play centre at Bridgend Life Centre, Bounce and Play sessions for early years at the Ogmore Valley Centre and Garw Valley Life Centre, as well as Saturday club and other opportunities at Maesteg Sports Centre.

The local authority is also working with BAVO to ensure that a number of groups involved with Bridgend Youth Matters have been supported to offer holidays and other opportunities. The holiday programmes also support young people with additional needs connected to social care and also support healthy lifestyles for families via the Family Active Zone programmes.

Awen Libraries are developing a broad range of activities for children, young people and families, including ‘bounce and rhyme’ sessions, storytime and craft, homework clubs and creative writing workshops. There will also be junior reading groups, a celebration of World Book Day in March, coding clubs, film clubs, animation clubs and art groups.

Both Halo and Awen will be promoting opportunities via their own web pages and social media. Activities may be subject to change and there may be a need to book places and spaces.

The Winter of Wellbeing programme is also supporting a number of youth groups to deliver activities for young people and young adults. These include Bad Bikes, Bettws Boys and Girls Club, Caerau Youth Club, KPC Youth and Community Club, Llynfi BMX Racing club, Nantyfyllon Youth Club, Nantymoel Boys and Girls club, Steer, and Wyndham Boys and Girls Club.

Activities include youth work, youth trips, outdoor activities, sport and cookery. During February and March, there are plans for more support to be made available for further community organisations to develop activities and opportunities.

Councillor Dhanisha Patel, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future Generations said:

The Winter of Wellbeing programme has an incredible range of exciting events and activities across the county borough, with something for all children and young people to enjoy.

The pandemic has been a real challenge for many young people and families, and this is a wonderful opportunity to try and make things more normal once again.

I’d like to thank each of our partners for contributing to a programme of events and activities that I’m sure is going to be a big hit with local children and young people this winter.