Children who receive benefits-related free school meals will continue to receive support over the Christmas break.
From snowboarding and sports to drama and coding, hundreds of MedwayGo activity sessions will be running across the Christmas break from Monday, 23 December to Friday, 3 January.
MedwayGo is a free, government funded, holiday activities and food programme for children aged five to 16 who are eligible for free school meals. Along with lots of fun sessions, children attending will receive a nutritious meal, made to school food standards, ensuring that children have a healthy balanced meal as they would during the school day.
If your child is not eligible for benefits-related free school meals, many of the sessions are available to book for a fee.
Booking for MedwayGo’s winter events opens from Monday, 2 December.
MedwayGo is funded through the government’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.
MedwayGo Winter Family Fun Day
On Saturday, 21 December the MedwayGo team will be hosting a free Family Fun Day at Medway Park from 10am to 1pm. The event will open with a SEND hour from 10am to 11am, and then from 11am – 1pm everyone is welcome.
As well as taking part in activities including arts and crafts and sport sessions, prizes will also be up for grabs! You will also be able to meet some of the MedwayGo activity providers, and the team will be on hand to help you book the fun winter activities on offer. There will also be a quite area throughout the whole event for children who need a quiet, calm space.
A healthy hot lunch will also be provided for children at the MedwayGo Fun Day.
There’s no need to book, but all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Special Christmas film screening
On Friday, 20 December MedwayGo and the Medway Youth Team will be hosting a special screening of Elf at the Historic Dockyard Chatham in the Dockyard Church from 6pm to 9.30pm.
As well as the film screening there will be festive activities and stalls where Medway’s young people can find out about the support and help on offer in Medway. There’s even a rumour that Father Christmas may be making a visit!
A hot nutritious meal will also be provided.
Tickets will be available from Monday, 2 December through the MedwayGo website or by emailing Youth.Service@Medway.gov.uk.
Free school meals vouchers
Families with children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals will automatically be issued with a £25 e-voucher for each eligible child for each week of the Christmas holiday. The vouchers can be used at a supermarket of your choice.
Funding from the government’s Household Support Fund is being used to provide the vouchers.
Provides a lifeline
Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of Medway Council and Portfolio Holder for Public Health, said: “I am delighted that we are able to continue to provide support to families across Medway over the Christmas break. We know that the school holidays, and Christmas in particular, can cause additional pressures for those on lower incomes. Ensuring that support stays in place over the holidays, through the MedwayGo programme and free school meal vouchers, provides a lifeline to families across Medway.
“It is also really important to highlight that support is also available for families whose children are not eligible for free school meals. The Household Support Fund is open to all residents, and we have pulled together all of the support available to residents on our website as part of our Cost of Living Response Plan, so I would encourage everyone to make sure they see what help is out there.”
Learn more about the Household Support Fund, and the other support available.
You can find the latest MedwayGo updates and activity details on the MedwayGo Facebook page.
Find out more about MedwayGo and register and book activities.