A Nottingham holiday club with children’s mental wellbeing and development at heart has spoken out about the half term activities they’ve been doing his half term. With children who otherwise wouldn’t have met if it wasn’t for the Freedom Foundation, the children learn many skills whilst they’re there.
With free school meals and food to take home, the Bestwood Release Club run by the Freedom Foundation caters for children aged 7-11. Based at the Bestwood Estate Community Centre, teachers Francesca Tuitt and Rachel Williams have spoken out about what activities have been put on for the children this half term.
To attend the club is free. All a parent or guardian has to do is sign up.
READ MORE: Nottingham parents share views of available budget half term activities
This half term, all the club's sessions have been full. Teacher and programme co-ordinator, Francesca, said: “We do dancing, singing and song writing. We encourage children to open up and release emotion. We teach children about acceptance, kindness and their goals and aspirations.”
The Release holiday club has been run by the Freedom Foundation for the past four years. The Freedom Foundation runs holiday clubs in other parts of Nottinghamshire such as in Bulwell and Kirby-in-Ashfield.
Francesca continued: “We promote self belief and self worth. In the song writing, children are encouraged to explore. A lot of what we do is mental health based expressed through the arts.”
The Release Bestwood Club has a capacity of 30 children. The organisation also go out to different schools delivering PSHE and wellbeing lessons.
Rachel Williams is a full time teacher and freelances for the Freedom Foundation as she respects their ethos. Rachel said: “The children love it, it’s free and they get fed. I purposely work for this company because I like their ethos.
“With the children, we teach them how to express themselves and have discussions. Here, there’s a mixture of activities and the best thing is we encourage them to enjoy themselves and have a go.
“We give them the tools to create their own dances and it gives them a sense of achievement afterwards. At the end of the week, they’ll be a performance in front of all the parents.
“We teach about online safety and coping mechanisms.” Rachel who is also a parent herself feels that parents have to actively search for things to do over the half term and the information isn’t easily available.
Loretta Kelly is the director of the UK Food Aid Community CIC. Over half term, she was hired by Freedom Foundation to deliver free school meals to holiday clubs.
Loretta, who runs the Queens Walk Community Cafe, in the Queens Walk Community Centre in The Meadows, said: “In August, we fed over 500 kids across different sites. For some children, these food parcels may be the only thing they get to eat. This wasn’t something that I would say no to. I think it's important for both organisations as CIC’s to have built partnerships."
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