Yo! May events enjoyed by thousands of young people and families

The Yo! Wolves programme of half-term events was a great success with thousands of children and young people taking part in activities, fun days and sporting events across the city.

Held over the May school holidays, nearly 8,000 activity sessions were delivered by 37 providers at 52 locations city wide. All activities were funded by the City of Wolverhampton Council’s #YES (Youth Engagement Strategy) Fund and included a meal.

Yo!’s ‘Young Inspectors’ were also out and about, dropping in at several locations to speak to participants and find out what was working well and what they found particularly enjoyable. Highlights included Strive Events held at The Royal School and St Andrew’s Primary School and ACES (Activities, Care, Education and Support) at Fallings Park Primary School.

Creating opportunities for children and young people is a priority for the council and, following on from the huge success of the May holiday programme, it is working on plans for the summer break funded by the council and the Department for Education (DfE) which will offer many more exciting activities across the city.

Councillor Christopher Burden, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “We are delighted with the response to the Yo! Wolves May half-term programme, with many providers fully booked and thousands of children and young people taking part in activities across the city.

“It was great to visit local providers, meet up with some of our Young Inspectors and see first-hand how much our children and young people were enjoying the events and activities during the half-term break.

“We now have a large portfolio of local organisations offering a wide choice of holiday activities, from active sport and recreation through to arts and crafts and fun and games, and we are currently finalising plans for summer to ensure that we can provide another brilliant range of opportunities across the city.” He added: “Yo! Wolves is a superb piece of work which has helped so many people in the city and continues to grow and grow. With a £1.4 million grants package now available, we’re encouraging organisations and providers to bid for funding to deliver Holiday Activities and Food schemes across the city until 2025.”

For full details of Yo! Summer holiday activities and events, keep an eye on the website, www.yowolves.co.uk or follow the council on social media at www.twitter.com/wolvescouncil and www.facebook.com/wolverhamptontoday.

Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education with Young Inspector, Maya Patel, visiting Strive Events at The Royal School during May half-term.