Delivered in partnership with Healthy Valleys, NHS Lanarkshire’s family education and learning programme, has received £150,000 of Scottish Government funding, to continue working with local Lanarkshire families to improve their and their children’s health and wellbeing.
Little ‘n’ Lively provides a fun learning experience for families with children aged 0-2 years. Throughout the seven-weeks, sessions explore the importance of play, healthy eating, physical activity, and the great outdoors in raising happy, healthy, resilient children.
The programme launched in July 2021 and is accessed through health professional referrals in order to address health inequalities in Lanarkshire.
Jonathan Cavana, NHS Lanarkshire’s Senior Health Improvement Manager for the Healthy Lifestyles and Weight Management Service said: “Little ‘n’ Lively was developed to support families with young children to lead healthy lifestyles.
“We are continuing to develop the programme even further and the ongoing early years funding from the Scottish Government has enabled us to support more families across Lanarkshire.”
Stephanie Girdwood, Healthy Valleys Early Years’ Team Leader, commented: “We are thrilled to deliver this programme for local Lanarkshire families.
“Little ‘n’ Lively provides a platform for families to come together, share their experiences and explore the ways in which their children learn and develop. The programme focuses on implementing positive experiences in early childhood and the importance of embedding healthy habits at an early age, including physical activity, a balanced diet and social connection.
“Since launching, we’ve had great feedback from parents and carers that they really enjoyed and learned from the sessions as well as meeting other families and making friends.”