Great news for local families as Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council’s Physical Activity & Sport Service (PASS) is giving away places on another MEND Programme and giving more children and families the chance to become fitter, healthier and happier.
The MEND Programme is the largest national scheme for tackling childhood overweight and obesity and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is delighted to offer the fifth MEND course to the area. Children and families who have previously participated have achieved tremendous results.
MEND stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition?Do it! and the course is targeted at helping children between the ages of 7 and 13 who are over the healthy weight range for their age and height to become healthier and active with the support of their parents or carers.
The fun MEND Programme which takes place after school twice a week for 10 weeks will be running from 26th April at Sandfields Comprehensive School, Port Talbot and Neath College, Neath. A limited number of places valued at up to £400 are available on the course completely free of charge thanks to funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Programme includes a series of sessions to get the whole family involved in helping children to change their eating and exercise habits while learning about nutrition, therefore promoting sustained improvements in overall health, fitness and wellbeing.
“Previous families on the course have had a great deal of success and it changes family’s lives. Children become healthier and fitter and we have seen their self esteem and confidence increase greatly,” says Karl Napieralla, Director of Education. “We are committed to offering families in Neath Port Talbot the chance to improve their health with this fantastic free course.”
Places on the MEND Programme are being offered completely free on a first come, first served basis to eligible families. For more information or to register for a Programme in Neath Port Talbot call Maria Edwards, Programme Manager on 01639 861105. A parent or carer must accompany each child to the twice weekly sessions and places must be booked in advance.
Parents wishing to check whether their child is a healthy weight or whether they might benefit from the MEND Programme can visit the MEND website www.mendcentral.org, which has a handy Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator.
