Tenterden Leisure Centre finalist for UK Active Award 2022

A Tenterden Leisure Centre Trust project has been shortlisted as a finalist for the UKActive Awards 2022. This is in the ’Developing & Supporting Communities’ category; following a programme that helped over 4,000 disadvantaged children in Kent.

School holidays can be a particular pressure point for some families because of increased costs, including food, childcare, and also reduced incomes.

However, in 2021 and into 2022, five leisure facilities were selected to deliver a comprehensive and impactful FREE programme to disadvantaged children and their families.

Tenterden Leisure Centre Trust, Swale Community Leisure, Maidstone Leisure Trust, Meopham Sport and Leisure Association with the support of The Education People and Kent County Council produced a community-led inclusion project.  

The joint programme saw over 1,000s of local children not only benefit from nutritious meals, but it also provided fun and enhanced enrichment content, nutritional advice and guidance for children, and also family-time activities to work alongside our high quality physical activities.

The range of activities on offer was quite broad, ranging from Circus Skills and Medieval Workshops to Pantomime Shows and athletes from the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust providing sporting and nutritional advice, as well as a Festive Playscheme offered over Christmas.

Swale Community Leisure (SCL), Maidstone Leisure Trust, Tenterden Leisure Centre Trust and the Meopham Sports & Leisure Association, are now also working on another initiative aiming to provide further opportunities for children and young people through sport and leisure activities: Reconnect - Kent. This is a County Council led, community-based programme designed to get Kent’s children and young people thriving following the pandemic.

Find out more about the UKActive Awards.

Find out more about the Reconnect Programme in Kent.