Cumberland City Council’s Healthy Kids initiative has reached 4000 children in Sydney’s west, through a series of workshops and sporting clinics that support children’s health and wellbeing.
“It may surprise you that 80 percent of Australian school kids don't get enough exercise or eat enough fruit and vegetables. We want to turn those statistics around,” said Mayor Steve Christou.
“We are glad to be supporters of teachers and students who want to adopt healthy lifestyles. Kids spend a lot of time at school so it’s great that they can learn habits that will benefit them well into adulthood.
The program has been generally well-received since it began in March 2019. A community engagement survey recorded 75% of students rated the program as ‘excellent’ with suggestions to make the program longer and discuss pathways into further sports participation.
Council has run 60 workshops and clinics to support the initiative since it began.
“I am very passionate about supporting activity and nutrition from early on. As a father of twin girls, I know it’s up to us to give them the best possible start to lead a healthy life.”
As part of the consultation process, local schools were asked to identify other components of the Healthy Kids program where partnership with Council would be of interest.
Key areas included a four week sports program for students typically not chosen for Primary School Sport Association (PSSA) or Combined High School Sports Association teams, and mental health and resilience workshops.
Cumberland City Council has also introduced a Healthy Kids competition, inviting students to pitch ideas on improving physical activity and healthy eating habits. The competition was suspended due to COVID-19 however winning schools will be awarded $5000 to implement their ideas at their school.
Proposed opportunities to extend the program in the future are being drafted subject to relevant COVID-19 restrictions in place at schools.
