A scheme that provided more than 13,000 meals to Wiltshire's children is set to return for the Christmas holidays.

Wiltshire Council's FUEL (Food, Unity, Energy, Laughter) programme will provide free access to activities, food, and nutritional education during the school holidays.

The initiative, which is part of the council's Holiday Activity and Food programme, is aimed at school-age children and young people up to the end of year 11 who are eligible for benefit-related free school meals.

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It is funded by the Department for Education, with the council receiving £1,128,750 to deliver the programme in 2024.

So far this year, 61 camps have been delivered, including SEND-specific camps.

During the Christmas school holiday, children and young people will be able to access up to four days of activities at locations across the county.

The Easter and summer camps received positive feedback from parents, highlighting the benefits to their children’s physical and mental health.

One parent commented: "My son is more confident and comfortable.

"He absolutely thrives when the FUEL programme is on.

"He has just grown a lot."

Another parent said the programme "kept the children active and engaged - they did nothing but rave about it."

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Councillor Laura Mayes, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for children's services, said: "Research has shown that the school holidays can be pressure points for some families because of increased costs.

"Children from low-income households are less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health, and more likely to experience social isolation.

"In Wiltshire, the FUEL programme is a response to tackling the triple inequalities of holiday hunger, physical inactivity, and social isolation."

Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling, cabinet member for leisure and public health, said: "FUEL continues to provide children with opportunities to have the best start in life, and to see the programme continue to thrive is not only pleasing but really important.

"Many of the organisations that supported us in the summer are back and we're pleased to be working alongside them once again to provide exciting activities and experiences for our children, nutritious lunchtime meals and, for the first time, breakfast, thanks to funding from the Household Support Fund.

"We hope that those eligible can take advantage of the programme and that it helps as many families as possible at a particularly busy time of the year."

For more information about the programme and how to request a place, people should visit the council's FUEL programme webpage.