Was council right to spend £10k on iPads for kids?
Date: 12/04/2011 / Category: Indoor play for schools and groups
A Scottish local authority has spent £10,000 of taxpayers' cash buying gadgets to reward children for eating more healthily at school. North Lanarkshire Council bought iPads as the top prizes at 24 secondary schools around the region, after pupils were given "points cards" to tot up how many healthy food and drink items they consumed every week.
Some people have criticised the scheme, saying that the money spent on the prizes could arguably have gone to a healthier outcome - such as funding activity classes for children or a trip to a soft play centre. The issue has been particularly contentious because residents of North Lanarkshire are currently facing cuts of some £55 million to the local authority's budget, with around 600 jobs expected to go.
Emma Boone of the Taxpayers' Alliance told the Sun: "They should be exploring ways of being more efficient with their money. That includes cracking down on hare-brained ideas like this."
However, the council defended its position, calling the initiative a "great success" that helped improve fitness for kids. "The promotion is full of incentives for the pupils to take a healthy school meal, not just for the week but with a view to permanently changing their lunchtime diets," said Graham Patrick, head of facility support services at North Lanarkshire Council. He added: "Each school was given a whole host of superb prizes which helped make the campaign such a success. The long-term results should be healthier pupils."
Meanwhile, the Dumfries and Galloway Standard reports that NHS Dumfries and Galloway is tackling obesity with the Healthy Weight Club, which encourages lifestyle changes through games, exercise and cooking lessons. The free weekly sessions are held at the David Keswick Centre every Wednesday, and could help to supplement other physical activities, such as taking children to an indoor play centre for kids.
Posted by Lynne Woods
Share this Article
Related Articles
'Avoid processed meat' in kids' lunches
Indoor play equipment 'encourages creativity'
Indoor play areas ‘provide respite in rainy weather’
Durham kids encouraged to 'box up interests'
School pupils 'learn kids play lesson'
Edinburgh kids 'receive celeb support for kids play centre'
Save the Children: Poor families 'need more help'
'Increase school playtime' says Play England
Kids' group play "important for bonding"
Playing music "improves children's concentration"
Group play produces "heightened sense of euphoria"
Child sweet eating linked to adult violence in new study
Kids to get one-to-one maths training
Half of kids 'do not play enough'
Play-based learning should continue until age six, study says
Communication is the "gateway to learning"
Most obese kids "not getting adequate support"
School lets 'lazy' kids play Wii instead of doing PE
All children to receive education on healthy living
Consultation on school trips guidance launched
MP campaigns for free fruit for kids
Kids in Liverpool awarded for being active
Club promoting exercise for kids launched in US
Lib Dems: Fitness activities for kids need to be introduced to reduce child obesity
NHS Redbridge leads charge to promote exercise for kids
Fitness for kids boosted by school walking scheme
Could fitness for kids prevent adolescent sleep apnoea?
Fitness for kids and family 'needs more priority'
Kids' learning-style hypothesis debunked
Children 'not doing as much exercise for kids' as a decade ago
North Somerset children are not doing enough exercise for kids, statistics suggest
Parking near schools could be banned to encourage exercise for kids
"Major effort" needed to increase exercise for kids
Kids' lunchboxes 'full of sugar, salt and fat'
Exercise for kids encouraged through indoor fitness trails
Allowing children to throw 'helps develop brain'
High-impact exercise for kids 'key to bone strength in girls'
Kids who eat school dinners are 'more attentive'
People who work with kids 'should get autism training'
Creative fitness activities for kids key to improving schools' standards?
Potty training should not start before 27 months, claims expert
Ambidextrous kids are 'more likely to have ADHD symptoms'
'Millions' invested in increasing exercise for kids opportunities in London
New Walk Once a Week campaign encourages exercise for kids
Play helps children and parents 'learn about exercise'
Breaks in learning 'improve memory'
Warwickshire school creates soft play area
Outdoor classrooms allow children to become 'self-reliant'
Role-playing 'can change attitudes towards school exercise for kids'
Fat Free Fitness: More needs to be done to increase exercise for kids
Video games - some of the 'best learning tools'
Countryside Foundation for Education: Outdoor classrooms are great for learning
Children 'should be taught about exercise for kids from a young age'
Structured exercise for kids in schools 'can improve fitness'
Like exercise for kids, eliminating junk food from schools 'may help to stem child obesity'
Look for Loneliness resource encourages inclusion in soft play centres
Government encourages more exercise for kids
Proportion of overweight kids 'levelling off'
Fitness for kids 'can improve development'
Soft play centres 'can improve learning skills'
Bupa encourages exercise for kids in Dundee
Pupils taught that sleep, like a lack of exercise for kids, causes weight gain
Walk On! programme promotes fitness activities for kids
Schools 'are contributing to obesity levels by cutting exercise for kids'
Diabetes breakthrough could affect kids play time between shots
Zero tolerance in schools 'inconsistently enforced'
Overcontrolling carers 'stress kids out'
Kids' perspectives on 'place in nature' influenced by communities
Healthy eating 'key to all school lunches'
High-achieving boys 'still outperform girls in maths'
Exercise for kids 'does not determine obesity levels'
Hampshire swimming group wins toddler and baby award
Academic underperformance linked to genes
Teacher attitudes 'could be affecting boys impression of academic capability'
Play-based activity classes for children rolled out across Welsh schools
Parents concerned over 'rough and tumble play restrictions'
Reaction to Ofsted report 'could narrow educational experience'
A flawed FTO gene could be the cause of childhood obesity, according to new research.
Young children should be given the flu jab, according to researchers.
Sports cuts 'will hit exercise for kids'
Gambado provides the perfect venue for children's Christmas parties
Play 'vital' for kids' development
Boys' violent tendencies may not be easy to suppress, claims expert
Communities and schools share responsibility of child nutrition
Parents 'should help their kids to make friends'
Antibiotics 'best treatment for children's ear infections'
Infant educational programmes 'prove educational value later in life'
Soft play helps kids 'work through strong emotions'