£150,000 boost for NHS Lanarkshire's Little 'n' Lively project

Little ‘n’ Lively, which is delivered in partnership with Healthy Valleys, provides a fun learning experience for families with children aged from birth to two years.

Over the course of seven-weeks, sessions explore the importance of play, healthy eating, physical activity, and the great outdoors in raising happy, healthy, resilient children.

The programme launched in July 2021 and is accessed through health professional referrals in order to address health inequalities in Lanarkshire.

Jonathan Cavana, NHS Lanarkshire’s senior health improvement manager, said: “Little ‘n’ Lively was developed to support families with young children to lead healthy lifestyles.

“We are continuing to develop the programme even further; the ongoing early years funding from the Scottish Government will enable us to support more families across Lanarkshire.”

Stephanie Girdwood, Healthy Valleys early years’ team leader, was equally delighted.

She said: “We are thrilled to deliver this programme for local Lanarkshire families.

“Little ‘n’ Lively provides a platform for families to come together, share their experiences and explore the ways in which their children learn and develop. The programme focuses on implementing positive experiences in early childhood and the importance of embedding healthy habits at an early age, including physical activity, a balanced diet and social connection.

“Since launching, we’ve had great feedback from parents and carers that they really enjoyed and learned from the sessions as well as meeting other families and making friends.”

The funding is part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensure all children have the best start in life.

Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “Projects such as Little ’n’ Lively are crucial to our bold ambition to halve childhood obesity in Scotland by 2030.”