Get Out More is delighted to have been awarded a contract from Keighley Big Local to provide a year of outdoor play opportunities in the Keighley Valley area.  Our forest school leaders Viky and Hannah are running an exciting programme of after school, weekend and holiday play activities from children of all ages (including grown-ups!).  The sessions are all outdoor and make use of natural resources for games, wild art and bushcraft, with the aim of getting more people outdoors, being active and meeting their neighbours.

Get Out More’s Managing Director Annie Berrington said, “We’re lucky that Keighley Valley has some beautiful woodlands for residents to use for activity, socialising and play.  However the woodlands are quite underused at the moment.  Some people don’t know they are there and children aren’t playing in outdoor spaces as much as they used to so we’re trying to get more residents playing out.  Our All for Play programme includes lots of short sessions close to where people live, on estates and pocket parks to help families get to know us and come and join in.  Children who have got to know us through our after school and Saturday sessions then want to join us for the longer, more adventurous programmes like our holiday forest school in Park Wood, which is growing in popularity and looks like it will be a regular activity for Keighley kids.”

Each Big Local area receives at least £1m Lottery funding over at least 10 years, which residents themselves are in charge of spending on ways to improve their community from training and employment schemes to tackling anti-social behaviour, creating new community facilities or providing more activities for young people.