Crucial Crew event will help Herefordshire children stay healthy (From Hereford Times)

Crucial Crew event will help Herefordshire children stay healthy

10:05am Thursday 21st June 2012 in Health

HUNDREDS of youngsters will converge on Hereford Racecourse to learn skills to help them keep healthy as they make the transition into secondary education.

The Crucial Crew event will prepare them for some of the issues they may face over the next few years as they grow from being children to young people.

In its sixteenth year, the event provides primary school children with a jampacked programme of workshops, games and interactive lessons based around health, well-being and safety.

NHS Herefordshire, the Red Cross and school nurses are among the organisers.

One of the aims is to equip children with skills to keep them fit and healthy throughout their lives.

A series of workshops are organised each day covering themes around alcohol and drug awareness, road safety, personal safety and danger in the home.

Leah Wilson, health improvement practitioner, said: “The workshops provide a fun way of helping year six children understand how to maintain a healthy and secure future.

“Some of the exciting features we have in store this year include an Olympic theme and tips for eating healthy snacks.”

To keep those attending active over lunch, Halo Leisure is running dance mat sessions and the council’s environmental health team are carrying out hand washing advice involving a clever technique which shows up dirt.

More than 70 schools are expected to attend over the next two weeks and it is anticipated that in the region of 1,600 pupils will have visited by the end of the course.