Hundreds of children and young people attend Big Noise summer holiday clubs. 

As we get set to start another year of our after-school and in-school programmes, we’re looking back at another successful year of Big Noise summer holiday clubs across Scotland.

This summer, more than 500 children and young people attended Big Noise holiday clubs across the country – providing them with healthy food and free childcare for families. Our Big Noise programmes have been offering holiday clubs in the communities where we are based for the past 15 years.

This year, a total of 566 participants attended clubs at our centres in Raploch and Fallin in Stirling, Govanhill in Glasgow, Torry in Aberdeen, Douglas in Dundee, and Wester Hailes in Edinburgh.

Our summer holiday club provision helps children and young people continue to improve their musical, social, and personal skills throughout the school break, and supports local families by providing essential childcare. In total, throughout the summer our children and young people received 4,164 hot meals including breakfasts and lunches, as well as over 1,000 healthy snacks.

Our children and young people had regular music lessons and practice to build on the skills they have learned during Big Noise’s in-school and after-school programmes. Big Noise participants were also able to take part in fun activities and trips including trying new sports, playing laser tag, and joining a course of podcasting workshops, all of which were free of charge.

At Big Noise Govanhill, some young participants had the opportunity to organise their own concert in the community as part of The Govanhill International Festival and Carnival. The young participants at Big Noise Douglas also had the opportunity to visit a local deer centre and took part in a circus-skills workshop.

Big Noise’s summer holiday club aims to continue our work of equipping children and young people with vital life skills, enhancing their overall well-being, and opening doors to new opportunities that they may not otherwise have throughout the summer months.

Families with children and young people enrolled in Big Noise’s summer club programmes received up to four sessions of free childcare per week, allowing our community members to engage in additional work, training, and other pursuits.

Ezekiel, who has two children that attended the summer club at Big Noise Torry, said;

"I was really happy that my children were able to attend Big Noise over the summer. They were both really excited to take part and were very comfortable spending time there.

"The support they got from the staff was great, and it was great that the kids had somewhere to go when they weren't in school!"

Maggie Cunningham, interim chief executive of Sistema Scotland, said:

“We are delighted that so many children and young people took part and benefitted from Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise summer holiday clubs.

“Big Noise programmes have a range of benefits for participants that go beyond music tuition, including building confidence and resilience in young people, and helping them reach their full potential.

“That is why we are pleased to offer our holiday clubs to ensure continuity during breaks between school terms.

“These clubs provide families free childcare during the holidays and healthy meals and snacks for young participants, which is more important than ever given the ongoing cost of living crisis.”