Thousands enjoy free summer of fun activities
THOUSANDS of Inverclyde schoolchildren enjoyed a busy summer of fun for free thanks to a range of council-funded activities.
A variety of events took place during the 2025 school summer holidays and they proved extremely popular.
The programme included affordable childcare, playschemes, youth work, active schools camps, school transitions programmes, community programmes, family ‘stay and play’ sessions, and activities for children with additional support needs (ASN).
Over 9,100 children attended playschemes across seven venues – an increase of 11 per cent on attendance during summer 2024.
They were funded by the council so that they were free to attend and they were run by Inverclyde Leisure (IL).
Swimming also proved hugely popular with over 11,340 swims during the first four weeks of the school holidays across all three IL pools.
For the first time, there were eight hour-long ASN family swim sessions at the Waterfront Leisure Complex with over 240 attendees and very positive feedback from parents.
Elsewhere, the council’s active schools service delivered 43 summer sports sessions, including four sessions specifically designed for children with additional support needs.
Over 700 young people attended the various events and a further 123 young people enjoyed ASN sport for all sessions.
Details were included in an update to the council's education and communities committee on Tuesday 2 September 2025.
Councillor Jim Clocherty, convener of the education and communities committee, said: “It was another hugely successful summer of fun delivered directly by various council services and partners, including Inverclyde Leisure.
“We know how difficult it can be for families to keep children entertained during the school summer holidays and how expensive it can be and that’s why we allocated funding to ensure there was a wide variety of events and activities on offer for children of all abilities, including those with additional needs, and the vast majority were free to attend.
“I’m glad children and families made the most of the packed programme and my thanks to all the staff and volunteers who delivered the activities and made it such a memorable summer for young people.”
The council’s youth work team also delivered a variety of events, including 15 evening drop-in sessions at I Youth Zones, days out to venues like Bullseye for snooker, pool and darts and Elev8 trampoline park, community pop-up events featuring barbeques, sports, and arts, and the inaugural youth colour fun run.
Activities also took place in the Watt Institution and across local libraries, including events linked to the Summer Reading Challenge.
Hundreds of families also accessed affordable childcare through the early adopter initiative and families of children with ASN – 195 children and 102 parents – enjoyed the summer ‘stay and play’ sessions at Boglestone and Ravenscraig community centres.
Further information can be found in the committee reports which are on the Inverclyde Council website and the meeting is also available on the council’s YouTube channel.