In 2018 more than half a million kids – including thousands from Port Stephens – kicked, swam, hurdled, twirled and slogged their way to a more active life thanks to the Active Kids program.
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So successful was the program that the NSW Government has expanded the scheme to allow kids to get creative with the new Creative Kids vouchers.
Parents, guardians and carers can apply for the voucher with a value of up to $100 per calendar year for each student aged four-and-a-half to 18 years old enrolled in school.
The voucher may be used with a registered activity provider for registration, participation and tuition costs for creative arts, speech, drama, dance, digital design, coding, and music lessons and activities. The program runs year-round, so kids can get creative at any time.
It's a great opportunity to let kids find their passion and learn new skills.
Vouchers can be used to contribute to registration, participation and membership costs for a range of creative, cultural, visual and performing arts with an approved list of activity providers.
They are important because children have unlimited creative potential. They are curious, playful, imaginative, and open to new experiences. Creativity is not a fixed quantity, but a renewable skill and a way of thinking that can be improved and nurtured by allowing a child’s potential to develop.
Research has shown that children’s engagement with creative activities has positive effects on their interpersonal, intellectual, social and emotional development.
They engage with their imagination and originality as they Imagine and explore original ideas. Children who use fantasy and imagination are better able to engage in divergent thinking, with the ability to generate many ideas.
They stretch their flexibility, maintaining openness to unique and novel experiences.They practice decision making, the ability to make thoughtful choices that support creative efforts.
They hone their communication and self-expression skills, learning to communicate ideas and their authentic selves with confidence.
The government’s Active Kids program runs until 2021. That means, each year, parents can access $100 per school-enrolled child to cover registration, participation and membership costs for sport, fitness and active recreation activities.