Children and families across Barking and Dagenham are set to benefit from a number of new initiatives to help them achieve a healthy weight and boost their wellbeing thanks to an injection of funds from the government.



We are one of 11 councils to receive funding to support the expansion of our child weight management service. We bid for and were awarded a total of £465,000.



Welcoming the announcement, Cllr Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, said: “Many people have struggled throughout the pandemic and lockdowns to keep the pounds off and maintain a healthy weight. It is important that everyone is able to get help and support to achieve a healthy weight if they need it.



“This extra funding will enable us to support the expansion of our existing child weight management services and work with community partners to try some innovative new ways of delivering.”



The money will be used to deliver a range of evidence-based HENRY programmes for children and families from pre-birth up to age 12.



We will partner with community groups, schools and local delivery partners, training and funding them to deliver the HENRY courses, to make sure we reach more of our population, give more families an opportunity to make changes to achieve a healthy weight.



This programme is part of a new prevention focused, system-wide approach to healthy weight and obesity in Barking and Dagenham, where all partners have come together to increase our efforts to support local families to be a healthy weight.