Action for Children and Ospreys in the Community celebrate Bouncing Back Plus partnership

Action for Children has celebrated its Bouncing Back Plus mental health partnership with Ospreys in the Community with a huge event at the Academy of Sport in Llandarcy. Almost 600 primary school children joined the celebrations and were treated to rugby sessions, physical exercise and games as well as mental health workshops.  Volunteers from Action for Children, Ospreys in the Community, students from Brecon and Neath Port Talbot Colleges and the Royal Navy all gave up their time to deliver a memorable day for the children.

The charity teamed up with the rugby region’s community arm and Philtronics Ltd, supported by the West Glamorgan Regional Partnership, 18 months ago to deliver a combination of classroom-based Cognitive and Dialectical behavioural therapy (CBT and DBT) techniques and physical exercises such as touch rugby on the playground.

Caryl Dyer manages the Bouncing Back Plus programme for Action for Children in the region and said: It’s been an extremely 18 months as Bouncing Back Plus has been delivered in almost 40 primary schools in the region with nearly 3,000 children benefitting from the programme.  It was important we got together to celebrate our achievements with a day of fun-packed action.  The celebration was wonderful, and the programme is going from strength to strength. We’re exceptionally proud of our partnership with Ospreys in the Community and long may it continue.’ Tom Sloane, Foundation Manager at Ospreys in the Community, said: ‘Bouncing Back Plus has really caught the imagination of Ospreys in the Community staff.  We’ve seen first hand the positive benefits it has for our children and in the current challenging economic conditions, that’s been absolutely critical.  I’m delighted we’ve been able to celebrate together and give the kids a different sort of day out that they’ll remember and inspire them as they get older.’