<p>Castlepark Primary School Parent Council are applying for funding to support the running of the schools&nbsp;Breakfast Club.</p>

<p><strong>The link between exercise and mental health is complicated. Inactivity can be both a cause and a consequence of mental illness, for example. But there are lots of ways that exercise can benefit your mental health, such as:</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><strong>The levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, stress hormones and endorphins, change when you exercise.&nbsp;</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Regular exercise can help you sleep better. And&nbsp;<a data-print-url="http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/Mood-and-sleep" href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/Mood-and-sleep">good sleep helps you manage your mood</a>.</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Exercise can improve your sense of control, coping ability and self-esteem. People who exercise regularly often report how good achieving a goal makes them feel.&nbsp;</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Exercise can distract you from negative thoughts and provide opportunities to try new experiences.</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>It offers an opportunity to socialise and get social support if you exercise with others.&nbsp;</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Exercise increases your energy levels.&nbsp;</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Physical activity can be an outlet for your frustrations.&nbsp;</strong></p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Exercise can reduce skeletal muscle tension, which helps you feel more relaxed.&nbsp;<br /> North Ayrshire ice hockey club creates a safe environment to children/ young adults to support the training needs, proving them with coaches to support ongoing training needs and a facility to do this safely.</strong></p> </li> </ul>

<p>To support the children&#39;s mental health and well-being we are looking to purchase outdoor equipment to encourage outdoor play. This will have a positive impact physically and mentally for the children and will allow a more fun approach to learning.</p> <p>We would also like to put &pound;150 towards to cost of free school discos for all the children to attend and enjoy.</p>

<p>Throughout lockdowns&nbsp;we have saw an increase in children becoming more comfortable sitting with devices than embracing all things outdoors. We know the huge benefits outdoor learning and play has on their&nbsp;mental health and well-being and introducing this as early as possible is crucial.&nbsp;Following periods of lockdowns we found many of our children struggle to interact&nbsp;and socialise, through outdoor learning/play we have reaped the benefits of not only these barriers reducing but through this they are being shown how the outdoors is benefitting them&nbsp;physically as well as mentally,&nbsp;often giving teachers the opportunty to have informal chats around healthy eating and its importance to them as they grow.&nbsp;&nbsp;Following consultation with our young people, through the pupil focus group, they have asked if they could have some more resources for them to enjoy and learn outdoors with.&nbsp;&nbsp;Following this the parent council&nbsp;purchased some of the &quot;Operation Play Outdoors&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;den building packages. These have had such amazing feedback from all year groups, however in order to provide more outdoor resources we must&nbsp;provide somewhere safe to store future purchases.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;</p>