Summer schemes
Registration for Community Summer Schemes is now closed.
Update 28 June 2021: Final Registration Session for Summer Schemes 2021
There are places remaining available at all of our venues and we are offering a final opportunity for Parents/Guardians to register children for our Summer Schemes.
A final registration session will be held at our Community Section, in the Council's South Street Offices in Newtownards on Tuesday 29 June between 9am and 3 pm. When registering their child(ren), adults are asked to wear face coverings/masks. Please bring your own pen to complete the forms.
Only those with Parental Responsibility (Legal Parents/Legal Guardians) and reside within the borough can register the child(ren) for a scheme and you must bring relevant documentation with you to the registration session for proof of age and address e.g. Birth certificate, utility bill etc. Please check the FAQ section at bottom of page for more information.
It is not possible to register for a morning and afternoon session in the same week as there are NO child care provisions over lunch time. This is due to COVID regulations around cleaning the community centres between the morning and afternoon sessions. If a parent wishes to book a child onto a second scheme in a different week, this will be permitted if there is availability. Please note however that the same programme will repeat across all schemes/sessions.
Availability of places is in the table below:
| Venue | Week 1 (26 to 30 July 2021) | Week 2 (2 to 6 August 2021) |
| West Winds Community Centre |
Morning: 7 places available Afternoon: 12 places available |
Morning: 11 places available Afternoon: 8 places available |
| Redburn Community Centre |
Morning: 6 places available Afternoon: 5 places available |
Morning: 8 places available Afternoon: 8 places available |
| George Green Community Centre |
Morning: 0 places available Afternoon: 6 places available |
Morning: 0 places available Afternoon: 5 places available |
| Ballygowan Village Hall |
Morning: 6 places available Afternoon: 3 places available |
Morning: 2 places available Afternoon: 13 places available |
| Portavogie Community Centre |
Morning: 3 places available Afternoon: 7 places available |
Morning: 7 places available Afternoon: 0 places available |
Monday to Friday: Choice between morning or afternoon sessions only
- Morning session 10am—12.30pm
- Afternoon session 1.30-4.00pm
COST: £12.50 per child or £6 concession (if your child is in receipt of free school meals).
The Scheme may be at risk of being withdrawn if not fully subscribed.
Please read full details and FAQs below.
Update: 20 May 2021 - Summer Schemes 2021
We are pleased to offer council summer schemes in summer 2021. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, it has been necessary to adapt the schemes and the format will differ from previous years.
Due to pandemic numbers of children admitted to each scheme have been dramatically reduced. To accommodate as many children as possible, two sessions a day will run in each week of the scheme. There will be a morning and afternoon session:
- Morning session will run from 10am to 12.30pm
- Afternoon session will run from 1.30pm to 4 pm
Children can be registered for one session in one week of the scheme. This equates to two and a half hours per day per child for one week only.
The same programme will run across all sessions during the three weeks of the summer scheme: all children enrolled will have the same opportunities/experience.
Summer Scheme Dates
- Week 1 – Monday 26 to Friday 30 July 2021
- Week 2 – Monday 2 to Friday 6 August 2021
- Week 3 – Monday 9 to Friday 13 August 2021
Registration details
Registration for Summer Schemes 2021 will take place at the following Community Centres. Any updates to these dates/times will be promoted on the website and on the Ards and North Down Borough Council Facebook page.
| Where | Date | Time | Number of Places available per session* |
| Redburn Community Centre | 14 June 2021 | 10am to 12 noon |
Morning: 8 places |
| George Green Community Centre | 15 June 2021 | 10am to 12 noon |
Morning: 32 Afternoon: 32 |
| Ballygowan Community Centre | 16 June 2021 | 10am to 12 noon |
Morning: 19 |
| Portavogie Community Centre | 17 June 2021 | 10am to 12 noon |
Morning: 19 |
| West Winds Community Centre | 18 June 2021 | 10am to 12 noon |
Morning: 12 |
*These numbers are subject to change in response to Covid 19 regulations.
If all summer scheme places are not allocated during the registration period Monday 14 to Friday 18 June 2021, an additional registration period may be run from Monday 21 to Wednesday 23 June 2021. This will be communicated via our social media channels and website.
If a session is oversubscribed, a reserve list will be taken. This is not available to those who have already been successfully allocated a place on the summer scheme.
If a place becomes available, our staff will consult the reserve list in the order listed and work through with offers until places are filled.
In the event of a summer scheme being undersubscribed, the decision may be taken not to run the session. A final decision will be taken in the week commencing 21 June 2021 and anyone whose child had been registered for the session will be notified of the cancellation.
Registration Day
When registering their child(ren), adults are asked to wear face coverings/masks. Please bring your own pen to complete the forms.
Registration forms and Parents Information leaflet will ONLY be available on day of registration at each centre.
Only those with Parental Responsibility (Legal Parents/Legal Guardians) and reside within the borough can complete these consent forms.
Please bring relevant documentation, ON THE DAY, for proof of age and address e.g. Birth certificate, utility bill – your child’s place will not be confirmed until these documents are provided.
For a definition of who holds parental responsibility please scroll down to frequently asked questions under “How do I register my child(ren)?”
More information, including about Council funded partner-run schemes, is in the FAQs below.