Archbishop Benson School in Truro has been awarded £10,000 by BBC Children in Need to deliver a breakfast club and lunchtime activities for pupils from an area of deprivation.

This means that the charity now funds 23 projects in Cornwall with over £1.2million hard at work to benefit young lives in the county.

During the one year course of the grant, funding will help cover the cost of trained speech and language teaching assistants and equipment to deliver activities for a group of 20 children who need additional help developing their personal, social and language skills.

Sessions with the teaching assistants will be conducted during a breakfast club, which takes place one hour before school starts, and provides participants with a nutritional meal and one to one speech support. The morning club will give children a chance to engage in free play and group games that are constructive and aim to get them ready for the day, and help them feel confident about engaging in the classroom.

In addition, the teaching assistants will run a gardening club over the lunch period, where children can get involved in a quiet, relaxing activities participate in a natural and nurturing environment. This strand of the work will help improve the overall wellbeing of participants whilst teaching them such skills as learning to share with gardening tools, making friends and communicating with peers and adults in a positive manner.

Debbie Bullen, school business manager at Archbishop Benson, said: “It is fantastic to receive this funding from BBC Children in Need, as it will really help us support a targeted group of children facing a number of challenges, which can – if not addressed – impact their lives negatively in the long term. Everything from the nutritional element to the staff-supported activities will be designed to improve the ability to concentrate and learn of some of our most vulnerable children.”

Juliet Williams, BBC Children in Need regional officer of the South and West, said: “BBC Children in Need funds organisations supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, and we are so pleased to include Archbishop Benson C of E Primary School within this. Through their application, the organisation demonstrated the tangible impact that their activities can have on those that need it and we look forward to seeing their work in action. Competition for funds is tough, but we are always keen to hear from projects making a difference to young lives and our small grants – which includes anything up to £10,000 over the course of one year – are a great way to support new or existing projects looking to do just that.”

The next deadline for the small grants' programme is June 1 and the deadline for the main grants' programme is September 15. Projects working with children and young people facing any kind of disadvantage can find out more on how to apply for funding at bbc.co.uk/pudsey/grants.