A SCHEME aimed at boosting awareness of health and wellbeing among young people has received the backing of a Premier League football club charity.

The Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) developed the Young Health Champions qualification, which supports young people to train as peer health mentors.

The young people develop the skills and confidence to design and lead a health promotion campaign that is relevant to their communities.

Now RSPH has announced it will be partnering with Saints Foundation, the official charity of Southampton Football Club, LifeLab and Southampton City Council in delivering the programme for young people in the city.

As a long-time supporter of the programme, LifeLab successfully secured RSPH Centre status for delivering this qualification in July 2017.

This new partnership offers students in Southampton’s schools the opportunity to work with Saints Foundation’s Community Champions to achieve this qualification.

For the schools taking part in the programme, their participation will also enable them to achieve the Southampton City Council’s Healthy High 5 award.

This award is a school-based health and wellbeing initiative led by Southampton City Council and Solent NHS Trust.

After the Young Health Champions have completed their training, they will showcase their activities and campaigns at a celebration event in July, organised by Saints Foundation.

The showcase will be attended by local and regional policy makers, organisations and influencers in Southampton, giving the Young Health Champions an opportunity to make their voice heard by decision makers in their city.