Schools get shelter smart

Two local schools will receive funding from the State Government to install more sunshades in playgrounds and outdoor areas.

By Jessica Anstice

Two local schools will receive funding from the State Government to install more sunshades in playgrounds and outdoor areas.

Berwick’s Nossal High School and Harkaway Primary School students will share in more than $1.3 million from the latest round of the School Shade Grants Program.

Nossal High School is set to receive $25,000 for the establishment of permanent shade and the purchase of sun protective items.

The children, teachers and families of Harkaway Primary School will get $20,500 for the repair and replacement of existing permanent shade.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing acknowledged it is “great” for children to spend time playing outdoors and keeping active.

“These grants mean Harkaway Primary School and Nossal High School students can still enjoy the outdoors while having the necessary shade to be protected from the sun,” she said.

“Skin cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer in Australia. It’s important we give Victorians the protection they need to stay sun smart.”

“Our grants programs have helped hundreds of schools and community groups provide the protection Victorians need to prevent cancer. Now even more children in Eastern Victoria will be shielded from the sun’s harmful UV rays.”

When used alongside other sun protection measures such as sunscreen and clothing, shade structures are the best defence and can reduce overall exposure to UV radiation by up to 75 percent.

In 2018, melanoma was the fifth most common cancer in the state with 3096 new cases diagnosed and 291 deaths.

It is important children and teenagers stay protected from the sun as these are critical periods when exposure to UV radiation is more likely to contribute to skin cancer later in life.

The grants are still available to schools to build new shade structures, repair existing structures, or create natural shade by planting trees and purchase sun protective items including hats and sunscreen.

Through the program, the government is helping children to be sun smart and prevent skin cancer, while still embracing the outdoors and keeping fit, active and healthy.

Schools play an important role teaching effective sun smart behaviours from an early age.

The School Shade Grants Program is complemented by the Community Shade Grants Program, which provides shade for community organisations.

Together, these programs have awarded 1429 grants across the state, totalling almost $13.5 million.

It forms part of the government’s Victorian Cancer Plan 2020-24 which sets out a target to halve the proportion of Victorians diagnosed with preventable cancers by 2040.