HUNDREDS of children in need at schools across East Lancashire will benefit from a £325,000 cash boost -- thanks to successful lottery bids.

Thousands of pounds from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund will boost out-of-school hours projects, which include Lancashire's first Brownie pack for Asian heritage girls in Nelson and a social inclusion project for hearing-impaired children in Padiham.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council, which helped mount the bids, said that while each bid was unique, all the schools had carried out extensive research which ensured pupils involved had lower-than-average achievement levels and that bids carefully targeted vulnerable pupils. It had:

Designed activities to address specific needs -- one school will provide reading groups on a post-war housing estate where there is no library

Designed schemes which will have a positive impact on pupil behaviour and motivation and will deal with crime and disorder issues

County Coun Alan Whittaker, cabinet member for education and young people, said: "By working closely with schools we have been able to access Lottery funding to carefully focus extra help to some of our young people who need it most.

"I am particularly impressed by the variety of imaginative projects that form the successful bids."

Lottery cash will also enable the county council to launch a 'Make Lunchtime Positive' project, which will benefit more than 1,000 children in Lancashire who are badly behaved or who hand in homework late. Blackburn with Darwen local education authority schools were not involved with the county in the lottery bidding.

Schools involved include:

Ivy Bank High School, Burnley -- £28,942 -- for hearing support club for hearing-impaired pupils; outdoor residential courses; homework club

Norden High, Rishton -- £42,274 -- year 7 to mentor year 6 in IT and literacy; health and fitness classes; performing arts; school murals; cyber cafe, photography

Towneley High, Burnley -- £49,500 -- community murals; peer mentoring; computer skills; counselling

Gawthorpe High, Padiham -- £26,930 -- seniors to mentor junior pupils; music, sport, homework club for special needs pupils; exploratory science; Spanish; cooking

Lomeshaye Junior, Nelson -- £13,000 -- breakfast club; brownies; reading and writing club; computer, maths and homework clubs

Edge End High, Nelson -- £41,051 -- breakfast club incorporating IT; homework club

Mount Carmel RC High -- £24,098 -- breakfast and after-school clubs for special needs pupils; pupils to cater and budget breakfast; IT and homework support

Spring Hill Primary, Accrington -- £36,880 -- homework and IT clubs in partnership with two mosques

St Mary Magdalen Primary, Accrington -- £9,913; Sacred Heart RC Primary, Accrington -- £6,325; Coal Clough Primary, Burnley -- £15,939; Walverden Primary, Nelson -- £20,918; St Mary's RC Primary, Bacup -- £6,125; St Mary's CE Primary, Rossendale -- £5,825; all for homework activities.