A community initiative offering life skills and financial education to schoolchildren has scooped an award and a grant to expand its operations.

Backed by housing association Cottsway, the 'Money Wise' and 'Respect Your Life' programmes have secured the 'Better Together' award from Travis Perkins Managed Services (TPMS).

The award comes alongside a financial injection of £5,000 that will enable the projects to reach more students.

As part of their contract, building material supplier TPMS allocates a portion of the money spent by Cottsway into the ‘Travis Perkins Legacy Fund’.

This fund supports various community initiatives, among them Cottsway’s school programmes run in collaboration with the Children’s Safety Education Foundation (CSEF).

The Money Wise financial literacy scheme has been rolled out in five secondary schools so far, while the Respect Your Life programme covering issues from drug and alcohol dangers to peer pressure and knife crime, has been provided in two primary schools.

Vicki Paxford, communities manager at Cottsway, said: "We’re over the moon that we’ve received this award.

"As West Oxfordshire’s largest housing association, we are committed to supporting the community.

"Everyone who takes part in these school programmes gain knowledge, awareness and new skills.

"This additional financial boost will enable us to extend the programme to more schools within our area next year."

Michael Fitzgerald, schools liaison at CSEF, said: "We are thankful to Cottsway and TPMS for their support and it’s absolutely great that Cottsway has won this award."