THE Government is backing a pioneering scheme to boost the nutrition of North-East children by giving them free food supplements.

The scheme, in the Peterlee area of east Durham, follows the successful trial of special fish and evening primrose oil supplements in County Durham primary schools two years ago.

If it proves successful, it could be rolled out to the rest of the UK, providing a new way of improving children's concentration.

Health and education bosses were impressed by the improvement in concentration and behaviour among 120 Durham children who took part.

Now Durham Local Education Authority (LEA), Easington Primary Care Trust and the SureStart Children's Centre in Peterlee have joined forces to provide free food supplements to youngsters judged to have developmental or concentration difficulties.

The scheme was announced on the day the Government unveiled plans to spend £280m on improving school dinners.

It means that every child in three deprived SureStart wards in the Peterlee area will be screened to pick up any developmental delays.

If experts decide the youngsters can benefit from a nutritional boost, they will be put daily supplements.

The eye q smooth supplements contain selected pure marine and evening primrose oil in a creamy fruit mix.

The initiative will include children from Eden Hall, part of Peterlee, who featured in Jamie Oliver's TV programme Jamie's School Dinners.

During the programme, the Peterlee area was described as one of the UK's most nutritionally deficient places, where many children could not identify common vegetables.

As part of the Child Progress Profile Scheme, children in Peterlee will be screened at 18 months, two years and two-and-a-half years and the information analysed by Durham University.

The Durham trial was the brainchild of Dr Madeleine Portwood, senior educational psychologist at Durham LEA, who believes supplements containing long-chain essential fatty acids can help children improve concentration and coordination, and combat conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and hyperactivity.