The funding, which has been secured for two years, will go towards Paths for All’s dementia friendly walking project, Care about Walking, which aims to embed physical activity and walking into the culture of care homes across the country.

The project will work with care homes in Perth and Kinross to improve older adult’s physical health and mental wellbeing through encouraging group and independent walking, strength and balance exercises, and improvements to the care home environment.

Paths for All are one of 17 organisations to receive funding from the Changing Lives through Sport and Physical Activity Fund, which aims to positively change lives through sport and physical activity.

People living in care homes spend most of their day sitting or lying down increasing their risk of physical and psychological ill health. Keeping active in later life through strength and balance activities or chair-based exercises and short walks helps to reduce the risk of falls.

Ian Findlay, chief officer at Paths for All, said: “We currently support 28 projects to deliver Dementia Friendly Health Walks across Scotland with a team of 600 trained Volunteer Walk Leaders.

“They support anyone living with dementia to enjoy walking outdoors safely and to connect with their local green space and community.

“Currently, some residents from care homes attend their local Dementia Friendly Health Walk. Our work with these care homes has identified a need for care home staff training and resources to help develop more walking, and strength and balance activities suitable for older, frailer adults.

“The £50,000 will enable us to work with 10 care homes in Perth and Kinross to offer person centred physical activity programmes based around walking and strength and balance exercises.”

Activities will be tailored to each resident’s needs following a personal consultation with taster sessions to see what suits them best. Activities on offer include indoor corridor walks, external signed routes in a care home’s grounds, scavenger hunts, outdoor bingo, staff or volunteer led Health Walks, and chair-based strength and balance exercises. Paths for All Walk Leader training will also be available to staff.

The Care About Walking project is being carried out in partnership with staff from Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, Live Active Leisure’s Walking for Health project ‘Stride for Life’, Perth and Kinross Council, NHS Tayside and the Care Inspectorate’s ‘Care About Physical Activity’ project.

The funding will be given to Paths for All in April 2019.