Pupils at 12 Wandsworth primary schools stand to benefit from a £1.3million Government cash boost to tackle bullying, drug awareness and social exclusion.

Merton, meanwhile, will receive a grant of £400,000 which will be spent on the borough's children from next April.

The Wandsworth Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) has received money from the Children's Fund to fund services which will be commissioned from voluntary and public sector providers.

The schools in receipt of money are Wandsworth's Wandle and Smallwood, Battersea's Chesterton, John Milton, Falconbrook and Wix, Roehampton's The Alton, Heathmere and Granard, Franciscan in Tooting and Ronald Ross in Southfields.

A council spokesman said: "Wandsworth is the first London partnership to receive full funding approval from the Government in the second wave of the initiative.

"We are currently drawing up specifications for services and will then invite interest from voluntary and public sector organisations to provide services during the summer with a formal start in September.

"A resource base will be located at Wandle School to co-ordinate Children's Fund services and provide outreach to 11 other schools."

The target group will be five to 11 year olds, as well as other children aged up to 13 who live in areas with above average levels of deprivation.

Issues tackled will include workshops on improving self-esteem and promoting positive mental health, anti-bullying projects, positive parenting skills and efforts to involve more pupils in out-of-school activities.

A further cash award of £500,000 over two years will also help the partnership focus on youth crime prevention among eight to 13 year olds.

The funding will be used to extend existing summer activities and plan long-term preventative strategies to support youngsters at risk of involvement in criminal activities.

Plans on how to spend the money received by Merton will be looked at by a project group, which has its first meeting next week.

A council spokesman said: "We will be looking at voluntary organisations which provide services to families with children aged five to 14.

"We want to improve the infrastructure between the council and voluntary organisations, with a view to improving the flow of information and accessibility of services."