School holidays can be pressure points for some families. For some children that can lead to a holiday experience gap. Children from low income households are:

• less likely to access organised out-of-school activities
• more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health
• more likely to experience social isolation

The HAF Programme is a response to this issue. Evidence shows that free holiday clubs can have a positive impact on children and young people. They work best when they:

• provide consistent and easily accessible enrichment activities
• cover more than just breakfast or lunch
• involve children and parents in food preparation
• use local partnerships and connections.

The HAF Programme funding is primarily for school aged children from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits related Free School Meals (FSMs). Benefits related FSMs are available to pupils if their parents are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits and have a claim verified by their school or local authority.

For further information on eligibility, visit Apply for free school meals - GOV.UK Children and young people who have a social worker or early help worker who feels their attendance at a HAF Programme would be beneficial, may also be able to access a funded place. HAF Programmes are also available to those children not in the above categories and can be paid for in advance/on the day.

Families can also benefit, when HAF providers include their needs in planning and delivering their Programme. This could be through:

providing opportunities to get involved in sessions, for example, cookery classes
ensuring they are signposted towards other sources of information and support, such as health services or employment and education opportunities.

Funding for this Programme is available for the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays.

The expectation is that Programmes for Easter and summer run for a minimum of four hours a day, for four days a week (across one week at Easter and Christmas and across for four weeks over the summer), although we recognise that this is not always practical or possible.

Each Programme will run at different times and in different ways, but every Programme is free for eligible children and their families to attend. There is also flexibility to offer longer or shorter sessions when considering the needs of older children and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or additional needs.

Whilst the HAF Programme is primarily focussed on providing support to disadvantaged families, there are many benefits to providers in expanding the holiday care offer to include paid for provision alongside HAF funded places.

Schools hold information about the children that attend and often know which families are eligible. You can get in touch with the school to ask who the best contact person for your programme would be.
If families have not yet checked their eligibility for FSM, they can use the eligibility checker below:
https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/kent/

If you need any further support, please email the HAF Programme Team.
In Kent we use an online eligibility checking system for the HAF Programme. Each eligible child will be issued an Evoucher and through this families can search for local HAF programmes and request a place. These are issued by the child/young person’s school on the lead up to each HAF Programme holiday period.
Please note: Families who are not eligible for benefits related free school meals or not referred by their Social Worker or Early Help Worker cannot be funded through the HAF Programme but can still attend activities through self-funding.

Programme partners can advertise the programme in their usual way. This may include getting in touch with local schools, using social media, and approaching other local organisations who have contact with families. Each Programme will have its own information and booking system. When sharing information:

• provide a range of contact details (for example phone number, name of lead person, email address, website)
• make it clear which delivery model you plan to use
• be clear about how flexible you can be, if at all, once a booking is made
• be prepared to support families who may need help in completing the forms.

Holiday clubs must provide activities which meet the Physical activity guidelines.

We expect providers to incorporate helping children to understand more about the benefits of healthy eating and nutrition into their Programme. These do not need to be formal learning activities. This could include:

• getting children involved in food preparation and cooking
• growing fruit and vegetables
• taste tests
• discussing food and healthy eating during mealtimes
• including food and nutrition in other activities

Offering positive learning and development through HAF activities creates stigma free opportunities to support children and young people in learning about healthy lifestyles and exercise. This could cover, for example, the use of vapes, cigarettes, drugs, and how this can lead to issues including economic, social, personal safety, exploitation and criminality.

All organisations delivering the HAF programme must be able to demonstrate that they have in place relevant and appropriate policies and procedures:

• safeguarding, including the recruitment of staff and volunteers
• food safety policy and procedure
• health and safety policy and procedure
• relevant insurance policies (Employers Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance)
• accessibility and inclusiveness policy and procedure
• staff code of conduct
• Ofsted registration.

Programmes must be compliant with the Ofsted requirements for working with children. Holiday clubs may need to legally register with Ofsted depending on the provision they offer; they may also be eligible to register with Ofsted on the voluntary register or they may be exempt from registration entirely. Both clubs and providers that would require registration with Ofsted, and those that are exempt, can participate in the HAF programme. To support the raising of quality and to better meet the safeguarding needs of children and young people, certain providers can choose to register with Ofsted even if they do not have to.

Further information can be found on the GOV.UK blogs website.

Ofsted: early years The HAF Programme - when you need to register with Ofsted

All Programme partners commit to making their Programme accessible for a wide range of children, ensuring that they meet the legal requirement of the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments. With parental agreement it may also be helpful to contact the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) at the child’s school to help build a picture of what support may need to be offered. Using forms to get detailed information about each child and their needs will enable Programme partners to ensure that every child is fully included and can enjoy the opportunities that are offered.

A toolkit for providers of Wraparound Childcare, Breakfast Clubs and Holidays Activities and Food Programmes

An interactive digital toolkit developed to support schools, private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers, childminders, and local authorities in creating inclusive wraparound provision that is accessible to families of primary aged children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This includes breakfast clubs, afterschool childcare and holiday provision.

Creating Inclusive Provision Toolkit - childcareworks.org.uk

These resources have been produced by NASEN on behalf of Childcare Works to support inclusive practice in wraparound provision. They include ten bitesize videos to support providers to enhance inclusivity and better support the needs of children with SEND. Inclusive practice in wraparound provision

Childcare Works have created a HUB for providers and schools. Through this site you can access a range of resources to support planning and delivery of your Programme HUB for Providers and Schools - childcareworks.org.uk

If you would like further information about applying to deliver the HAF Programme in Kent or have any questions please email us at [email protected]