School holidays can be a challenging time for families reliant on free school meals. Many children face food insecurity and a lack of structured, positive activities, leading to boredom and potential involvement in anti-social behaviour. The HAF programme presented a unique opportunity to address these challenges by providing a safe space where children could enjoy healthy meals, stay active, and engage with their peers.

We have several children who currently do NOT attend school, full time yet thrived throughout the four days on our HAF programme.

We continue to feedback to schools whereby we are supporting their vulnerable families.

This Easter we had a young lady who through attending the HAF programme has meant we have been able to get her to a place where she is better able to regulate her emotions and ready to return to school.

The headteacher at Westcourt informed us of how grateful she is that we are running the club saying that so many of her families are in desperate need. She mentioned one family in particular who have three children who come to us every club who she knows would otherwise struggle at home in a very crowded and uncomfortable situation. She expressed her thanks that they are with us, having a hot meal and being cared for. The three children absolutely love coming to us, they always get involved in all the activities, come and talk to the adults lots and eat lots of our homemade food.

My two sons attend The Stones Community Trust club aged five and six one of which has autism and really struggles when he has to transition from holidays back to school and vice versa so the club allows him to have a routine and avoid any major disruption or upset. I know I can relax as the staff members who run it are teachers he knows and are familiar with.

We had a young boy who has an EHCP and normally struggles in school because of his additional needs. In our environment he really flourished.

We worked with social services to support a child who struggles to attend school to join a session. He exceeded expectations and stayed for over two hours.