The funded holiday club places are for children who are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals (FSM).
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...

The programme for Easter and summer runs for a minimum of four hours a day, for four days a week (across one week in Easter and Christmas and across for four weeks over the summer). Each programme will run at different times and in different ways, but every programme is free for eligible children and their families to attend.

Food provision

Each programme will be expected to provide a range of exciting activities and games and a healthy main meal. In addition, there should be a range of enjoyable and interesting opportunities for children to try new things and make new friends. Further ideas are included on the information sheets. You may want to work with local artists, musicians, and local organisations that can come in and provide some enriching activities for the children.

All providers must provide at least one meal a day (breakfast, lunch or an evening meal and all food provided at HAF clubs (including snacks) must meet School Food Standards. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools

For some children, the opportunity to enjoy a hot meal at a HAF club is important and our aspiration is that providers should, where possible, try to offer hot meals to children attending HAF clubs. However, we acknowledge that this is not always possible and that alternatives to hot meals can sometimes be more suitable.

Providers where applicable, should be registered as a food business. This provides reassurance to all of those involved that food safety standards are being met. To register with the Food Standards Agency as a food business, follow this link https://register.food.gov.uk/new

All food provided as part of the HAF Programme must comply with regulations on food preparation and consider allergies and dietary requirements in line with the new allergen legalisation ‘Natasha's Law’: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/natashas-legacy-becomes-law along with preferences and any religious or cultural requirements for food. Further guidance is available on the Food Standards Agency website. Allergen guidance for food businesses | Food Standards Agency

HAF providers must provide a balanced programme of enriching activities that provide children with opportunities to develop or consolidate new skills or knowledge, try out new experiences, have fun and socialise. This could include but is not limited to; physical activities, creative activities, visits, walks or outings and free play.

Holiday clubs must provide activities which meet the Physical activity guidelines - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) on a daily basis.

HAF providers should be able to offer information, signposting or referrals to other services and support that would benefit the children who attend their provision and their families. Other services and support could include, Citizen’s Advice, debt and financial education, healthcare professionals, family support services, housing support officers, and Jobcentre Plus. Training and advice sessions for parents, carers or other family members could provide advice on how to source, prepare and cook nutritious and low-cost food, or Programmes could provide ingredients and recipes to support awareness of healthy eating.

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

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. We want every HAF club to be a safe and happy place for children, and for parents, carers and families to feel confident that their child is well looked after and that robust safeguarding arrangements are in place. The HAF Programme must have a Designated Safeguarding Lead with up-to-date training that includes a working knowledge of the Kent procedures. All staff should understand safeguarding and the policy and procedures that are used by the Programme. Partners must ensure that enough information is collected about children and young people in case any action needs to be taken. This includes the child’s full name, date of birth, address, who has parental responsibility for the child/young person, the school that the child/young person attends (this also helps with eligibility), and emergency contact details for the parent/carer.

• food safety policy and procedure
• health and safety policy and procedure
• relevant insurance policies
• accessibility and inclusiveness policy and procedure
• Ofsted registration.

Programmes must also 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.

Programme partners are encouraged to reflect on ways that their Programmes can be more environmentally friendly and sustainable. This may be through minimising the use of single-use plastics, sourcing locally produced food and ingredients, making use of food surplus organisations, growing fruit and vegetables, encouraging uniform banks and exchange schemes and ensuring there is a wide range of recycling and composting facilities for waste.

Further guidance can be found on Holiday activities and food programme 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The delivery model of your programme must be included in your application, we have included both the four days and two days with additional resources models for you to select from.

Please discuss with the HAF team your proposed delivery model if it differs from the above. We appreciate that depending on age group and needs of the community a varied model is sometimes required.

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

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 persons 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.

It is important that partners have safeguarding at the forefront of their programme. This must include the following points.

• A designated safeguarding lead with up-to-date training that includes a working knowledge of the Kent procedures.
• Making sure that all staff understand safeguarding and the policy and procedures that are used by the programme.
• Ensuring that enough information is collected about children and young people in case any action needs to be taken. This includes the child’s full name, date of birth, address, who has parental responsibility for the child/young person, the school that the child/young person attends (this also helps with eligibility), and emergency contact details for the parent/carer.

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.