School holidays can be a pressure point for some families because of increased costs (such as food and childcare) and reduced incomes. For some children, that can lead to a holiday experience gap with children from disadvantaged families experiencing the following:

• 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.

Free holiday clubs are a response to this issue and evidence suggests that they can have a positive impact on children and young people and that they work best when they achieve the following:

• provide consistent and easily accessible enrichment activities
• cover more than just breakfast or lunch
• involve children (and families) in food preparation.

The free holiday club places are for children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM).

Children who attend the HAF Programme should have opportunities to:

• eat more healthily over the school holidays
• be more active during the school holidays
• take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character, and wellbeing along with their wider educational attainment
• be safe and not to be socially isolated
• have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition
• be more engaged with school and other local services.

We also want to ensure that the families who participate in this programme:

• develop their understanding of nutrition and food budgeting
• are signposted towards other information and support, for example, health, employment, and education.

The programme runs for a minimum of four hours a day, for four days a week. Each programme will run at different times and may have different ways of delivering the programme, but every programme is free for eligible children and their families to attend.

The programme runs for one week at Easter, four weeks over the summer and one week at Christmas.

If you are interested in being a programme partner, you can get further information by watching the induction video for new and potential partners

There is further information to support you in the delivery of your HAF Programme here:

Standards for school food in England

School holidays can be a pressure point for some families because of increased costs (such as food and childcare) and reduced incomes. For some children, that can lead to a holiday experience gap with children from disadvantaged families experiencing the following.

• 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.

Free holiday clubs are a response to this issue and evidence suggests that they can have a positive impact on children and young people and that they work best when they achieve the following.

• Provide consistent and easily accessible enrichment activities.
• Cover more than just breakfast or lunch.
• Involve children (and families) in food preparation.

Please click on the buttons below to view some helpful documents.

The delivery model of your programme must be included in your application. If you want to adapt the four hours a day for four days a week over four weeks model, there are different ways to offer the HAF Programme.

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.

Applications are now closed for Summer 2021 delivery.  If you are interested in delivering over Christmas 2021 please contact us at: KentHAF@theeducationpeople.org

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.

It is the responsibility of the programme partner to check that the families who apply for their programme are eligible, and the HAF Programme Team will monitor this.

Please note: Families who are not eligible for benefits related free school meals cannot be funded through the HAF Programme.

The evidence from the pilot schemes clearly shows that involving families in the programme has the greatest impact. Providers must include at least weekly training and advice sessions for parents, carers, or other family members. These should provide advice on how to source, prepare and cook nutritious and low-cost food. Programme partners will be required to demonstrate how they plan to include families, and the HAF Programme Team will get further information as part of the monitoring process.

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.

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 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.

If you have questions, please email KentHAF@theeducationpeople.org.