Charities join together to support healthy school holiday programme

Following three years of successful pilots and a high-profile campaign led by Marcus Rashford, the Department for Education (DfE) announced in June 2020 that a new £220m fund would be used to roll out the expansion of the HAF programme.

England’s 151 top-tier local authorities have been allocated the money to spend on six weeks of free holiday club provision in 2021, with food and activities for children and young people aged five- to 16, who are eligible for Free School Meals.  

A coalition of 16 charities and not-for-profit organisations, known as the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Alliance, has been launched to share its knowledge and expertise of running the HAF pilot programme with local authorities in the run-up to fully delivering the programme this Summer.

Speaking at the launch of the HAF Alliance at a virtual conference today (18 March), children and families minister Vicky Ford said, ‘The significant expansion across the country and to every local authority will support even more disadvantaged children over the holidays with healthy meals, fun activities, and learning opportunities. It’s fantastic to see the HAF Alliance coming together as we begin our work alongside local communities to deliver this hugely important support, beginning at Easter in line with remaining restrictions and growing further in the summer.’

Greta Defeyter, professor of developmental psychology at Northumbria University and one of the founding members of the Alliance, said, ‘The importance of an enriching holiday experience for all children cannot be underestimated, especially following a year in which large numbers of children have not physically attended school due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

'This summer, it is more important than ever that children, especially those living in areas of social deprivation, have access to best-in-class holiday programmes. This means a well-structured day full of fun activities that enable children and young people to learn new skills, socialise with friends, and enjoy nutritious food in a safe environment. On top of this, HAF programmes also alleviate parental stress and support children in returning to school. In the future I would like to see access to HAF programmes provided universally to all children, as is the current practice in Sweden.

’Many local authorities have been severely stretched by the pandemic over the past year and may not yet have delivered the kind of play and youth holiday provision that is the ideal model for HAF programmes.'

The Alliance hopes that in sharing its expertise and best practice, it can help local authorities to develop and deliver high quality holiday programmes for their local communities.

Jane Ashworth, founder of StreetGames and an Alliance spokesperson, said, ‘We have a perfect opportunity to use the energy of the 16 HAF Alliance members to motivate local authorities to go beyond a minimum-standards approach to HAF 2021 for children and young people and build a platform for future delivery. We’re urging all local authorities to get in touch with us now through www.hafalliance.org in time for the summer holidays.’