This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Holiday Activities and Food Programme Coordinator, Dayo Williams, for the attention of Primary and Secondary headteachers.
Following on from the success of the Easter Holiday Activities and Food Programme, we wanted to write to you regarding the plans for our summer HAF Programme and provision and how you and your school can get involved. The preparation for the summer HAF Provision is underway but much of the success will only be achieved with the contribution and support of schools.
The DfE has provided grant funding to local authorities to coordinate free holiday provision including healthy food and enriching activities for children who receive benefits related free school meals (FSM). It will of course be optional for eligible children to attend this provision if they wish.
We have a list of Providers offering various activities ranging from music workshops, holiday clubs, sporting activities, creative arts and crafts to dance and drama. These Providers are working creatively to provide long lasting experiences for the children and building memories whereby the children engage and experience activities and not fall into the holiday experience gap - with children from disadvantaged families less likely to access organised out-of-school activities.
There are various ways you and your schools can support the programme which is 4 hours a day, 4 days a week over 4 weeks during the summer holidays and 4 days during the Christmas holidays.
- Offer a full Holiday Activities and food Programme – This is 4 hours a day, 4 days a week for 4 weeks of the summer holidays and a week during the Christmas holidays.
- Offer of your venue - We have various providers who want to run HAF Programmes but are unable to secure a venue to run the activities from.
- Offer of your catering facilities – A major component of the HAF Programme is ensuring the children are provided a healthy meal during the 4 hour programme. For this we need school sized kitchen facilities and staff. HAF funding will of course cover the cost of the food provision.
- Promotion of the programme to all families eligible for free school meals- this would be through letter issued by the HAF team with a HAF code for parents to take to their preferred provider and register the children for activities.
Benefits to the school could include:
- Improve attendance
- Improved mental health of the children
- Transition between phases will be easier
- Complements the school transition/summer school programme
- Year 6 to year 7 transition will be smoother as the new intake will be familiar with the school
If you currently have plans to have a holiday programme, the HAF funding could help cover the cost of a provision to support SEND children as well as children eligible for free school meals whilst at the same time admitting those who can pay to attend.
There is an application process for this should you wish to go for a HAF programme. Alternatively you could support in kind with your venue or catering facilities as previously mentioned.
Information to Parents
The letter to FSM children will be going out after the May half term but a copy will be sent to all schools. There is also a flyer attached for the summer HAF to be included with your next newsletter to families.
The following is a useful guide to Providers: https://coordinate.cloud/guide/holiday-activities-and-food-programme-a-guide-to-becoming-adelivery-
partner/
Please contact Dayo Williams on 07749 710114 to state your preferred option or for further
information regarding the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.