Parents and carers will be aware that we have been running the Department for Education (DfE) Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for a number of years in Devon.
The programme is continuing for the coming financial year and will cover the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays for 2024.
Unfortunately, unless we hear from the DfE to the contrary, we believe it likely that this will be the final year of the programme.
The HAF programme has proven a great success, with growing numbers of children and young people attending, and increasingly more activity providers registering to be part of the delivery.
It’s fully funded by the DfE, and they set the criteria for those attending and the aims of the programme.
Nationally, the aim is to provide activities, including a nutritional meal, during the school holidays to young people, aged five to 16 who are eligible for benefit-related Free School Meals (FSM).
That means, it’s a condition of their funding that places are allocated to children and young people who are eligible for FSM first.
Beyond that, we have taken a decision locally to use an extended criterion.
If there are any places available after allocation to children who are eligible for FSM, and if there is still sufficient DfE funding to do so, places can be offered to parents and carers of children and young people with Educational Health and Care Plans, (EHCPs); children in care, or who have been in care; and young carers.
We are very happy for places to be given to children and young people who meet the extended criteria, but in the first instance, we have to prioritise the allocation of places to those who are eligible for benefit-related FSM.
If your child is eligible for benefits-related FSMs, then they can book places on our HAF programme when activities become available. Parents and carers will have been sent a code by their school which is unique to their child and can be used for the Easter, Summer and Christmas offers for 2024 to book a place.
If your child is not eligible for benefits-related FSMs, but has an EHCP, or is (or has been) in care, or is a young carer, then they can be considered for a funded extended criteria place on activities if places are still available after children eligible for FSM have been allocated places.
If you are a parent or carer of a child who meets the extended criteria, please contact your preferred provider and let them know that you are asking for an extended criteria place and explain the category so we can ensure that the funding is allocated. Our HAF providers will hold a waiting list for these places and allocate them a week before the holiday period starts.