Information for providers
The Department for Education (DfE) funded Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme aims to support children to eat more healthily, be more active over the school holidays and have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition as well as be more engaged with school and other local services.
Further detail about what the HAF programme is and why it was created can be found here. Information for providers about the HAF programme is set out below.
Providers for HAF 2024
Please note that applications for summer and winter 2024 are currently closed. Thank you all for submitting your interest.
HAF standards framework
The standards we expect for providers of the Holiday and Activity Food programme are available here.
Providers should also read the full guidance set out on the government website.
Who is this programme for?
Funding will be prioritised for school aged children and young people from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who are receiving benefit related free school meals, and their families. Eligible children will be sent a code to use for booking your HAF place from your school.
HAF providers will hold a waiting list for extended criteria places and will not be able to confirm a place until a week before the Holiday period. Priority must be given to the benefit-related free school meal children.
Parents will give you their code to book their child’s place.
Extended criteria
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 (now closed), 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 criteria.
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.
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An optional 15% of the funding can be used to subsidise places for children who are not in receipt of benefit related free school meals but match the following criteria:
- Children in care
- Children previously looked after
- Children with EHCP
- Young Carers
Parents will request a place using the above criteria, and you will allocate a code for your registers and returns.
Paid-for places
A number of HAF providers have registered with Ofsted and will offer paid-for places as well as HAF-funded places. Please promote this link with parents and carers to see what government help is available for them: Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK
What activities are eligible for funding and who can get involved?
There are lots of different activities that are eligible for the funding. For example:
- A selection of sports (including rugby, football, netball)
- Forest school/outdoor activities such as den building, cooking on an open fire
- Arts and crafts
- Music, drama and dance
- Scooting and skateboarding
- Orienteering and out-ward bound activities
- Cooking classes and activities
- Food boxes and activity boxes
Similarly, a range of providers can sign up to deliver these activities. The following are some examples of the types of providers that can get involved with the HAF programme:
- Childminders
- Schools (infant, junior and secondary)
- Food providers and hospitality services
- Forest schools
- Early Years (nurseries, pre-schools)
- Special Needs providers
- Youth groups
- Sports Clubs
- Farms
- Youth hostels and out-ward bound providers
Contact information
If you have any queries, please email haf@devon.gov.uk.