Warwickshire’s latest Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) review revealed that nearly 5,000 children aged four to 16 had access to free holiday activities.
Warwickshire’s latest Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) review revealed that nearly 5,000 children aged four to 16 had access to free holiday activities co-ordinated by the county council this summer.
The local HAF scheme is part of a national government initiative, funded by the Department for Education, to provide enriching activities and nutritious meals during the end of term school holiday periods. The scheme is open to any young person in full-time education from reception to Year 11 if their families are eligible for benefits-related free school meals. To check eligibility for free school meals and apply visit the Free School Meals website.
The Summer 2023 HAF programme occupancy rate was 95.3 per cent with more than 34,000 bookings, involving 4,631 children. During Summer HAF, eligible young people can attend a maximum of 16 sessions each. For the first time the programme included community events and HAF Family Experiences for children who have an EHCP and 196 families attended.
Some of the activities which took place over the summer feature in the scheme’s promotional video which shows people what HAF is all about and how it makes a difference.
A parent from the Stratford shared their experience, they said: "My son loved the activities; he had the best time at summer camp. He was excited to go every day and seemed really happy there. We noticed a significant improvement in his behaviour and attitude at home while he was attending."
Councillor Sue Markham, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families, added: "The programme supports families with lower incomes, ensuring that young children can participate in activities where they can make new friends, acquire valuable skills, and, most importantly, have fun. This supports our Child Friendly Warwickshire ambitions to help young people be safe, happy and healthy."
Holders of the HAF code can book up to four sessions during winter and spring holiday fortnights and sixteen sessions during the longer summer break. Activity listings for the winter will be available on the HAF website from late November 2023.
The Warwickshire HAF scheme website at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/haf offers a wealth of information about the program and provides easy access to request a HAF code.