The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children and young people from low-income families aged 5-16 years, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning, outside of term time.
Eligible children and young people in receipt of free school meals will be able to attend funded holiday activities, providing healthy food, fun and sports, during the school holidays. If a child is eligible, they should receive a unique HAF registration code.
The programme, though aimed at children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them, local authorities are encouraged to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits related free school meals but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF.
Households subject to ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) who are eligible to receive free meals are also eligible for HAF. NRPF is an immigration condition that restricts access to government support, including passported benefits.
Since 2022, the HAF programme has provided 11.3 million HAF days to children and young people in this country. Across 2023, a total of 5.3 million HAF days were provided during Easter, summer, and winter delivery.
Based on reporting from local authorities, over Summer 2023, 680,000 children and young people attended the holiday activities and food programme. Of these participating children, over 560,000 were funded directly by the HAF programme and over 460,000 were receiving benefits-related free school meals. The reports showed that over 10,000 clubs, events or organised activities operated across the country over the summer.
A 3 year funding settlement of over £200 million each year for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme was announced in October 2021.
Devolved to the administrative nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
The programme is funded by Government and run by local authorities. Local authorities are informed of their funding allocations and work with the department to prepare their delivery arrangements. Some may coordinate delivery themselves, and others may choose to work with another organisation to coordinate the provision on their behalf.
Local authorities are responsible for gathering management information from the providers and clubs they fund about the children and families they are supporting. They collect data following each holiday period (Easter, summer, and Christmas) where local authorities report on their activity.
Evaluation of the 2021 holiday activities and food programme
- Almost three quarters of a million children (730,000) took part, of whom 616,000 children had their places directly funded by HAF and 498,000 were eligible for free school meals.
- Data from families shows children attended for an average of 9.6 days over the summer holidays, and that 70% of these children had not previously attended a free summer holiday club.
- Children who attended HAF were considerably more likely to report having taken part in outdoor sport and exercise (79% compared to 53% in a normal holiday week), and indoor sport and exercise (64% compared to 28%). Overall, 92% of HAF children reported engaging in 30 minutes or more of activity per day compared to 87% of children who did 7 not attend HAF, and 77% of HAF children reported taking part in at least 60 minutes of activity compared 67% of children who did not attend HAF.
- Family survey analysis provided evidence that children were becoming more socially connected through taking part in HAF.
- More than nine clubs in ten (93%) stated that they provided at least one healthy meal (meeting the School Food Standard) every club day.
- Overall, family survey results show that HAF parents/carers received more information on most types of support (e.g., childcare services, health services) than those whose children did not attend HAF.
- Around a quarter of employed parents/carers whose children attended HAF said that childcare enabled them to keep working the same hours (26%) or to stay in work (25%). For just under a fifth (18%) childcare meant that they were able to work more hours per week, with 14% saying it enabled them to change the shifts they worked to fit better with looking after children.
Key learnings:
- Provide local authorities and providers with earlier notice and planning time.
- Facilitate closer collaboration between local authorities, schools, and social services for better marketing.
- Adapt eligibility criteria with caution to balance increased demand.
- Maintain core standards while allowing flexibility in activity types and duration.
- Strengthen referral links and encourage repeat attendance.
- Encourage early sustainability planning, assuming future large-scale funding may not continue..
- Promote peer-to-peer learning and experience sharing among providers.
SDG 1 – No poverty
- Target 1.1 - By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day
- Indicator 1.1.1 - Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)
- Target 1.3 - Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
- Indicator 1.3.1 - Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable
- Target 1.b - Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions
- Indicator 1.b.1 - Pro-poor public social spending
SDG 2 - Zero hunger
- Target 2.1 - By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
- Indicator 2.1.1 - Prevalence of undernourishment
- Indicator 2.1.2 - Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
- Target 2.2 - By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
- Indicator 2.2.1 - Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
- Indicator 2.2.2 - Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight
SDG 1 – No poverty
- Target 1.1 – By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day
- Indicator 1.1.1 – Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)
- Target 1.3 – Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
- Indicator 1.3.1 – Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable
- Target 1.b – Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions
- Indicator 1.b.1 – Pro-poor public social spending
SDG 2 – Zero hunger
- Target 2.1 – By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
- Indicator 2.1.1 – Prevalence of undernourishment
- Indicator 2.1.2 – Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
- Target 2.2 – By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
- Indicator 2.2.1 – Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
- Indicator 2.2.2 – Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children and young people from low-income families aged 5-16 years, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning, outside of term time.
Eligible children and young people in receipt of free school meals will be able to attend funded holiday activities, providing healthy food, fun and sports, during the school holidays. If a child is eligible, they should receive a unique HAF registration code.
The programme, though aimed at children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them, local authorities are encouraged to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits related free school meals but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF.
Households subject to ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) who are eligible to receive free meals are also eligible for HAF. NRPF is an immigration condition that restricts access to government support, including passported benefits.
Key learnings:
- Provide local authorities and providers with earlier notice and planning time.
- Facilitate closer collaboration between local authorities, schools, and social services for better marketing.
- Adapt eligibility criteria with caution to balance increased demand.
- Maintain core standards while allowing flexibility in activity types and duration.
- Strengthen referral links and encourage repeat attendance.
- Encourage early sustainability planning, assuming future large-scale funding may not continue..
- Promote peer-to-peer learning and experience sharing among providers.
Integrated programmes for human capital development, including health and education and early childhood development
Department for Education (England)
Education Authority Northern Ireland
Devolved to the administrative nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
The programme is funded by Government and run by local authorities. Local authorities are informed of their funding allocations and work with the department to prepare their delivery arrangements. Some may coordinate delivery themselves, and others may choose to work with another organisation to coordinate the provision on their behalf.
Since 2022, the HAF programme has provided 11.3 million HAF days to children and young people in this country. Across 2023, a total of 5.3 million HAF days were provided during Easter, summer, and winter delivery.
Based on reporting from local authorities, over Summer 2023, 680,000 children and young people attended the holiday activities and food programme. Of these participating children, over 560,000 were funded directly by the HAF programme and over 460,000 were receiving benefits-related free school meals. The reports showed that over 10,000 clubs, events or organised activities operated across the country over the summer.
A 3 year funding settlement of over £200 million each year for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme was announced in October 2021.
Local authorities are responsible for gathering management information from the providers and clubs they fund about the children and families they are supporting. They collect data following each holiday period (Easter, summer, and Christmas) where local authorities report on their activity.