Questions and answers

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme was rolled out nationally in 2021. The government funds the programme, but local authorities manage it. Its purpose is to provide free holiday clubs for eligible children.

HAF clubs offer fun, enriching activities and healthy meals. They operate during the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. They do not run during half-term breaks.

Your questions answered

How can I become a provider

When you have read through these Q&As, complete the online Expression of Interest form. Please note that the application window for all three holidays is in January. Contact the HAF team to confirm when the next application window will open and close.

Is there flexibility on dates?

Yes. We will not tell you which dates you must operate on. Let us know the dates that work best for you. The local authority must offer 4 hours of provision a day for a prescribed number of weeks. Covering this is a collective effort. Dates will vary between organisations. We understand that not all provision can be available throughout the holiday.

We do not offer food. Can we still apply to be a provider?

Yes. If you cannot provide food, state this in your application. Providers can work together to meet HAF's funding criteria on food. We can suggest food partners you could work with.

What are the expectations around the food offer?

Food must meet the Government's school food standards. Clubs should adapt meals as needed to meet the dietary needs of the children and families. We envisage that most of the food served would be hot, but you can adapt to the situation. For example, cold packed lunches would be appropriate for outdoor venues or day trips. Most HAF providers will register as food businesses. Registration is with your local district or borough council.

What are the nutritional education requirements?

Clubs must teach children about healthy eating, but this doesn't need to happen through formal learning activities. You could get children involved in food prep, cooking, or taste tests. Clubs could also offer sessions for parents and families. These could discuss sourcing, preparing, and cooking nutritious, low-cost food.

How will you co-ordinate the areas?

Using free school meal (FSM) data, we have produced data maps to show where the highest areas of need are. If we receive various expressions of interest in one area, we look at several options. Sometimes we unite partners who complement each other. Or we may ask an applicant to consider a different area. If your provision is not tied to a location and you could move, please say so on your application.

How do you decide on the number of participants?

We welcome applications that state how many participants they can accept. The programme aims to reach as many children and families as it can, within the available funding.

What is your stance on costs?

We do not set out unit costs for provision. Given the range of provision we’ve funded, it's not possible to give a specific price per head. We need some flexibility in this regard. On your application, please include an estimate for the number of children you can reach and the cost. Once all the expressions of interest are in, we can assess costs.

What is the age range?

The funding is for school-aged children, from reception to year 11 (inclusive).

Must children attend for four hours in a day?

As a local authority, we must provide at least 4 hours of HAF provision a day during the prescribed weeks. 4 hours is the preferred length for a HAF session, but we can be flexible about the length of individual sessions.

Should we allow children unlimited participation? Or set a limit on the number of hours they can book?

Participating children should be able to access every session if they want to. We know that some will attend daily, and some on a less frequent basis. Some eligible children will not attend as participation is optional.

Why does HAF provision only cover part of the school holidays?

We know that families struggle during the longer holidays, especially in the summer. HAF exists alongside a range of childcare offers, including the Universal Credit childcare scheme and Tax-Free Childcare.

How do families find out about our holiday club?

We promote the HAF provision across various platforms. We encourage you to join in with these efforts and to make use of your own networks. For our part, we ask providers to list their HAF offer on our booking website. We upload these listings to our Organisation page. We then share the link with all East Sussex schools and contact families who have used HAF before. We also send it to our social care colleagues. We publish your listings on the various local authority Facebook groups.

Where can I find out more about becoming a provider?

Please contact the HAF Team if you would like more information.