Holiday activities and food

Overview

The Department for Education (DfE) has provided grant funding to all local authorities in England, to co-ordinate free holiday provision for children and young people entitled to benefit-related free school meals.

This is known as the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. For information about the programme, visit GOV.UK: Holiday activities and food programme.

South Tyneside Council has received £750,000 and has around 6,700 children and young people that are eligible for support.

The HAF programme has 6 key objectives for children:

To eat more healthily over the school holidays
To be more active during the school holidays
To take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character and wellbeing along with their wider educational attainment
To be safe and not to be socially isolated
To have greater knowledge of health nutrition
To be more engaged with schools and other local services

Applying for HAF funding

The next holiday programme will be Easter 2023 so applications for potential providers will re-open in February.

Bids can include costs for:

Catering (food and staffing)
Premises hire
Activity staffing and sundry
Initial training (the Council can provide First Aid and Safeguarding training free of charge, and food safety training is available free of charge via the Food Standards Agency website)
Any sundry item agreed in advance with the Council which is consistent with the aims of the programme

How to apply

All bids will be considered by a funding panel against criteria based on completion of the application form.

The Council may be able to assist with the provision of catering, but it is not a requirement that you use that service.

If you wish to discuss using the Council's catering provision please contact Bridget McCulla on Bridget.McCulla@southtyneside.gov.uk.

For more information on the HAF programme, or to discuss any future bids, please contact HAF@southtyneside.gov.uk.

If your application is approved / refused

If your application is successful, we will issue a conditional offer.

If everything meets our requirements, we will confirm the offer and ask you to enter into a short grant agreement.

If we fund your project you will need to complete an evaluation, evidencing how the funds were spent and what the impact was (including user-voice).

If your application is not successful, we will also inform you.

HAF funding is the giving of public money so it is important that it is used appropriately. HAF funding will not support projects or activities that cannot prove how they will meet the needs of the those who will benefit.

HAF funding cannot be used to fund:

Projects which are purely research or not focused on direct delivery
Costs of ongoing staff who are not working directly on the project - including salaries of permanent or fixed term staff
Costs of putting the application together
Contingency costs for example, funds to provide a source of income or for fundraising activities
Political or religious activities
Projects that take place outside of South Tyneside
VAT that you can recover
Loans or interest payments
Purchase of alcohol or illegal substances