HAF Camps
The Holiday Activity and Food Camp programme provides support to children in receipt of free school meals through holiday periods.
The HAF programme is a response to this issue, with evidence showing that free holiday clubs can have a positive impact on children and young people
Research has shown that the school holidays can be pressure points for some families. For some children this can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from low-income households being:
- Less likely to access organised out-of-school activities
- More likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health
- More likely to experience social isolation
Who is the Programme for?
This holiday provision is for school aged children from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits-related free school meals.
Benefits-related free school meals (FSM) are available to pupils if their parents are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits, and have a claim verified by their school or local authority.
Further information on eligibility for free school meals is available.
Local authorities are asked to ensure that the offer of free holiday club provision is available for all children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in their area, though this does not mean we expect all to attend as the provision is voluntary.
We also encourage local authorities to make the holiday clubs available to any children not receiving free school meals who can pay to attend.
