Summary

During 2024 to 2025 we have provided:

This year, we have continued to deliver a successful and inclusive HAF programme, working with a wide range of providers to offer enriching, nutritious and engaging holiday experiences for children and young people.

We have worked with a diverse group of providers, including:

• sports clubs
• creative arts organisations
• schools
• theatre groups
• special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specific clubs

These partners helped us deliver a wide range of sessions, such as:

• football
• kayaking
• theatre
• dance
• cooking
• sensory play

Key strategies and themes for 2024 to 2025 included:

• providing more activities for secondary age children
• improving access for children with SEND
• promoting healthy eating and physical activity
• encouraging children to join in with new and unfamiliar activities

We are proud of the progress made this year and continue to build on our learning to improve the programme for the future.

Artemis Studios was amazing - they went above and beyond. Very impressed.

All 3 boys were able to do tennis. All really enjoyed doing this group. Would definitely do again.

Both boys enjoyed this club. This club was chosen to help with my child's anxiety, as 6 weeks is a long time away from school, and the club was held at their school, so it was a double bonus. Without HAF, I wouldn't have been able to get my boys into this club as I wouldn't have been able to afford it.

Both of my kids enjoyed the tennis club, and they want to do it more in the future.

My son really enjoys this club every year, especially as the parent can do it also!

My boys have enjoyed Sports Football Camp very much. But the hit has been the Junior Adventure Group camp in the leisure centre. It's been enjoyable with its various activities, but I have to say the staff has played a big role - my kids are simply loving them. I have to agree with them - the staff members are so lovely and welcoming. Hope this feedback will reach them too, as it is well deserved!

My daughter has loved attending The Wayz. It's a fantastic social group. Going to Aldershot Lido was definitely her favourite.

My son overcame his anxiety about attending HAF this year and really enjoyed StepUp Sports Multi-Activity Sports. A good range of games and activities, including a bit of non-sport like den building, which I think is just as important. Well done StepUp Sports and Wayne for his communications.

So, so grateful for HAF - it really helps us across the holidays. Golfplex has been a highlight of my son's holidays, trying new things that we wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. And he absolutely loves going to The Den & Edgbarrow Football Camp. Thanks so much, BFC!

FUNTASTICS are wonderful as always - my younger one has been going for many years.

Food

All food provided through our HAF programme meets school food standards. We stay in regular contact with our providers and carry out drop-in visits to make sure they have the right facilities to prepare meals and offer children a safe and comfortable place to eat.

To make sure we are meeting the dietary needs of all children, we ask providers to cater for:

• allergies
• intolerances
• cultural requirements
• religious requirements
• specific dietary needs

We support them in having inclusive menus and check in regularly with families to make sure everything is working well. 

Some of our clubs, especially those outdoors, work with local food businesses to prepare meals. These are then delivered to the clubs. Others have their own kitchen facilities and cook hot meals on site. Some clubs also provide more than one meal a day without charging families extra (usually breakfast and lunch).

Most clubs offer healthy snacks like fruit and vegetables throughout the day. We encourage all providers to follow healthy packed lunch guidelines. For shorter sessions, children are given a snack bag instead of a full meal. Snack bags usually include things like:

• fruit
• air popped popcorn
• dried fruit
• low-sugar yoghurt

During the Easter holidays, we supported the “Eat Them to Defeat Them” campaign. This is a scheme used in schools to promote eating fruits and vegetables. We gave clubs resources like posters, stickers and reward charts to help promote healthy eating in a fun and engaging way. This campaign is already familiar to many children through school and continuing it during the holidays helps reinforce healthy habits.

To help reduce the number of crisps being handed out, we bought air popped popcorn machines for every club. This has been very successful. Popcorn is healthier and is cheaper to provide than crisps, making it beneficial for everyone.

Some clubs also ran food tasting sessions, which were a big hit with the children. They really enjoyed trying new foods and it gave them the chance to explore different food in a relaxed and fun setting.

Enriching activities

We work with a variety of clubs across the borough, offering a wide range of activities. Some of our clubs include:

• football camps
• tennis coaching
• drama and performance based workshops
• arts and crafts
• creative sessions
• general holiday clubs that combine enrichment and getting active

Our aim is to offer something for everyone. By providing a range of activities, we can meet the interests and needs of our children and young people so they can all access something they enjoy and benefit from.

Each activity supports children’s development in different ways. We help build confidence through performing arts, encourage teamwork through sport and develop fine motor skills through creative projects. The programme helps children grow in confidence, resilience and self esteem.

Many of the opportunities available through HAF might not have been accessible to families without this support. This includes activities like:

• golf
• water sports
• theatre
• dance

Parents commented:

Golfplex - great venue. A superb introduction to golf. The staff were really friendly and made us feel very welcome. The kids even got a brief golf lesson. It was the first time they'd tried golf, and they are keen to play some more.

My son enjoyed attending the HAF programme. As I'm a single parent, it can sometimes be difficult financially, but he got to explore new activities because of the programme.

By removing financial and practical barriers, we help children try new things, find new interests and build valuable life skills in a safe and supportive environment.

Physical activities

Physical activity is a core part of our HAF programme, and our clubs provide at least one hour of physical activity each day. In practice, most clubs go well beyond this, especially those that are focused on sports.

We offer a wide range of activities to suit different interests, abilities and confidence levels. Sports clubs include:

• football
• basketball
• multisport
• golf

Sports sessions are led by qualified coaches who adapt activities to meet the needs of all children. This means they are inclusive, engaging and fun. Coaches talk to children about the importance of staying active and eating well, teaching about keeping a healthy lifestyle.

Other physical activities offered across the programme included:

• theatre
• dance
• cheerleading
• gymnastics
• swimming
• playground games
• climbing
• archery
• cricket
• table tennis
• trampolining
• go-karting
• ice skating

This variety ensures that every child can find something they enjoy and feel confident doing.

A standout success this year was the introduction of a new water-based sports provider, Horseshoe Lake. They did group sessions in kayaking, paddleboarding and canoeing, with full inductions and supervision. These sessions gave many children the chance to try something completely new in a safe and supportive environment. One parent commented:

Horseshoe Lake was very well organised. The kids were thrilled to do paddleboarding and kayaking for the first time. It really boosted their confidence, and they are still raving about it.

Our theatre clubs also include physical elements such as dance, cheerleading and themed performances. These help to keep children active but also help build coordination, confidence and teamwork in a creative and inclusive setting.

Sports clubs are the most popular, with the highest number of bookings and attendance rates. Feedback from families has been overwhelmingly positive, with 86 per cent reporting that their children were more active after the holidays.

By offering a broad and inclusive range of physical activities, we aim to ensure that every child has the chance to stay active, try something new and build healthy habits that last beyond the school holidays. Parents commented:

Kids absolutely love this club (Junior Adventure Group). Different activities daily, which my children like. They love the team that they work with—always the same team, which my children like as they have additional needs. We have been going for the last three holidays. Hope to continue in the future if HAF stays around.

My child loves the football camp and has asked to return next time. The staff are great—always happy and enthusiastic.

Nutrition and healthy living

Nutritional education is a key part of our HAF programme. We work closely with providers to make sure healthy eating is promoted in fun and engaging ways.

All clubs are encouraged to include food based activities like cooking and baking, with a focus on preparing healthy meals and snacks. These hands on sessions help children learn about food in a practical and enjoyable way. Our public health team also played an active role by providing clubs and families with useful resources, including:

• information on healthy packed lunches
• the Eatwell plate
• 12 week weight loss plans

They also visited some providers to run fun, interactive sessions with the children, including quizzes and games about healthy eating and lifestyle choices.

To support providers and families, we shared links to online resources about healthy eating, school food standards and HAF recipes. These were made available to help families make informed choices and support healthy eating at home.

We hold regular meetings with providers where we place a strong emphasis on nutritional education and promoting healthy living. These sessions help make sure that clubs are confident in delivering food activities that meet the needs of the children and align with national standards.

As a result of these efforts, we have seen children become more confident in trying new foods and more aware of what makes a healthy meal. Families have also told us they feel more informed about nutrition and food budgeting. We’ve noticed a positive shift in attitudes towards healthy eating over the course of the programme.

SEND

We are committed to making the HAF programme inclusive and accessible for all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

After feedback from families and providers, we funded 3 SEND specific providers to deliver tailored HAF provision for children with more complex needs. This funding let us have higher staff-to-child ratios. This made sure children received the support they needed in a safe and nurturing environment.

One of these provisions was delivered by a mainstream school, using staff from their dedicated SEND special resource provision. This gave children access to familiar, supportive staff in a setting designed to meet their needs. We also partnered with a theatre group experienced in working with children with SEND. Their sessions included:

• sensory activities
• music
• singing
• theatre based work

The group is staffed by adults with SEND, offering a positive and relatable experience for the children and young people attending.

We also encouraged an established dance club for children with SEND to join the HAF programme. This group offers musical dance sessions and provides a high staff ratio. This makes sure each child receives the attention and support they need.

Our SEND providers offer opportunities for children with complex and non-complex needs to enjoy the fun and benefits of the HAF programme. We found that increasing the number of places in SEND specific clubs helped reduce the number of one-to-one support requests in mainstream settings. This suggests that children were accessing provision better suited to their needs.

These examples highlight the importance of offering a range of tailored and inclusive options within the HAF programme. We want to make sure that every child can take part, feel supported and enjoy their holidays. Some parents shared:

My children both have additional needs and they both get nervous in new situations. But they absolutely loved it and couldn’t wait to go back. I felt so happy that they both felt so welcome and absolutely loved it.

Both my children love attending holiday club. Especially my son who has ASD - he feels very safe and supported at club.

Vikki from Golfplex was incredible at adapting the HAF provision for my ASD daughter.

Key challenges

One of the ongoing challenges for our HAF programme has been getting support from larger local companies and organisations.

While we have strong engagement from our providers and clubs, it is more difficult to get support from larger businesses, food distributors, sports venues and football clubs. Many of them have already committed to support other causes or charities. This means we often get no response or a polite decline when we reach out.

This may be partly due to the size of our local authority. We do not have major sports clubs or large companies that might see a promotional benefit in supporting the HAF programme. Despite regular outreach and requests for support, we have had little success in this area.

Another challenge has been handing expectations from families. While we give clear information on our website, send regular email updates and offer opportunities for parents to speak directly with the HAF officer during school visits, there are still misunderstandings about what we offer.

For example, we receive requests for term time swimming lessons or clubs that do not exist locally. Some parents expect to be able to book sessions every day of the holidays, even when availability is made clear.

We have made a conscious effort to expand our offer for secondary age children by increasing the variety of activities and creating more spaces for them. However, engagement from this age group remains a challenge. We continue to explore new ways to make the programme more appealing and accessible to them.

Despite these challenges, we are committed to improving the programme and ensuring it continues to meet the needs of our local families.

Marketing and communication

We use a range of communication channels to promote the HAF programme. These include:

• a dedicated HAF page on the council website
• emailing parents and carers who are registered with us before each holiday period with reminders about go-live dates and bookings through our HAF booking system, Eequ
• distributing flyers and posters across the borough in community spaces, schools and public venues
• working with schools to promote HAF through their newsletters and direct communication with families
• requesting providers include information about HAF and their engagement when advertising their clubs
• making sure all child related departments in the council know about HAF and the booking dates

In addition, we promote HAF through council communication channels. This includes:

• parents’ newsletters
• our school traded services platform (Can-Do)
• council newsletters
• official social media accounts

This multi channel approach helps us reach a broad audience and makes sure that families have access to clear, timely and consistent information about the HAF programme.

Other resources

We work in partnership with the council’s early help team to support children and families who are not eligible for HAF but are identified as vulnerable and in need.

Through this collaboration, we can offer them access to places at holiday clubs. This makes sure they receive the care, enrichment, and support they deserve during the school holidays.  We also work with our short breaks co-ordinator and have joint funded support for children as required.

More information

The HAF programme has been a tremendous success, making a meaningful difference for all the families who have taken part in the service. We have received many messages of appreciation from parents and carers who have shared how valuable the programme has been. It has helped to support their children’s wellbeing, development, and enjoyment during the school holidays.

During visits to the clubs, the joy, excitement, and engagement of the children involved has been evident. They are not only having fun but also gaining important experiences that support their social, emotional, and physical development.

These positive outcomes are the result of a collective effort from all involved. This includes the HAF co-ordinator, the council as a whole, the dedicated providers who delivered high quality activities and the strong existing foundation provided by the HAF programme.

HAF has become a key part of our community. It offers a safe, inclusive, and enriching environment for children while giving parents peace of mind and practical support during the holidays. It plays a key role in helping families, particularly those facing financial or social challenges.

Given the overwhelmingly positive feedback and the clear benefits observed, it is crucial that the HAF programme continues. Ongoing support and funding will make sure that families across our community can keep accessing this valuable resource. This will help to build stronger, healthier, and more connected communities for the future.

Funding

We received funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to support the delivery of the programme across Easter, summer and winter holidays. This funding was used to cover the cost of:

• activities
• food provision
• staffing
• venue hire
• targeted support for children with SEND

A portion of the funding was also allocated to administration, marketing and programme coordination.

The HAF programme had an overall spend £258,830. This was made up of:

• programme expenditure £227,423 (87.87%)
• staff cost £24,459 (9.45%)
• publicity £1,050 (0.41%)
• software £3,882 (1.5%)
• resources £2,014 (0.78%)