Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme summary

At the end of last year, the Department for Education (DfE) announced that the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme will be expanded across the whole of England in 2021. Funding is being provided to local authorities to co-ordinate a programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children during the 2021 summer and Christmas school holidays.

School holidays can be particular pressure points for some families because of increased costs (such as food and childcare) and reduced incomes. For some children that can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from disadvantaged families:

• 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

Croydon Council is seeking to work in collaboration with a wide network of partners who can deliver high quality holiday club provision in the 2021 summer and Christmas school holidays. All children in Croydon who receive benefits related Free School Meals will be eligible to take part in the HAF programme. 

Update for applicants – 10 September 2021

We are pleased to announce that we are re-opening applications for the Christmas Holidays 2021 covering the period between 20th December and 2nd January. The application period will remain open until 15th October and we aim to communicate the results by 5th November,

• For providers who have already submitted an application, you do not need to do anything further (unless you wish to change your application).
• For providers who have only submitted a summer bid, please update your current application form with the details for the new club & budget
• (Please use track changes or another identifiable way for us to quickly see what amendments have been made)
• For new providers, please find below an application form to complete and submit to HAFprogramme@croydon.gov.uk

Following on from feedback please find below a few clarification to keep in mind:

• As with the summer provision, we are looking to have a large spread of clubs across all ages and across the whole borough, as such we actively encourage clubs for older teenagers and those in the South of the borough.
• Clubs need to run for at least 4 days over the Christmas period to be eligible for funding.
• During the delivery period, for clubs at risk of overspending, please contact us before doing so as we will not be agreeing additional funding retrospectively.”  

Support

If you have any questions or queries please contact HAFprogramme@croydon.gov.uk

For more details regarding the Holiday Activity and Food Programme, please Visit the  DFE guidance webpage.