An introduction to HAF
Funded by the Department for Education, the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme has been delivered in Brighton & Hove since 2021.
During the school Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays, HAF provides free enriching activities and a meal. HAF is for school-aged children and young people in Reception to Year 11, who receive benefits-related free school meals.
Watch our film from a Brighton Table Tennis Club HAF holiday camp to get an idea of what HAF has to offer.
Aims of the programme
There are many benefits for children who attend the HAF programme including:
- receiving healthy and nutritious meals
- maintaining a healthy level of physical activity
- being happy, having fun and meeting new friends
- developing a greater understanding of food, nutrition, and other health-related issues
- taking part in fun and engaging activities that support their development
- feeling safe and secure
- getting access to the right support services
- returning to school feeling engaged and ready to learn
Families also benefit when HAF providers include their needs. They do this when they plan and deliver their programme through:
- providing opportunities to get involved in cookery classes
- signposting them to other sources of information and support, like health services or employment and education opportunities
Thank you to all the providers of the HAF programme in 2023
We'd like to thank the providers who supported children and young people as part of the HAF programme in 2023.
The providers were:
- Activ8 for Kids
- Active for Life
- B Starz Academy
- Barracudas
- Bigfoot Arts Education South
- Black and Minority Ethnic Young People's Project (BMEYPP)
- Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation (previously Albion in the Community)
- Brighton & Hove City Council – HAF and SEND Short Breaks teams
- Brighton & Hove Food Partnership
- Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA)
- Brighton Table Tennis Club
- Brunswick Buddies
- Chomp - One Church
- Create Music
- Downs Junior School
- Drama Kids Sussex (previously Helen O’Grady Drama Academy)
- Educraft
- Elm Grove Out of School Hours Club (The Terriers)
- Extratime
- Footsteps Childcare Ltd.
- Honeycroft
- Impact Initiatives
- Junior Adventure Group
- Music Action International
- Pioneer Childcare
- Play at Carden
- Russell Martin Foundation
- SportsCool Brighton
- Starfish Kids Club
- Stay and Play
- Streetfunk
- Summer Adventure Camps
- Sussex Kids Hub
- Thirdspace Youth Theatre
- Vincent Dance Theatre
Brighton & Hove HAF 2023 programme in numbers
Number of HAF providers: 35
Number of HAF programmes: 120
Number of HAF places (sessions) attended: 13,587
Number of unique participants who:
- were receiving benefits-related free school meals: 1,672
- attended under discretionary criteria: 93
- reported special educational needs or disabilities: 435 (24.6%)
Percentage of school-aged children receiving benefits-related free school meals who attended HAF: 23.35%
Proportion of primary aged HAF participants: 83.46%
Proportion of secondary aged HAF participants: 16.54%
The number of people that attended HAF in each holiday period
Easter 2021: 263
Summer 2021: 576
Winter 2021: 336
Easter 2022: 545
Summer 2022: 1084
Winter 2022: 594
Easter 2023: 741
Summer 2023: 1182
Winter 2023: 661
Easter 2024: 938
Brighton & Hove HAF financial overview
Total HAF grant allocation in 2023 to 2024: £771,500.00
HAF programme expenditure in 2023 to 2024: £665,866.35
Funding received from the Department for Education for 2023 to 2024: £747,594.00
HAF expenditure 2023 to 2024
The pie chart below shows the proportion of HAF expenditure in 2023 to 2024. The administrative costs were £81,727.65 and the programme costs £665,866.35.
Breakdown of administrative costs
The general salaries for one programme manager and one administrator (Basic Pay, NI, Pensions) were £79,170.27
This table shows a breakdown of other expenditures from the 2023 to 2024 HAF programme ledger.
| Expenditure | Amount |
|---|---|
| DBS police check fees | £43.00 |
| Staff training | £321.00 |
| Train travel | £76.00 |
| Buses, public transport | £153.55 |
| Parking costs | £170.00 |
| Mobile phones | £168.00 |
| Computers | £9.38 |
| Purchasing card | £15.00 |
| Internal printing costs | £456.35 |
| Occupational health charge | £59.60 |
| Graphic design | £1,085.50 |
Highlights of HAF 2023
Though 4.5% fewer places were attended in 2023 than the previous year, we saw a wider breadth of provision and a 6% increase in unique participants who were in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in attendance.
With a focus on developing the offer for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), 24.6% of attendees declared SEND.
Brighton & Hove’s HAF offer provided many unique and memorable experiences, with numerous highlights:
- The Healthy Snack Taste Test was rolled out as an expectation of delivery by all HAF providers. This saw HAF participants trying and comparing fruit, vegetables, and healthier snack options. Providers reported that they had seen children and young people more willing to try new foods or overcome perceived dislikes. Many providers have now built this into regular activity across more sites.
- Brighton Table Tennis Club recognised the value of the food element when delivering HAF, which has now resulted in them including meals to their after-school delivery for targeted children from local primary schools.
- ThirdSpace Youth Theatre delivered drama workshops at Brighton Dome’s newly refurbished Corn Exchange, with a behind the scenes tour of The Little Match Girl.
- A Winter HAF SEND day for families was delivered, as a partnership event between the council’s SEND Short Breaks and HAF teams, with a range of SEND specialist sports providers supporting delivery. Many of the adults who were able to attend the day arrived visibly stressed with the added pressure of the festive season but left much calmer having enjoyed their day as a family in a supported environment. Having talked to the families, they were all full of praise and gratitude. Many stated that the day had exceeded their expectations, and they were overwhelmed at how lovely everyone had been. The day clearly had made a difference to families and children.
What families said about HAF 2023
Family consultations were undertaken after each holiday period by means of an online survey. In total we had 782 responses to the survey.
94.8% of families said they would recommend HAF to other families with eligible children.
We know that HAF benefits families in different ways, when asked families expressed where they perceived value:
- 62% said it provided their child with food
- 79% said it provided something for the child to do during the holidays
- 57% said it provided enriching activity
- 57% said it helped their child/children to make or be with friends
- 47% said it supported the child’s personal development
- 36% said it allowed adults to attend work
- 37% said it provided respite to family
Specific testimonials received from parents and carers included:
“My grandson had never done HAF before and so I booked him on different schemes each day to see what might work best for him. They were all FABULOUS!”
“I would like to thank you for the opportunity that my little family have. It allowed me to work and my daughter had opportunity to meet new friends and it gave her experience of having fun with the other kids of different age. I'm happy that my daughter was satisfied and she already ask if we can take part in another holiday, as she will be able to have good contact with other children and not be bored anymore”
“I was very grateful to have been able to book these activities for my daughter, I hadn't long started my new job so this really helped out.”
“We love the HAF programmes and especially the Cooking Classes. These classes are a lifeline in the holidays.”
“Wonderful programme that has allowed for my child to learn new skills and experience things we might not otherwise have had the chance to. Staff are non-judgemental and all seem to really care for and have a passion for the job they do. Thank you to everyone involved and we hope to take part again!”
“I think it's amazing that my kids get to do the clubs because without the help I would not be able to pay for my kids to go. So thank you.”
“It was the first time going to HAF and both my children had such a lovely time (they were both sad when I picked them up as they wanted to have more days!) excellent couldn’t recommend more!”
“Both my children have enjoyed all HAF sessions they’ve attended and always come home with great and positive things to say about what they’ve been doing at the club. They are always happy to attend and make new friends, they especially love the crafts!”
“Always brilliant and an absolute lifesaver as a single parent to a challenging adopted child so I can work and get much needed respite.”
“Am very grateful this is provided, as my son will not socialise with peers out of school unless he is at a club.”
Additional support provided for the whole family
All families accessing HAF were signposted and referred to other support services available across the city via the Family Hubs. You can find more guidance and support for families on the Family Service Directory.
Families were also offered cookery workshops with their children. These were delivered by Brighton & Hove Food Partnership at their Community Kitchen.
They included topics such as:
- healthy packed lunches
- low and no energy cooking
- cooking on a low budget
Families also had the option of attending lunch clubs with Chomp. They offered activities, support, and food to the whole family.
At the Winter HAF SEND day for families everyone enjoyed a scrumptious Christmas lunch and left with a food and activity hamper.
Developing the HAF offer
In 2023, the following groups attended our steering group:
- Early Years and Childcare
- Ethnic Minority Achievement Service
- Family Hubs
- Free School Meals team
- Public Health
- SEND Short Breaks
We carried out further targeted consultation with:
- Parent Carers’ Council (PaCC)
- Youth Services
- HAF providers
- Families accessing HAF
HAF was represented on citywide strategic working groups including:
- Education Disadvantage Strategy 2020 to 2026 – part of a working group
- Brighton & Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019 to 2030 – part of Whole Systems Healthy Weight working group
- Brighton & Hove City Council’s new Sport and Physical Activity Strategy – part of Active Children and Young People’s Alliance working group
- Anti-Poverty Working Group
To improve the offer for children with SEND, the HAF team consulted on the development of a new SEND Short Breaks offer in 2023.
The programmes have been aligned, to attract more providers to apply for funds to deliver under both programmes and to improve the user experience for those aged 5 to 25 with SEND.
In 2024, we aim to:
- support HAF providers to meet the training needs of their staff, to create sustainable outcomes in the quality of provision for all children and young people
- continue to focus on developing the offer for those with SEND
- review and offer support to improve the physical activity element of all providers
- maximise bookings and reduce non-attendance, to further strengthen the programme’s value for money.