Holiday Activities and Food Programme

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme

The Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) is a national programme that supports school age children and young people receiving benefits-related (Targeted) free school meals (FSM). Each local authority receives funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the HAF programme which provides eligible children with free access to holiday activities and a meal during the Easter, Summer and Winter school holidays.

HAF aims to improve outcomes for these children by offering healthy food and opportunities to participate in a range of activities during the school holidays and the DfE expect all HAF programmes to offer:

• At least one healthy meal on each day of delivery that meets the School Food Standards.
• Fun and enriching activities that help children develop new skills and try new experiences.
• Physical activities that help children to stay active.
• Healthy eating and healthy lifestyle activities that help children to understand more about the benefits of healthy eating and nutrition.
• Information, signposting or referrals to other services that would benefit children and their families.

HAF in Lincolnshire

The HAF programme in Lincolnshire has been designed to ensure the programme meets the DfE’s programme requirements; providing Lincolnshire children and young people (CYP) eligible for HAF with access to fun and engaging, high-quality provision and healthy and nutritious meals over the main school holiday periods (Easter, Summer and Winter), as well as supporting them to develop a greater understanding of food nutrition.

HAF in Lincolnshire is integrated into the Council’s Early Years and Childcare Support Team, overseen by the Sustainability and Development Manager and coordinated by the Senior Project Officer with support by two HAF Project Officers and the Council’s Children’s Services Strategic Commissioning Team.

HAF is communicated widely to many audiences to ensure that a variety of stakeholders have awareness of the programme. Communication strategies are delivered on for both providers and schools to ensure they have the necessary information to market HAF to eligible parents/carers and to assist with booking onto HAF funded sessions with the view to convert bookings to attendance. Marketing strategies include, utilising internal communication systems, contacting mailing lists, issuing newsletters, sharing HAF flyers and utilising social media to raise awareness of HAF, particularly around key times such as prior to bookings launching and delivery commencing.

Over the HAF 2025-2026 programme, eligible CYP in Lincolnshire have accessed a wide range of different sports and enrichment activities which have included horse riding, golf, cricket, archery, drama, swimming, music, arts and crafts, circus skills, day trips and food and nutrition education activities.

In Lincolnshire, 74 approved HAF providers supported delivery across the 2025–26 programme, delivering 72,666 places for eligible children and young people across 125 venues. Over 65% of these providers are Ofsted registered, contributing to the wider school-age childcare market through a blended model of HAF-funded and fee-paying places. This approach strengthens childcare sufficiency by expanding capacity, improving affordability, and ensuring quality and long-term sustainability. Increasing Ofsted registration has been a focus in 2025-26.

Overall, across all three delivery periods, a total of 346 clubs were delivered (113 at Easter 2025, 129 in Summer 2025, and 104 in Winter 2025).

HAF providers have included schools, early years settings (who provide before and/or after school and/or holiday provision), leisure centres (within the District Councils), voluntary and community sector, sports providers and other third-party providers. A list of the providers who have supported the Council with the delivery of HAF in Lincolnshire can be found in Appendix A.

Majority of providers delivering HAF were existing providers who had supported the delivery of HAF in the 2024-2025 delivery period. The Council has a robust process in place for commissioning providers to support the delivery of HAF which includes:

• HAF Open Select List (OSL) process for third party providers (providers who are not schools or Ofsted registered early years providers) whereby providers had to apply to join the OSL and if approved were then invited to submit a mini-competition response which included their proposed HAF offer. Responses were evaluated against a pre-defined selection criteria.
• Schools and early years settings submit an expression of interest to delivery HAF and the HAF Project Officers discussed their offer with the school or early years setting to ensure this was compliant with the aims and objectives for HAF.

In 2025, the HAF programme welcomed 11 new providers across Lincolnshire, strengthening the diversity and reach of provision. These included SEND-focused providers such as Alt Ed Lincs, Alternative Educational Support Services, Hundleby Equestrian, Little Miracles, and Way of the Horse, alongside secondary-age provision delivered by Everyone Active (West Lindsey), Fields Farm, Hundleby Equestrian, Pilot, Power Play, SHINE Lincs, and Wright Way Sports. This expansion enhanced inclusive and targeted provision, supporting a broader range of children and young people across the programme.

HAF Agreements were in place with all providers external to the Council, operating under a standard funding model. This included £5 per hour, per child or young person (CYP) per day, rising to £10 per hour for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or additional needs. To ensure the provision of a healthy, nutritious meal that meets School Food Standards, providers received an additional £5 per CYP per day for meals and £1 per CYP per day for snacks. Providers were also able to apply for supplementary funding to deliver enhanced enrichment activities (such as trips or visits) or to meet the higher needs of CYP with SEND where core funding was insufficient to cover delivery costs.

All HAF clubs are quality assured on an annual basis which includes safeguarding and welfare checks, if any concerns are identified during the quality assurance next steps are advised and providers are revisited at the next HAF delivery period. The Quality Assurance also offers an opportunity to share best practice and identify any additional training opportunities for providers.

Quality assurance findings show consistently high standards across all areas of HAF delivery, with no providers rated poor. Majority of providers were judged good or excellent, particularly in enriching activities and physical activity (over 98%), while healthy food provision and healthy eating awareness also achieved over 90% positive ratings. Accessibility and inclusiveness were rated highly at 94% good or excellent. Overall, the results reflect a high quality, inclusive programme that supports children and young people’s health, wellbeing, and development.

Training, development and support available for HAF Providers:

• Food Education Team provide support, guidance and training to HAF providers on meeting the School Food Standards, including caterers commissioned by HAF providers to support them in their food delivery.
• A range of both hot and cold meal ideas continue to be shared with HAF providers to support the delivery of healthy meals through the programme.
• Training opportunities are available to HAF Providers to become more knowledgeable and confident in promoting Healthy Lifestyles and Positive Oral Health.
• HAF resources are shared with providers to ensure they are kept up to date with key information and activity resources that can be used during delivery via newsletters, a HAF Provider Pack and via email prior to each delivery period.
• Providers are offered opportunities to upskill during HAF Learn and Share events and connecting with the voluntary sector and engagement in various workshops.
• Providers are also supported on an individual basis with HAF Project Officers assisting via telephone, email, in person and via MS Teams calls to assist with HAF queries.

Further plans are in place for 2026–27 to develop a training catalogue to support providers awareness of the full range of training opportunities available. This will include access to free Inclusive Provision Through Play training and Inclusion Works and Include Me programmes, strengthening providers’ capacity to deliver inclusive and high-quality provision.

HAF booking system

Since 2022, the Council has commissioned a HAF booking system to streamline both the booking process and the monitoring and reporting of HAF uptake. HAF e-vouchers are issued to eligible families by all schools, predominantly through an automated system linked to schools management information systems, unless a school chooses to opt out and issue vouchers manually.

Families can then access the booking system via a link provided on the voucher and use their unique code to book their child(ren) onto available HAF provision. Schools also had the flexibility to allocate vouchers to up to 15% of their FSM cohort where children meet agreed discretionary criteria and are identified as benefiting from HAF.

We have recognised, through feedback from both families and providers, that the current system can be difficult to navigate. Access is restricted to the use of a voucher code, which limits accessibility and prevents professionals from effectively supporting families to identify clubs that best meet their child’s needs.

In response to this feedback, for 2026–2027 we will be procuring a new booking system. This system will be designed to be more accessible and user friendly for all, enabling both families and professionals to more easily find and access appropriate provision.

HAF funding

In the 2025/2026 financial year Lincolnshire County Council received £2,841,580 HAF funding.

Funding was spent as follows:

Included within the face-to-face HAF provision expenditure is the 15% of funding that the Council can use, at its discretion, to support non-FSM children and young people who would benefit from attending HAF. These children and young people are identified by schools or the Council’s Early Help and Social Care teams, in line with agreed discretionary criteria.

Approximately £413,173 was allocated to support non-FSM children and young people, which remained within the 15% tolerance threshold set by the Department for Education.

Key priorities for Lincolnshire and key highlights

Ensuring sufficient levels of HAF provision across Lincolnshire remained a key priority for the Council during 2025–2026 and increasing take up during Easter and Winter delivery periods. To support this, extensive mapping and analysis were undertaken, drawing on local intelligence to assess supply and demand data across communities.

This approach enabled the Council to target resources effectively and maximise the availability of provision for eligible children and young people, within the constraints of the available grant funding.

Alongside this, the Council prioritised the expansion of provision for secondary-aged young people and for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or additional needs. A further priority was the development of a more flexible delivery model that could better respond to the diverse needs and preferences of families accessing the programme.

These priorities were achieved through the commissioning of 11 new providers across Lincolnshire, significantly strengthening both the reach and diversity of the HAF offer. This expansion included several SEND focused providers, as well as those offering dedicated provision for secondary aged young people. Many of these providers delivered more bespoke and flexible models of support, including access to gym and swimming memberships, equine activities such as horse riding, and alternative approaches designed to engage young people who may not access traditional provision.

As a result, the programme has enhanced its ability to deliver inclusive, targeted, and needs-led provision, supporting a broader and more diverse range of children and young people to benefit from HAF across Lincolnshire.

Children and young people’s attendance and provision of HAF places

The below tables showcase HAF Club attendance during 2025/6 and the volume of spaces taken up, respectively.

Number of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) accessing HAF provision

HAF attendance by gender

The data highlights strong overall engagement with the HAF programme during 2025/26. Attendance is consistently higher among primary-aged children across all delivery periods, with gender remaining balanced, showing only a slightly higher proportion of male attendance for each delivery period.

There has been a significant increase in the number of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) accessing provision, with summer delivery seeing a growth of 77.6%, demonstrating we have made strong and measurable progress in expanding our SEND provision within the HAF programme.

Overall, this demonstrates a positive upward trend in HAF attendance, with increased participation in both Winter and Easter programmes, indicating improved reach and accessibility for children and young people, including those with additional needs.

Healthy food

Providing healthy, nutritious food remained a priority for the HAF programme, all funded providers were required to meet national school food standards, ensuring that children and young people received balanced meals that support their health, wellbeing, and development. For each HAF delivery period an example HAF hot menu is developed in partnership with the Council’s Food Education Team, which is compliant with the School Food Standards, to support HAF providers in developing their food offer, with consideration given to dietary requirements, cultural preferences, and food allergies.

In addition to meal provision, providers incorporated food education and enrichment activities into their programmes. These included cooking sessions, food preparation skills, and discussions around healthy eating, helping to build children’s knowledge and confidence in making healthier choices. This approach supported not only immediate nutritional needs but also promoted longer term positive behaviours.

Feedback from families and providers demonstrate that access to healthy food continues to be a valued element of the programme. This feedback is also used when designing menus for the following delivery period.

Feedback from CYP on the food provision included:

• “The food was amazing because it was good food, there was lots of it and it was hot!
• ‘‘I like it when you bring different fruits in like dragon fruit and pomegranate’’ ‘’The food is delicious’
• “The lunch is always good here, and you get to make it yourself, we helped to make flapjacks today”
• “I loved the chicken, potato, and cabbage”
• “The food has been so good and I’m glad I’ve tried new things such as such as houmous. There’s nothing better than this”

Parents had also commented:

• “There is plenty of activities for the children to do to keep them entertained and according to my daughter, the children’s meals are delicious, and all freshly made”
• “She always enjoys the food which is good and nutritious and teaches them about healthy eating-a real win as it backs up parents instilling good habits in their children”

Health and nutrition, enrichment and physical activities

A diverse and fully inclusive programme of activities was delivered for children and young people (CYP) accessing the HAF programme across Lincolnshire. Health and nutrition were embedded throughout delivery, including taste-testing sessions, practical cookery activities, and ongoing discussions promoting healthy eating and lifestyles. These themes were consistently reinforced during both structured sessions and at mealtimes.

Across the 2025 HAF delivery period, providers offered a broad range of enrichment and physical activities. To ensure high-quality provision, the Council’s HAF Project Officers worked closely with providers, offering ongoing support, advice, and guidance.

As a local authority, we have also proactively sought additional investment and resources to further enhance the Lincolnshire HAF offer. This has led to the development of strong strategic partnerships with PING, the Golf Foundation, and Golfway. Through this collaboration, a comprehensive training programme was established for HAF providers, supported by the distribution of fully resourced golf equipment kits. This ensured that CYP were able to access and experience golf, often for the first time.

Building on this success, the programme was further developed through the introduction of the Golf Scholarship initiative. CYP demonstrating a strong interest and enthusiasm for golf are nominated to receive a year’s membership at their local golf club, alongside professional lessons, a full set of golf equipment, and a tour of the PING headquarters. To date, 5 CYP have successfully taken up this opportunity and are continuing to engage in golf beyond the HAF programme.

This innovative work has been nationally recognised, with the Lincolnshire HAF Programme proudly receiving the Golf Foundation’s prestigious President’s Award 2025 for Community Project of the Year. This highlights the exceptional impact of partnership working and the programme’s commitment to broadening access to new opportunities, fostering aspiration, and promoting lifelong participation in sport. Lincolnshire HAF remains committed to expanding the scholarship offer, enabling more CYP to sustain their engagement and progression in golf beyond HAF provision.

In addition, the Best Start in Life (BSIL) Events, jointly delivered through Family Hubs and the HAF programme, continue to demonstrate the value of integrated service delivery across the 0–19 (25 SEND) pathway. These events provide families with access to a wide range of services, activities, and support within a single, accessible location. The offer includes sports, creative activities, early years provision, information from local support services, and the provision of healthy, nutritious meals.

The success of the BSIL Events is underpinned by a strong multi-agency approach, with a wide partnership network contributing to the planning, coordination, and delivery of the events. This collaborative model has ensured a rich and meaningful experience for families, with 368 CYP attending across two pilot events in 2025/26. Building on this success, the events are now being further developed and expanded for delivery in 2026/27.

Feedback from the CYP on the activities available:

• “It’s actually really fun, I’m waking my mum up so I can come”
• “‘The staff were all very nice and friendly and you felt like you could talk to them. It was a nice setting and I liked the animals. All of the stuff was set up well and there were lots of options for what to do”
• “I collected eggs that the chickens laid in the hay barn and stables”
• “I love coming to HAF because I enjoy spending time with the horses”
• “Thank you for the opportunity to be able to use the equipment safely and being able to use the swimming pool”
• “I love going to Jacob’s Den as I’m with horses and it makes me feel calm. I didn’t want to go at first because I don’t like new places and people. I don’t know what I’d do without HAF because it changes me and the way I feel.”
• “The horse riding yesterday was awesome. Like I said, holiday club is the best thing ever”

Feedback from parents/carers:

• “Such an amazing experience for all concerned. Very lucky children and horses and ponies too”
• “My girls had the best time today. They haven’t stopped talking about their time with the ponies. Building the obstacle course was a highlight. Thank you for giving these children such wonderful opportunities”
• “We are grateful that you support children who have various disabilities and challenges. My son thinks you are wonderful and a whole lot of fun”
• “The feedback from families and young people was overwhelmingly positive. Parents were very grateful of the additional food support during a period that can be hard for them and in fact some became quite emotional at the support.”
• “My daughter comes to holiday club here and she absolutely loves it. The staff are so lovely and kind. Comes home with lots to tell me about her day and she wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. Couldn’t thank the staff enough and can’t recommend them enough”
• “We have found the acceptance, calmness and structure of the days at the horses to be incredibly enjoyable and regulating and she’s now attempting things like her Duke of Edinburgh award, which she’d have never done as it requires being with other people.”

Partnerships

The Lincolnshire HAF programme continues to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones. Last year, collaborations generated over £27,000 in additional investment, with further growth for 2026–27 expected to reach over £52,000.

The below table demonstrates the partnership work during 2025:

Public Health also contributed dental packs to HAF Providers to distribute to their HAF participants to promote brushing teeth in support of the dental crisis in Lincolnshire.

The strength of our partnerships is not always reflected in direct, quantifiable funding, but in the significant value of the support our partners provided. This contribution ensured that children and young people in Lincolnshire could access additional fun and enriching activities during the delivery of HAF 2025.

Many of these partnerships have been sustained through the strong commitment of our partners, whose continued investment in the HAF Programme demonstrates a shared recognition of its wider impact on children, young people, and local communities.

Reflections and next steps

The HAF programme forms part of the wider Children, Youth and Families Grant, with funding confirmed through to March 2029. For the 2026/27 financial year, HAF funding, includes local authority capacity funding to support and enable the development of a sufficient and sustainable school age childcare across Lincolnshire.

The confirmed 3 year funding provides increased financial stability and certainty to enable more strategic, longer-term planning and more efficient commissioning and delivery models. In line with updated national guidance, the programme will be strategically refocused to align the HAF programme with the school-age childcare agenda, and to ensure that we maximise the impact of the available budget, there will be a clear focus on strengthening both supply and demand across Lincolnshire, particularly for eligible CYP.

Key next steps will include the procurement of a new, more efficient booking system to improve access for families, as well as reviewing and updating discretionary eligibility criteria so that they better reflect both local priorities and national expectations. In addition, we will develop an Inclusion Grant funding application process, enabling HAF providers to access targeted funding to make reasonable adjustments and better meet the needs of CYP with SEND.

To further align HAF with school-age childcare provision, we will explore opportunities to introduce a mixed delivery model, combining HAF funded places with paid for places. This approach will help support the sustainability of childcare providers while maximising the reach and efficiency of the HAF budget.

A standardised four-hour session model will be implemented following careful consideration of DfE guidance and in response to increasing demand across the county. Demand for funded HAF places, particularly for children eligible for FSM, continues to grow. As a Local Authority, it is essential that we ensure the available funding reaches as many CYP as possible. Standardising sessions at four hours enables us to increase the overall number of available places, ensuring a more equitable and consistent offer across Lincolnshire, while also freeing up funding to respond to demand pressures, SEND requirements, and targeted expansion where needed.

To ensure effective use of funding and develop the inclusive HAF provision, an Inclusion Grant funding application process will be developed, enabling HAF providers to access targeted funding to make reasonable adjustments and better support CYP with SEND.

There will also be a strengthened focus on increasing engagement from schools in promoting HAF provision and encouraging attendance. This will include enhanced marketing and communication activity, alongside encouraging schools to nominate a dedicated lead for out of school childcare. This individual would take responsibility for coordinating and promoting all childcare offers, including HAF, ensuring that messaging to parents and CYP is clear, consistent, and proactive.

We are proud of the progress seen during 2025-26 funding period and continue to enhance the programme where we have acknowledged improvements can be made and where efficiencies can be achieved through effective partnerships and the alignment of the HAF programme with the Governments wider School-age Childcare priorities.

Appendix A – HAF providers 2025

• Acorn Childcare Centre - EYS
• Aspire (Alford) - EYS
• Bright Beginnings (Lincs) Ltd - EYS
• Bright Sparks (Potterhanworth) - EYS
• Brightstars - EYS
• Daisy Chain Nursery - EYS
• Emma Clayton (Childminder) - EYS
• Eslaforde Nursery - EYS
• Gainsborough Adventure Playground - EYS
• I Learn (Caistor) - EYS
• Lambs Holiday Cabin (Lambs Afterschool and Holiday Club) - EYS
• Limes Play and Learn - EYS
• Madcaps - EYS
• Nini Childcare - EYS
• Riverside Early Years Playgroup - EYS
• Sam’s Seedlings - EYS
• Smartie Pants (Bardney) - EYS
• Smartie Pants (Mablethorpe) - EYS
• Smartie Pants (Sutton Bridge) - EYS
• Smartie Pants (Sutton on Sea) - EYS
• Smartie Pants (Tetney) - EYS
• The Bythams After School - EYS
• The Home Nursery - EYS
• Town and Country Nursery - EYS
• Yellow Brick Road (Bracebridge Heath) - EYS
• Yellow Brick Road (Metheringham) - EYS
• Bardney Primary School - School
• Market Rasen Primary - School
• School Monks Abbey Primary - School
• Moulton Chapel Primary - School
• School North Somercotes Primary School - School
• Priory Witham Academy - School
• Skegness Grammar School - School
• St Faith and St Martin Primary - School
• School The Pilgrim School - School
• Wragby Primary School - School
• Active Arena - Third Party
• Acts Trust - Third Party
• Alt Ed Lincs - Third Party
• Alternative Educational Support Svs (LES) - Third Party
• Beyond The Physical (EM) - Third Party
• Boston United Community Fund - Third Party
• Children's Links - Third Party
• Elite Sports Academy (ESA) - Third Party
• Endeavour  -Third Party
• Everyone Active (West Lindsey) - Third Party
• Gainsborough Trinity Foundation - Third Party
• Green Synergy - Third Party
• Hundleby Equestrian - Third Party
• Imagination Gaming - Third Party
• Inspire+ - Third Party
• Jacob's Den CIC - Third Party
• JB's Sports Coaching - Third Party
• Junior Adventures Group (JAG) - Third Party
• Land and Leaf - Third Party
• Lincoln City Foundation - Third Party Lincolnshire YMCA - Third Party
• Little Miracles
• MACCA - Third Party
• Magna Vitae - Third Party
• MORASS CIC - Third Party
• Naomi's Garden - Third Party
• One Touch Football - Third Party
• Pilot - Third Party
• Power Play - Third Party
• Premier Education (MSP) - Third Party
• Shine Lincs - Third Party
• Sport2day - Third Party
• Step Out Stay Out - Third Party
• Strong Girl Squad - Third Party
• Synergy Sports Coaching - Third Party
• The Way of The Horse - Third Party
• Tonic Health - Third Party
• Wright Way Sports - Third Party
• Wildcats Theatre School - Third Party