Funding available to run holiday clubs this summer

Funding available to run holiday clubs this summer

Would you like to run a holiday club for children and young people this summer?

Funding is available to providers to offer a range of activities across the county for young people who receive benefits related free school meals.

Working with Active Together, Leicestershire County Council has secured £1.5m from the Department for Education' funded Holiday Activities & Food (HAF) Programme to co-ordinate the schemes during the school holidays.

They are looking for Leicestershire schools, charity, voluntary and community sector organisations, and other out of school and holiday activity organisations, to deliver the Leicestershire Holidays Together provision.

If you'd like to apply to run a scheme during the 2023 summer holidays, you need to register your interest by Wednesday, March 15.

The HAF Holidays Together team will be hosting an online Q&A session at 6pm on 2 March where we will be providing more information and answering any queries about the programme you may have. This will be held through Microsoft Teams

The sessions are aimed at school-aged children living in Leicestershire and the goals of the Leicestershire Holidays Together programme are to:

- support the children who attend through enriching activities which will keep them engaged and active

- provide them with healthy meals and teach them about health eating and lifestyles

-provide a safe social space for the children to express themselves and meet new friends

Holidays Together sessions could include:

• Creative activities, for example putting on a play, junk modelling or drumming workshop
• Fun experiences, for example a nature walk, cooking activities or a trip
• Physical activities, for example parachute games, swimming, dancing or sports

You will also be asked to provide at least one healthy meal a day to participants.

The team can walk you through the process and provide support with pre-applications, training, resources and quality assurance. You'll also be part of a provider network and receive ongoing support through the implementation team.

If you're interested in finding out more about running a HAF programme this summer, you can register your interest here