Information for providers

Last updated 31 August 2022

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is funded by the Department for Education. It provides free meals and activities during the school holidays for children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

Funding from the HAF programme is available to schools, childcare providers, voluntary and community groups. You can find out more about the programme on the GOV.UK website.

HAF requirements

To be eligible for funding, your provision must meet the HAF Programme’s framework of standards. This includes:

  • 1 hour of physical activity per day. This could be a sport, game, walk or free outdoor play
  • enrichment activities
  • food
  • nutritional education
  • support for children and their families

The provision must also be:

  • inclusive for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)
  • provided in person, following COVID-19 guidance, not online

The provision must be available for children, young people and their families for 4 hours per day, 4 days per week for:

  • 1 week of the Easter holidays
  • 4 weeks of the summer holidays
  • 1 week of the Christmas holidays

If your provision does not meet all of the required standards but you'd like to be part of the HAF programme, we may be able to support you. For example, if you're not able to provide food, we can connect you with local providers.

Documents and policies

If your application is successful, we’ll need to see some documents before we can provide funding. This includes:

  • a safeguarding policy
  • insurance certificates
  • a health and safety policy
  • a fire safety and evacuation plan
  • a GDPR policy
  • a complaints and whistleblowing policy
  • DBS checks
  • training certificates

You must make sure that these documents are up to date.

If you need help

We may also be able to support you if:

  • your provision does not meet all of the required standards but you'd like to be part of the HAF programme
  • you have an existing offer and would like to expand, for example, to run your provision from additional sites
  • you need help with documents and policies

You can email HAF@stockport.gov.uk to let us know what you're able to provide and what support you need.

Apply to be a provider for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme