What is HAF?

The funding for this holiday activity programme is for children who are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals (Reception to Year 11). We work with local providers to establish places and provision with local stakeholders and partners to provide a wide range of activities and healthy meals for all eligible children during our Easter, summer and Christmas holiday programmes.

The video below celebrates the great work of Southampton City Council and its partners in delivering the HAF project over the summer of 2021, showcasing the wealth of provision, partnership working and commitment to supporting our city’s children. The project supported eligible children receiving free school meals in Southampton, offering families a safe environment to be active, educated, entertained through enrichment activities and the added provision of health meals.

Summer 2022 Music Video

During the summer 2022 HAF programme we engaged with our young people to promote singing and dancing as a form of improving mental health and overall wellbeing. As part of this we partnered with Sound Pop Academy and MAST Mayflower studios to produce a music video covering the song “Bad Life”. The song recognises the challenges that children and young people locally and nationally face with their mental health.

Providing for HAF

We want to regularly engage with a wide network of community-based organisations from across the city including existing holiday care providers, schools, sports, music groups and creative providers and any others who would be interested in taking part.

Provisions need to be:

• Spring: At least four hours a day, four days a week for one week
• Summer: At least four hours a day, four days a week for four weeks
• Winter: At least four hours a day, four days a week for one week

The minimum of four days delivery do not have to run consecutively and can be delivered split across the weeks or in half day sessions.

We are interested in proposals from providers who can deliver within one or more of areas of the city – and from providers who would be interested in ‘scaling up’ their current provision, to meet the needs of a wider cohort of children and families within Southampton. We would be delighted to discuss ideas providers might have, at this stage, for any support they may need to scale up their provision – and to discuss what this might entail.

Further details

View available Southampton HAF activities.