Holiday, Activities, and Food programme

What is the Holiday, Activities, and Food (HAF) Programme

If your child is in receipt of benefit related free school meals (FSM) and attends school within the Wokingham Borough, they are eligible for a voucher to book free sessions on the Holiday, Activities, and Food (HAF) Programme.

If your child is not in receipt of FSM but you think you may be eligible, please check via the Free School Meals page on the Gov.uk website.    

This programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and provides free activities with a healthy meal to children and young people in school years from Reception to Year 11 who are in receipt of benefit-related free school meals (or who have been referred by a professional who works with their family) during the main school holidays of Easter, Summer and Christmas. 

Over 1400 children and young people have attended the HAF Programme since 2021 Activities have included Oakwood Climbing Centre, Paddle Boarding, Raft Building, Dragon Boating, Bowling, Winter Wonderland, Sports, Swimming, Arts and Crafts, Sensory-based activities for children with SEND needs, Community Events, and childcare activity clubs.

HAF Guidelines and how to access

Your child must attend a school within the Wokingham Borough and be listed as free school meal eligible on their school system. Before each main school holiday, you will receive a voucher with credits to use via email and a link to book activities/clubs. 

Primary, Secondary, and SEND Holiday provisions

For Primary, Secondary, and SEND provisions you will need to make bookings via the booking system through the link you receive by email.

HAF Events

For HAF Events you will receive a separate voucher to book a space via the booking system. Once you have requested a place, you will receive an email asking you to confirm the number of children you are bringing. Children must be from your household. Once we have received this information your place will be secure. Children and young people must be supervised by a parent / carer at the HAF Events and will not be permitted to attend alone. Please note that food is only provided for children attending these events in the first instance. Any surplus food may then be offered to adults.

SEND Stay and Play family sessions

SEND stay and play sessions at Building for the Future are for families to attend together. Children and young people must be accompanied by a parent/carer to these sessions. Siblings are welcome to attend. To make a booking, please email haf@wokingham.gov.uk

You will be asked to confirm details about the children you are bringing to the session.

Information about booking sessions

In Wokingham, primary school-aged children will be offered free places at holiday clubs for 2 x 6 hour sessions per week for 1 week at Easter, 4 weeks in summer, and 1 week at Christmas.

If you need to book extra sessions for your child/children, this will be at an additional cost to you. Please contact your provider for more details.

Please note: Unattended sessions still incur charges. The HAF Team lose a lot of money on wasted spaces that could be offered to other children and young people. If your child/young person is unable to attend the funded sessions you have booked, please cancel your booking via the booking system.

Secondary provisions offer a range of activities that you need to book individually.

We offer SEND provisions at 2 sites. One offers childcare for ages 8-13 years and the other is a stay-and-play for the whole family.

In addition, we offer weekly HAF events with a range of activities, information, advice and signposting. Through the summer you can book a place at each event, We may need to restrict places during the Easter and Christmas events due to indoor capacity.

All of our activities offer a healthy meal for each child. Please provide any dietary requirements when booking.

Unless otherwise specified we can only offer help with transport in extreme cases. This will be assessed on an individual basis. Please contact HAF@wokingham.gov.uk for more information.

There is a small amount of funding available for any children who are not currently receiving benefits related to free school meals to be referred to the HAF Programme, depending on their family circumstances. To be considered for a referral, please contact the family worker at your child/children's school or any professional working with your family.