The aim of the HAF programme, which is known locally as ‘Get Stuck In’ is to make free places available to children eligible for free school meals for the equivalent of at least four hours a day, for four days over the Easter and Christmas term breaks and 4 days each of week for 4 weeks over the Summer
break.
The provision runs across a network of youth and specialist SEND providers in Blackburn and Darwen.
The holiday club provision is open to free school meal eligible school-aged children and young people, and they have a number of places also available to those classed as belonging to a vulnerable group, categories meeting this criteria are defined by the local authority and are currently:
- SEND
- young carers
- looked after children
- those being supported by a referral agency such as children’s services or justice
particularly where the risk of adverse hardship on the family would be detrimental to outcomes for a child or young person during the school break periods.