We are so pleased to be working with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council to take part in the Holiday Activities and Food Programme! We strongly believe that food poverty should and could be eradicated with the right support networks in place and, off the back of Marcus Rashford’s campaign to the government to extend the provision of free school meals in 2020, the Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) will help us get one step closer to this goal! Every school holiday, we’re running programmes designed to support families to alleviate food crisis.
Evidence shows the HAF programme really makes a difference to children’s lives and by taking part in this programme as a provider allows us to contribute to this massive positive impact.
Funded by the Department for Education (DfE), we’re able to extend the provision of food and physical activity to children who are eligible for free school meals across the city and county and the DfE recommend that all children and young people engage in physical activity for at least 60 minutes per day. Our provision is set up to enable this to take place regardless of what transport method children use to get to their placement. We are also recommended to improve the nutritional education every day and we aim to do this by not only providing food to children but also engaging them in the experience of cooking and making food as well as understanding how the food they eat affects them with the intention of promoting healthier and better eating habits as we recognise that improving the knowledge and awareness of healthy eating is so important for sustaining healthy lifestyles.
Through our innovative, novel way of delivering sport and education, we want to go one step further. Instead of simply talking at children about ways they can improve their diet and food habits, we can really educate children about food waste and sustainability and this helps us to achieve not only healthier children and young people but also a healthier planet.
And when it comes to physical activity, we’re bringing our own flavour of sport to the scene by eliminating the competitive nature of sport in favour of simple enjoyment and the love of movement and simply letting kids be kids and playing games we miss ourselves from childhood.
The Holiday Activities and Food Programme is an amazing opportunity for children to meet new people, make new friends and take on board lessons about food, sustainability and active lifestyles that will last a lifetime.
Eligibility
The holiday activities and food programme is only available to those children who have been award free school meals because of their parent’s financial circumstance.
If your child is in reception, year 1 or year 2 they are automatically entitled to the universal free school meal offer. Please note that this is not benefits related and is not part of the eligibility criteria for the holiday activities and food programme.
If you feel your child is eligible for benefits related free school meals and you have not made a free school meal application to the council, please make an application and wait for your response before registering for a programme place.
You can apply for benefits related free school meals by visiting Leicester City Council or Leicestershire County Council’s website.
Benefits related free school meal criteria
Income support- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child tax credit (provided you’re not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- The guarantee element of state pension credit
- Working tax credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit.
- Universal credit with annual net earned income of less than £7,400
If you do not meet the eligibility criteria above, you may still be eligible for paid placements. Please contact us for more information. Paid placements start from £60 per week and covers four days per week of provision from 9am to 3pm.
Programme Schedule
Running over a series of days over the two week half-term, you can look forward to an extensive education and activity program. The schedule outlined below is subject to change and is relative to the dates and times, and timings of the programmes across the city and county. The program will run for four days a week.
At some point during our programme, guests will be invited in to teach children about different food cultures. Where this occurs, the day’s nutrition activities will be exchanged for the planned activities set out with our guests. The planned activities will then be offset to take place on the following day.
Food Options
Every day, we will include a food/nutrition activity designed to improve children’s understanding of healthy eating habits and how what we eat affects our body. Learning about food budgets and nutrition, food waste, sustainable food production and self-sufficiency. Each of these will provide an opportunity for children to make food and understand how combining ingredients can make amazing dishes. Some of the food options we may create are listed below:
- Sandwiches, bagels, pittas
- Salads
- Pizza
- Chapattis
- Omelette
- Pasta
- Rice
- Frittatas
- Vegetables
- Soup
- Smoothies
Some food activities may include making bread, making pizza, creating different sandwich combinations, vegetable and pasta dishes and so much more!
Some of the dishes we’ve made so far include:
- Butternute and red pepper soup
- Coleslaw
- Cranberry and orange mincemeat
- Hummus
- Seasonal stir fry
- Parsnip and Apple Soup
- Twice-baked potatoes
- Leek and mushroom croustades
- Boiled egg
- Cheese and Greens omelette
Food activities will be limited based on the amount of time and facilities we have available.
Please note: If you have any dietary requirements, allergies or restrictions, you must inform us of these at the time of registration. If you fail to do so, we may be unable to accommodate them. Such requirements may include vegan or vegetarian diets, requirements for halal or kosher foods, nut allergies, religious food restrictions, etc.
Running over a series of days over the two week half-term, you can look forward to an extensive education and activity program. The schedule outlined below is subject to change and is relative to the dates and times, and timings of the programmes across the city and county. The program will run for four days a week.
At some point during our programme, guests will be invited in to teach children about different food cultures. Where this occurs, the day’s nutrition activities will be exchanged for the planned activities set out with our guests. The planned activities will then be offset to take place on the following day.
Registration
For parents whose children’s free school meals are funded by Leicester City Council, please register by clicking here (opens in new tab/window) before returning to this page to complete the form below.
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Additional Information
This section contains relevant compliance information.
Fair Processing Privacy Notice - Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire Holiday Activities and Food Programme – Privacy/Fair Processing Notice Information
The Holiday Activities and Food Programme is funded by the Department for Education to support children who usually receive free school meals during term time and is co-ordinated by Leicestershire County Council.
The details you have given on your application form will be shared with Leicestershire County Council and the Department for Education.
Any personal data that you provide will be processed in accordance with current data protection laws. It will be used by Leicestershire County Council and our partners to deliver and monitor the programme, improve services and fulfil our legal duties. We will not disclose any personal information to anyone else unless required or allowed to do so by law.
Read more about how we use personal data in our privacy notice on our website: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/about-the-council/data-protection-and-privacy/fair-processing-notices