Guidance on the Christmas Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme 2024 Grant

Contents

• Introduction
• General guidance
• Purpose of the HAF grant
• Core aims and objectives
• Framework of standard
• Minimum delivery expectation
• Grant funding amounts
• How much funding is available
• SEND provision
• Other considerations
• What can the funding be used for?
• Budget breakdown
• How to apply

Introduction

School holidays can strain families due to higher costs and lower incomes, especially during the current cost of living crisis. This situation can create a gap in holiday experiences. Children from disadvantaged families often miss out on organised activities. They are also more likely to have poor nutrition, be inactive, and feel socially isolated.

Tower Hamlets wants to fund a diverse range of holiday activities. These should include food, delivered by private, voluntary, and public sector organisations that meet local needs..

If you are interested in delivering a HAF programme, please read the following guidance to see if you can meet the delivery requirements. You must complete a HAF Christmas application, by Friday 27 September.

General guidance

This part of the guidance sets out some of the key facts about the Department for Education Funded Holiday Activities Food (HAF) Grant Programme. It contains some of the main points to consider before you decide to apply for funding.

Eligibility

The HAF Grant Programme is to fund the delivery of Christmas holiday activities/schemes and programmes that will benefit Tower Hamlets residents.

Funding is available to:

• voluntary and community organisations
• registered charities, including charitable incorporated organisation
• registered not-for-profit companies
• schools
• registered community interest companies
• faith-based groups, where the funding is for inclusive activity that is open to all.

Funding is not available to:

• individuals
• sole traders
• profit making companies
• political organisations.

Supporting documentation

To be eligible for grant funding, applicants must be able to provide the following supporting documents:

• Constitution or Articles of Association
• Approved accounts or record of income and expenditure
• Bank Statement dated within the last three months, displaying the account in the organisation’s name, account number, and sort code.
• Up to date equality and diversity policy relevant to the nature of delivery
• Up to date safeguarding policy relevant to the nature of delivery
• Up to date health and safety policy relevant to the nature of delivery
• Insurance Policies, including:
  • Evidence of Employer's Liability Insurance £10,000,000
  • Public and Products Liability £5,000,000
  • Professional Indemnity £2,000,000 (if applicable)
• Accessibility and inclusiveness policy
  • Ofsted registration and approval (if delivering to those under 8 years old and does not meet any exemptions)

Please be aware that organisations currently receiving similar funding from the council may not be eligible to apply. Verify eligibility with the awarding grants team for that grant before submitting your application.

Applications we cannot accept

• Applications proposing to partner with an organisation or individual also applying for HAF funding
• Applicant has previously failed to meet grant conditions (or has an ongoing dispute etc, has had funding withdrawn/requested to be repaid, etc)
• Clubs delivered predominantly outdoors with no indoor facilities (excluding one-off trips).

Purpose of the HAF Grant

The purpose of the grant is to make free places at holiday clubs available during the Christmas school holiday. This will be made available to children in the local authority area who are eligible for and receive benefits-related free school meals. (Children eligible for the programme in Tower Hamlets will be issued a HAF code by the council. HAF providers will be required to collect these as part of the grant monitoring process).

All provision funded by the local authority through the HAF programme must meet the framework of standards and delivery expectations and meet the following core aims and objectives

Core aims and objectives

As a result of this programme, we want children who attend this provision to:

• eat healthily over the school holidays
• be active during the school holidays
• take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character, and wellbeing along with their wider educational attainment
• be safe and not to be socially isolated
• have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition
• be more engaged with school and other local services

We also want to ensure that the families who participate in this programme:

• develop their understanding of healthy lifestyles
  • are signposted towards other information and support, for example, health, employment, and education.

Framework of standards

All provision funded by the local authority must comply with the framework of standards. Please ensure that your application covers the following:

1. Healthy meals

Holiday clubs must provide at least one healthy hot meal per day, meeting the School Food Standards and adhering to Natasha’s Law. With the HAF Grant funding, clubs can use the funding to:

• Produce healthy food in house (providing that all food hygiene and safety standards are met) and/or
• Source healthy food from a local provider.

2. Enrichment activities

Holiday clubs must provide fun and enriching activities that provide children with opportunities to develop or consolidate skills or knowledge. Clubs must also provide physical activities which meet the physical activity guidelines daily.

3. Increasing awareness of healthy eating, healthy lifestyles, and positive behaviours

We expect providers to include helping children to understand more about the benefits of healthy eating and nutrition into their programme.

These do not need to be formal learning activities. This could include:

• getting children involved in food preparation and cooking
• growing fruit and vegetables
• taste tests
• discussing food and healthy eating during mealtimes
• including food and nutrition in other activities.

4. Signposting and referrals

Clubs must provide information, signposting, or referrals to other services and support beneficial for attending children and their families.

This may include advice on sourcing, preparing, and cooking nutritious and low-cost food, along with increasing awareness of healthy eating.

The council has existing partnerships in place and will provide information on where families can be referred to. Providers should consider how this element will fit with their delivery plan.

5 Policies and procedures

Clubs must demonstrate and explain their safeguarding arrangements. Relevant and appropriate policies and procedures should be in place for

• safeguarding
• health and safety
• insurance
• accessibility
• inclusiveness.

Where applicable, clubs must comply with Ofsted requirements for working with children.

6. Targeted free holiday club places

Free holiday club places should be targeted at children (reception – Year 11 inclusive) who are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals.

Benefits-related free school meals are different to the universal free school meals that every child in Tower Hamlets receives.

Benefit-related free school meals must be applied for through either the council’s website or the child’s school.

7. HAF codes

The primary focus of the programme will be engaging and supporting children/young people in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. Clubs will be able to offer 15 per cent of their daily placements to non- eligible children.

Clubs must collect a council-issued HAF code for each child that attends their programme (in some circumstances, confirmation received from the child’s school or from the council may be acceptable). This should be built into your registration/booking process and is mandatory to collect.

Clubs must also be open and accessible for those with additional needs or SEND and must (to the best of their ability) cater to all needs.

Minimum delivery expectations

Details the minimum delivery expectations which must be met. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how these delivery expectations will be met in their application.

If you feel you would be able deliver a HAF programme but may not be able to meet all the standards outlined, please contact The HAF Team at HAF@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

1. Eligibility and paid places: Clubs must be free to attend for eligible children (children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals). Clubs can choose to offer paid places to non-eligible children if they wish, but every effort must be made to avoid stigmatising free attendees.
2. Delivery structure: Clubs must deliver a minimum of four hours of in person activity per day for a maximum of eight days (or a minimum of four days). (There may be some limited flexibility on the structure if the number of hours is met). The delivery structure of SEND clubs can be adapted to suit the needs of the cohort.
   *Due to budget constraints, the council will reserve the right to amend or reduce delivery periods.
3. Delivery dates: Delivery must fall within Monday 23 December 2024 to Sunday 4 January 2025. (We will not fund any delivery taking place on 25-26 December 2024 or 1 January 2025).
4. Monitoring and evaluation expectations: To get as much learning as possible Tower Hamlets Council will gather a range of information from funded activities. All HAF funded cubs must collect all of the following information for all individuals attending each session:
   1. HAF Code
   2. First name
   3. Surname
   4. Gender
   5. Date of birth
   6. Home postcode
   7. Dates of all sessions attended
   8. Special educational needs or a disability
   9. School name
5. SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities): Clubs delivering SEND provision must prioritise places for SEND children. They must achieve a minimum of 50 per cent SEND attendance for each day of delivery. SEND clubs must consider that children's needs are complex. They should provide support, adapt the venue and apply with that in mind. Recruitment and registration strategies should consider the SEND cohort. They must adapt to plan for potential dropouts and meet attendees' needs. This should be in line and reflected in your equality and diversity policies. This also applies to mainstream clubs.

Grant funding amounts

Grants are available depending on the number of places available each day. This will be the club’s average daily attendance target and they will be expected to meet this each day of delivery.

When applying for funding, please be aware of the minimum expectation. 85 per cent of your places must be filled by eligible children each day.

A higher grant is available to support groups providing SEND focused Christmas activities. This reflects the need for more support.

To claim the SEND rate, at least 50 per cent of attendees must be SEND.

Restrictions

• Applicants are limited to applying for a maximum of 200 places per day across all sites. The maximum size of a mainstream site is 100 places per day. The maximum size of a SEND site is 60 places per day. Due to budget constraints the council will reserve the right to amend or reduce the number of places per day.
• Clubs can deliver up to a maximum of four sites.
• You must adhere to your venue’s capacity.
• Applicants can only apply to deliver for a maximum of eight days and a minimum of four days.

How much funding is available?

Funding schedule tables

Funding levels may differ from what was available in previous rounds of delivery for the HAF programme in the expectation that cost will not be the same as previous.

How to calculate how much funding to apply for

For each club: Funding available per day of provision for the number of children x Number of days of proposed delivery.

SEND provision

For applicants to apply for SEND funding MUST have at least 50 per cent SEND attendees and you MUST provide attendees’ school details.

How to calculate how much funding to apply for

For each club: Funding available per day of provision for the number of children x Number of days of proposed delivery.

Other considerations

Capacity

When applying for funding, clubs should expect to be operating at full capacity. It is expected that your average daily attendance will be the same as the number of places bid for in your application.

Proof of eligibility

You must keep records of proof of eligibility (HAF codes, letter/email from the relevant Council or School confirming receipt of benefits-related free school meals).

Capital costs

No more than 3 per cent of the awarded grant total can be spent on capital items.

Payments

If awarded a grant, 75 per cent of the payment will be made upon the start of the programme delivery and 25 per cent after the programme end and dependant on targets and conditions being met. Please consider this when applying as we cannot fund delivery prior to the delivery start date.

Record of expenditure

Clubs must be able to provide proof of expenditure for their HAF club if requested by the council.

Subsidy control

All organisations applying for HAF funding must adhere to the Subsidy Control Act.

Trips

Trips and excursions must meet the framework of standards and delivery format. Trips must not be offered in replacement of standards.

Delivering in park spaces

If you plan to conduct your HAF programme in a Tower Hamlets Park or open space, you must obtain permission by discussing your proposal with Steven.McEvoy@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Permissions are subject to availability, with no guarantee. Due to potential limitations, each park may allow only one club, so prepare a backup option when expressing interest.

During the Winter programme clubs must be based indoors. Trips to parks are acceptable however, the main delivery location must be indoors.

Other venue options

If you want to deliver but do not have a venue, you can find a list of venues that can be hired.

Volunteer support

If you wish to receive support with sourcing and manging volunteers for your Holiday Activities and Food programme, we encourage you to register with the Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets (VCTH). They recruit volunteers for a wide variety of non-profit organisations in Tower Hamlets. To enquire, please email info@vcth.org.uk.

What can the funding be used for?

HAF funding can be used to cover all the costs of delivering a project, including:

• staff salaries and associated costs
• activity costs (activities in line with the Framework of Standards)
• room/venue hire
• materials and other project resources
• food
• reasonable and relative training
• capital cost (including equipment) up to the amount of 3 per cent of the grant awarded.

Funding cannot be used: 

• for capital works or major building works
• for general charitable appeals
• to pay back debt or cover past expenditure.

Projects will need to demonstrate that they will provide value for money.

What we won’t fund

• activities where a profit will be distributed for private gain or projects that have no charitable or community element
• religious or political activity (we can fund religious organisations if they are providing benefit for the wider community)
• activity that replaces government funding or is a statutory responsibility, for example, we can only fund school activities that are additional to the curriculum
• activities that benefit individuals, rather than a wider community
• retrospective costs and loan repayments
expenditure or activities that have already taken place outside of the funding period
• foreign travel
• Programmes, sessions or activities delivered online.

Budget breakdown

As a part of the application process applicants will be required to provide a breakdown of your budget.

You must provide a breakdown for the following:

• Staff costs
• Volunteer costs
• Operational/activity costs
• Office, overhead and premises costs
• Capital costs
• Reasonable publicity costs
• Food costs
• Match funding amount

The following is an example of a budget breakdown for a 16-day programme, delivering at two mainstream sites to 100 children (in total).

This is to give applicants an understanding of the expected level of detail that should be provided when outlining your budget breakdown in your application.

How to apply

Organisations can apply by completing a HAF Christmas application form by Friday 27 September 2024.

Notification of application outcome

If your application is successful, the council will contact you for more information and the documents required.

We cannot say how long this will take, but you will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of your application.

If you have any questions about the programme, please feel free to contact HAF@towerhamlets.gov.uk.