We are back for EASTER 2022 delivery of Walsall Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF)

We are running a programme for children ages 5 – 16 years who are entitled to benefit related free schools meals or on a plan over the  Easter Holiday. This programme is aiming to provide healthy food and enriching activities during the holidays to children who receive benefits-related free school meals (15,000 children in Walsall). It offers valuable support to families on lower incomes, giving them the opportunity to access rewarding and active activities alongside healthy meals during the school holidays. Funded by the Department of education (DFE)

We delivered successful programme during Easter and summer where we worked with 50 providers to deliver a combination of healthy recipe boxes, interactive online programme and face- to-face holiday club engaging with 2995 children (21% of eligible children).  We want to build on the learning from our Easter and summer programme and on our strong partnership working with a range of providers to upscale the provision and make it a programme that is attractive and meet the needs of all eligible children and young people. See evaluation report

When do the Easter activities start?  The activities will take place over the Easter holidays and will be available from Monday 11 April to Thursday 14 April 2022 and then from Tuesday 19 - Friday 22 April 2022

What will be on offer?   There are a wide range of opportunities for children and young people to engage in the Easter offer, with the option to choose from the following;

·       One week of holiday club providing a range of activities throughout the day for children to engage for at least four hours for four days for one week per child with a healthy meal included.

·       Or four pick and mix sessions offer targeted at young people to provide them with a choice of activities they can engage with, this will also provide opportunities to provide children with specific skills. These could be courses in, for example, dance, music, swimming, sports coaching, youth work training, fishing, mentoring

How do families register ?

Each eligible child will receive a letter in the post with their unique code - ( Please note families will only need to register once for the 2022 programme)

1.    A letter will be sent out to eligible children on the 7^th March 2022 with their unique code.

2.    To book and register for the programme families can do this via the HAF portal use link; https://go.walsall.gov.uk/children_and_young_people/haf_signup  or families can call the HAF team on  01922 653899 (Monday to Friday 10:00- 16:00) ( see video on how families can book - https://youtu.be/1JB_eigWeyY