Thousands of children and young people across Devon will continue to benefit from summer holiday activities clubs after the Government confirmed this week that it would continue to fund them for at least the next three years.
The funding is part of the national £600m Best Start in Life initiative and secures the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme until 2029 – for this summer’s programme the Council were allocated £1.9m.
The HAF scheme provides activities and nutritional meals over the holidays for children aged five to 16 who receive benefits-related free school meals.
The Council have been delivering the programme since 2018, and they work with over 100 holiday activity providers across the county who provide a wide range of activities for children and young people.
And many children who aren’t eligible to take part through the benefits-related free school meals criteria have been able to take part under they ‘extended criteria.’
This summer they also increased the number of places for secondary school aged children, with many sessions taking place during the evenings and at weekends.
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