HAF Programme Grants Scheme 2024

We are seeking to provide Grants to organisations across the statutory (including our schools), private, community and voluntary sector who can provide activities within the HAF/HAF Light Framework to eligible children (please see below) whose proposals meet one of the categories outlined below:

Additional places (Children and young people only): To provide funded places in an existing activity which meets the standards of the HAF Programme during the School Holidays, or

New Programmes (Children and Young People Only): To provide funding for new activities which meet the standards of the HAF Programme during the School Holidays. 

SCC follows a clear code of guidance regarding our SEND children and young people including the promotion of equal opportunities to access play, learning, leisure and all aspects of life; a proactive approach to identifying and removing barriers to access for all children and young people; ensuring children and young people with SEND and additional needs can fully access services, physical environments are easy to access, and information is easy to access.

The following children (and in some instances their families) are considered eligible for the HAF Programme in Staffordshire:

• Families of children who receive and/or are eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals aged 5-16 (eligibility for Free School Meals is determined by the Department for Education)
• Children under care order at home aged 5-16 (as determined by Staffordshire County Council on referral)
• Young carers aged 5-16 (as determined by Staffordshire County Council on referral)
• Fostered children aged 5-16 (as determined by Staffordshire County Council on referral)
• Children on a placement order aged 5-16 (as determined by Staffordshire County Council on referral)
• Siblings not eligible due to FSM regulation changes aged 5-16 (as determined by Staffordshire County Council on referral)

The above eligibility is subject to change, in consultation with the Department of Education.  

Staffordshire Needs:

We are seeking to prioritise applications which are received from organisations seeking to facilitate HAF Programmes within districts and County Council wards demonstrating the highest level of needs.  The table below provides an overview of key data relating to each district:

Total No. children Eligible:

Cannock Chase: 3077

East Staffordshire: 2722

Lichfield: 2321

Newcastle Under Lyme: 3140

South Staffs: 2242

Stafford: 2989

Staffordshire Moorlands: 2214

Tamworth: 3023

Total No. children Special school

Cannock Chase: 129

East Staffordshire: 220

Lichfield: 225

Newcastle Under Lyme: 121

South Staffs: 50

Stafford: 136

Staffordshire Moorlands: 95

Tamworth: 161

Desired Outcomes 

We are seeking for children (and their families) to be:

• Happy and Healthy: We want our children and young people to be resilient, happy and healthy, making choices that support wellbeing.

• Feel Safe and Belong: We want our children and young people to feel safe in their community and at home, are safeguarded from harm and have a sense of belonging.

• Achieve and Contribute: We want our children and young people to achieve their potential including a good education and employment, where they are supported to make positive contributions to their communities.

We believe the HAF Programme will contribute to the achievement of our priority outcomes by: 

• Supporting children and young people to be healthy over the school holidays

• Supporting children and young people to be more active during the school holidays

• Supporting children and young people to take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character and wellbeing along with their wider educational attainment

• Supporting children and young people to be safe

• Seeking to prevent social isolation amongst children and young people

• Supporting children and young people to have greater knowledge of health and nutrition

• Support children and young people to be more engaged with school and other local services

We are committed to developing a high-quality inclusive HAF Programme which embraces the conditions set out by the Department of Education.

The Department for Education have developed a framework of standards to provide a benchmark of what they expect from organisations delivering the HAF Programme.

Organisations receiving Grants must adhere to the Standards Framework.  Organisations unable to adhere to the Framework will be unsuccessful in their application to Staffordshire County Council.  Failure to comply with the Standards Framework, following a successful Grant, will lead to us withdrawing the Grant from Staffordshire County Council.  The Standards Framework is set out below:

Food

Providers are required to provide a minimum of one meal a day. This could be Breakfast, Lunch or Tea/Dinner. All Food (including snacks) provided through the activity must meet the School Food Standards, developed through the Department of Education. Most of the food served through the Programme should be hot where possible. There may be exceptional circumstances where a hot meal is not possible, and a cold alternative may be appropriate. Food provided through the Programme must:

• Comply with appropriate Legislation, Regulations, Policies, Procedures and Guidance in relation to food preparation.

• Take into consideration allergies and dietary requirements.

• Consider any religious or cultural requirements for food.

Providers can view the School Food Standards on the Government's website.

Food standards including hygiene and food standards qualifications and allergy information etc is the sole responsibility of the provider. Allergy awareness and cultural options should always be available, this is the responsibility of the provider.

From October 2021 Providers need to be aware of and adhere to the new the requirements of the UK Food Labelling reform known as Natasha’s Law.

If children on non-HAF-funded places are given the option to bring a packed lunch, then we expect the local authority and the provider to work together to ensure that children attending through HAF have the same choice. This could be fulfilled through the provider and the local authority making arrangements to provide packed lunches for HAF children. All packed lunches must meet the school food standards.

Enriching activities

Providers are required to facilitate fun and enriching activities that provide children and young people (and in some instances their families) to:

• Develop new skills or knowledge

• Consolidate existing skills and knowledge

• Try out new experiences which could include physical activities, for example, football, table tennis or cricket, creative activities, for example: putting on a play, junk modelling or drumming workshops or experiences, for example: a nature walk or visiting a city farm.

• Have fun and socialise

Applications will also be welcomed from organisations who have included the facilitation of activities relating to motor skills.

Physical activities

Holiday clubs must provide activities that meet the physical activity guidelines on a daily basis.

In line with those guidelines, we expect:

• all participating in the HAF programme engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes per day
• all participating in the HAF programme should engage in a range of physical activity to develop movement skills, muscular fitness, and bone strength
• providers to minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary, and when physically possible should break up long periods of not moving with at least light physical activity

Meeting the physical activity requirement does not have to be in the form of a structured activity session, but might include active travel, free play and sports.

Nutritional education

Providers are required to include an element of nutritional education each day aimed at improving the knowledge and awareness around healthy eating for children (and their families). This nutritional education is not required to be formal learning activities and could for example include activities such as:

• getting children involved in food preparation and cooking

• growing fruit and vegetables

• taste tests

Innovative approaches to Nutritional Education will be encouraged.

Food education for families

Providers are required to include at least weekly training and advice sessions for families (e.g., Parents, Carers or Guardians). These sessions should provide advice on how to:

• source
• prepare
• cook nutritious and low-cost food

This nutritional education should include the provision of informal information, advice and guidance and could also include access to the Staffordshire Family Hub Virtual Cooking Project which is available. 

Signposting and referrals

Providers are required to provide information, advice, guidance, signposting or referrals to other agencies, services, organisations, or networks of support which benefit the children (and their families) who are attending the Providers activities. This could include:

• Citizen’s Advice

• Child Health and Wellbeing Services, School Nurses, Dentists or Other Healthcare Practitioners

• Family Support Services and/or Children’s Social Care, Housing Support Officers

• Jobcentre Plus

• Organisations providing financial education, information, advice and Guidance

• Aiming High

Policies, procedures and guidance

Providers are required to evidence, demonstrate and explain their Safeguarding Practices. Providers must have relevant and appropriate Policies, Procedures and Guidance in place in relation to:

• Safeguarding

• Health, Safety and Wellbeing

• Insurance

Staffordshire County Council has set out additional requirements in relation to Safeguarding as outlined below. 

Accessibility and exclusiveness

Providers who are not already registered with Ofsted are not required to do so just to participate in the HAF Programme.

Guidance on the exemptions from registering with Ofsted is available at:  Registration exemptions - Childminders and childcare providers: register with Ofsted - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) It is the responsibility of Providers to ensure if they are required to be registered with Ofsted or not.

All children and young people eligible will be included within the programme regardless of Special Educational Needs, rurality of their home or family circumstances.

Further information regarding Ofsted exemptions can be found at the end of the guidance.

• Additional Places (Children and Young People Only): To provide funded places at an existing activity which meets the standards of the HAF Programme

• New Programmes (Children and Young People Only): To provide funding for new activities which meets the standards of the HAF Programme

We are seeking to provide Grants to organisations to support the delivery of activities within the HAF Programme.  Expenditure against the Grant must relate to the delivery of the agreed activities, which may include:

• Staffing (including additional staffing hours)

• Volunteer expenses

• Equipment to deliver activities which includes play resources

• Nutritious food

• Activity instructors

• Professional coaches

• Room hire

• Transport

• Administration costs

• Relevant training for staff and/or volunteers

• Grants used to extend a current scheme or project or for a new idea

• Projects which provide a good range of activities including sport and physical activity, dance, drama, outdoor games, arts and crafts, digital and creative projects and wellbeing activities

• SEND provision where the activities are easily accessible and appealing to appropriate age groups

• Projects that engage with older children and young people and focus on activities suitable for that age group or a single activity such as sports, music, dance or creative and wellbeing projects

• Projects that deliver family-based activities to parents, carers and other family members e.g., advice, recipes, source and prepare and cook low-cost nutritious meals, virtual activities including virtual cooking can also be funded as long as food is also provided for a nutritious meal.

Expenditure against the Grant must relate to the delivery of the agreed activities, and the following expenditure will not be funded through Grants:

• Existing Provision (new or expansion to existing offer only)

• Projects which are not focused on direct delivery

• Contingency costs (e.g. funds to provide a source of income or for fundraising activities)

• Provision that does not target children and young people who meet the eligibility criteria

• Projects that do not bring benefits to the communities of Staffordshire

• Activities which promote political or religious beliefs

• Trips, entrance fees e.g., theme parks, games centres, amusement arcades, cinemas, etc

• Places for children and young people who are not residents of Staffordshire (or who do not attend a Staffordshire Education Setting)

• Unreasonable costs where management and overhead costs exceed expectations

• VAT that you can recover

It is important to recognise that the Grant should only be used in connection with providing activities to children (and in some instances their families) who are eligible for the HAF Programme.  Providers can provide places for other children (and in some instances their families) through a fee-paying arrangement.  

Successful organisations will receive 50% of the Grant value on satisfactory receipt of a completed Grant Determination Pack and Terms and Conditions by Staffordshire County Council in October.  The remaining 50% will be issued following the successful completion of the evaluation and monitoring return.

Applications will be moderated on receipt by Staffordshire County Council to ensure applications are compliant with the requirement of the Scheme.  Applications will also be assessed using the Grants Criteria (outlined below) before being considered by a multi-agency Decision Making Panel.

The Decision-Making Panel will be comprised of representatives from across the statutory (including our schools), community and voluntary sector.  Decisions made by the Decision-Making Panel will be final, with the Panel looking for a geographical spread of applications which is targeted at the most in need.  All decisions will be based on how well the applications meet the criteria.

We will prioritise applications which are received from organisations seeking to facilitate HAF Programmes within districts and County Council wards demonstrating the highest level of needs.  This will enable us to ensure that funding for provision both meets the needs of our eligible children (and their families in some instances) and is accessible within their district and/or council ward.  The Decision Panel will therefore consider the proposed location of the proposed provision and how much funding has already been allocated within the immediate area.  

Applications that deliver within the Staffordshire County Council Local Authority boundary will be considered first.  If there is funding still available, we may then consider applications for venues close to the Staffordshire County Council’s Local Authority borders e.g., Stoke-on-Trent. 

The outcome of the Decision-Making Panel is final, and appeals will not be accepted by Staffordshire County Council.

Providers will be required to submit attendance records to Staffordshire County Council in an agreed format and time scale.  Attendance details must include:

• No of children attending the holiday club
• No of days each child attended
• No of children of primary/secondary age
• No of children recorded as SEND
• NO of bookings made but child did not attend
• No of cancellations
• No of walk ins

Providers are responsible for their own marketing and promotion of all HAF funded clubs, and attendance less than 60% may result in a reduction or non-payment of the second grant payment.

SCC are developing IT systems that will automate systems to record all of the above in real time, and for ease of statistical returns.  More information on the expectations of providers regarding the use of any new SCC HAF IT system will be included as part of the grant terms and conditions.

Quality Assurance and monitoring of the activities and providers will be completed on an informal basis and will link to the Quality Framework and may include:

• Self-assessment
• Peer assessment
• Quality assurance visits
• Feedback from children, parents/carers
• Information to the Steering Group