Bromley’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme annual report

Since its inception in 2019, when the local authority participated in the Department of Education’s pilot scheme, the HAF programme has played a significant role in alleviating holiday hunger and creating stimulating activities during longer holiday periods for children and young people across Bromley. It has fostered significant collaboration among council staff, community leaders, voluntary organisations, charities and other public service colleagues to shape and deliver the programme. Regular consultations with these key stakeholders, who serve as critical friends, help shape the programme's ongoing development and key decision-making alongside senior council officials.

This report provides an overview of Bromley’s Holiday Activities and Food programme during the grant year 2024/25, detailing its delivery and the positive impact on children, young people and their families.

School holidays can be particularly challenging for children and young people from low-income backgrounds. Bromley’s HAF programme addresses this by offering high-quality provision that ensure all those attending receive:

• At least one free, nutritious and filling meal.
• Fun physical activity sessions.
• A wide range of other exciting, tailored activities to different ages and interests.
• Opportunities for children and young people to try new experiences.
• Opportunities for children and young people and their families to learn more about food and nutrition.
• A safe space to develop and build confidence and meet new friends.

Our programme ran during the Easter, Summer, and Christmas School Holidays in 2024; with 2 weeks of running over Easter, 6 weeks over the Summer and 8 days over the Winter holidays. The eligibility criteria included children and young people in receipt of benefit-related Free School Meals (FSM), as per the grant conditions. We were also able to utilise scope within these conditions to extend the support to many other vulnerable groups.

If you have any questions about this report or if you would like the report emailed to you, please contact the team at HolidayActivitiesandFood@Bromley.gov.uk.