Hartlepool Activities and Food Programme (HAF)

Hartlepool Holiday Fun, part of the Holiday, Activities and Food Programme, offers a wide variety of provision to the children and young people of Hartlepool over the key holiday periods of Easter, summer and Christmas. The HAF Programme offers activities and food to children and young people in Hartlepool in receipt of benefits-related to free school meals of who meet other vulnerabilities.

We took the decision locally to make it so all provision is and will remain, free of charge to all children and young people with an active Education, Health and Care Plan or who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance.

This holiday provision has featured a good mix of specialist SEND providers such as Springwell School and Families First North East to more universal provision such as multi-sports and arts and crafts and offers such as karate and mindfulness. One thing we have been sure to bring into our ethos is that all providers must offer provision that is adaptable to meet at least a certain degree of SEND needs based on their ability to offer the required levels of support.

Any provider unwilling to offer provision to SEND young people will not be approved for funding. We are also looking to work with the likes of 1 Hart 1 Mind 1 Future to offer training to our providers to better support them in offering provision to SEND children and young people.