Book your free place now on Lancashire's Winter HAF programme
Families across Lancashire are being urged to not delay and book places for children on one of the many holiday activities and food (HAF) clubs taking place over the Christmas holidays.
The HAF programme provides four hours of activities a day, including a meal, over four days of the school holiday.
Bookings for the Winter HAF clubs will be open from December onwards.
The is no central booking system currently in place but you can find out what is available and how to book by following the links on our webpage.
Your child will be eligible for a HAF place if they are entitled to benefits related Free School Meals, regardless of whether you choose to take up that offer. There are a few other reasons that your child may be eligible, such as if your child has SEND, an Early Help Plan, is a Young Carer or if your family are being supported by Children's Social Care.
If you are not sure if you are eligible for a place on the HAF programme, ask at your child's school or alternatively at a Family Hub, or a Children and Family Wellbeing service Neighbourhood Centre.
As the schools break up later than usual this year, most Christmas HAF clubs will be running from the 2nd-5th January 2024.
During the summer, 274 HAF clubs delivered a huge variety of different activities, games and sports, making it the biggest and most varied offer to date.
"We love the HAF programme,” said Fiona Reeves, who booked her children to attend the Halo Club in Accrington in the summer.
“It gives the children a chance to do more things than we could normally afford and keeps them active and busy.”
A total of 14,351 children and young people attended a summer HAF club – 1,302 more than the previous year. Between them, they attended 97,483 HAF days.
With our Christmas HAF programme expected to be more popular than ever, eligible families are being urged to check what's on in their district and book as soon as they can to avoid disappointment.
County Councillor Cosima Towneley, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for Children and Families, said: "Our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is going from strength to strength and we are helping more and more families with each new programme.
“It offers such fantastic opportunities to keep children active during the holidays, eat a nutritious meal, learn new skills make new friends in a safe and fun environment.
“HAF is also a lifeline for many parents who we know find the holidays a difficult time and I am thrilled that more families are benefitting from this brilliant provision with each new programme.
“We’re expecting our Christmas programme to be more popular than ever so if you’re eligible please don’t delay and book your place now.”
For more information, including how to book your place, visit: Holiday activities and food programme (HAF) - Lancashire County Council