Extra 9,000 holiday club places provided by Cost of Living Fund

· by · in Cost of living, Education and schools. ·

Merton pupils on Free School Meals enjoyed an extra 9,228 free Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) club sessions during the half term holidays this school year, funded by Merton Council’s Cost of Living Fund.

HAF clubs offer children on benefits-related free school meals an opportunity to enjoy a range of exciting activities and trips and nutritious meals during the main school holidays – Christmas, Easter and Summer – with funding from the Government.

HAF clubs were extended to half terms with funding from the Council’s £3 million Cost of Living Fund. Across the half term holidays in October 2023, February and May 2024, there were 96 HAF providers and 2,400 children who took up free, fun and action-packed sessions.

Merton has one of the UK’s most successful HAF programmes:

  • A higher proportion of our pupils participate, and they enjoy 30 per cent more HAF club days than the national average.
  • Delivery of a high-quality programme, with 100 per cent of our HAF providers receiving good or excellent scores against a national average of 79 per cent.
  • Families are very positive, with 100% agreeing or strongly agreeing they had enjoyed the programme and 87% had something positive to say about the food offered.
  • All children who attended a HAF club felt they had learned something new and/or developed their skills and agreed it was easy to make new friends. 

There are a variety of clubs to stimulate every interest from sports, arts and crafts to dance, ecology and drama. Children can try something new, build skills, meet new friends, and have fun in the school holidays.

Families with children aged between five and fifteen years on free school meals can access the clubs for free through a voucher scheme, to make sure holiday activities are accessible to low-income families.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services Councillor Billy Christie said:

“Providing extra Holiday Activity and Food clubs in half terms, as well as the main holidays, means all children in Merton have more opportunity to take part in an exciting range of stimulating and enjoyable activities, and they get to build essential life skills while doing them!

“The half term HAF clubs are funded through our £3 million Cost of Living Fund which is providing practical support to thousands of households in Merton which are struggling to make ends meet.”

There are still places available at this summer’s HAF clubs. If your family is eligible, see what’s on offer and book now. There are plenty of activities your kids will love.

Find out more about Merton’s HAF programme.