1. You are here:
  2. Home
  3. / Schools and learning
  4. / Holiday Activities and Food programme
  5. / Information for providers

Information for providers

Bury holiday and food programme

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is funded by the Department for Education. It provides free meals and activities during the school holidays for primary and secondary school aged children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

Funding from the HAF programme is available to schools, childcare providers, voluntary and community groups. You can find out more about the programme on Gov.uk - Holiday activities and food programme.

Bury Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme activities are brought to you through Bury Council, in partnership with Bury Voluntary, Community and Faith Alliance and they are funded by the Department for Education.

HAF requirements

To be eligible for funding, your provision must meet the HAF Programme's framework of standards (see: Gov.uk - Holiday activities and food programme: standards for holiday provision). This includes:

  • one hour of physical activity per day. This could be a sport, game, walk or free outdoor play
  • enriching activities
  • food
  • nutritional education
  • support for children and their families

The provision must also be:

  • inclusive for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)
  • provided in person, not online

The provision must be available for children, young people and their families for a minimum of four hours per day, for a minimum of four days per week for:

  • one week of the Easter holidays
  • four weeks of the summer holidays
  • one week of the Christmas holidays

If your provision does not meet all of the required standards but you would like to be part of the HAF programme, we may be able to support you. For example, if you are not able to provide food, we can connect you with local providers.

Documents and policies

If your application is successful, we will need to see some documents before we can provide funding. This includes:

  • a safeguarding policy
  • insurance certificates
  • a health and safety policy
  • a fire safety and evacuation plan
  • a GDPR policy
  • a complaints and whistleblowing policy
  • DBS checks
  • training certificates

You must make sure that these documents are up to date.

If you need help

We may also be able to support you if:

  • your provision does not meet all of the required standards, but you would like to be part of the HAF programme
  • you have an existing offer and would like to expand, for example, to run your provision from additional sites
  • you need help with documents and policies

You can email haf@bury.gov.uk to let us know what you are able to provide and what support you need.

Applications for Easter 2023

Applications for Easter 2023 are now open (closing date 27 January 2023).

Bury Holiday Activity and Food Programme Spring application form.

Please be aware that the application form will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. Once you begin the form you will be unable to save and return later. So please ensure you have enough time to complete the form in a single visit.