Funding for holiday activity clubs continue in 2023

The government has announced it will be continuing its Holiday Activities and Food programme for 2023 with £200m funding, supporting children from low-income families.

These free holiday clubs run across England, supporting parents with childcare costs over the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays by providing free, nutritious meals and enriching activities, such as football, play sessions and cooking classes.  New figures out today show that around 600,000 children benefitted from the scheme over summer 2022 across over 8,000 clubs, events or organised activities in England.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, said: "Giving children access to nutritious meals and fun, enriching activities over the holidays supports children’s mental, physical and social development and offers them opportunities that they may otherwise not have, whilst helping parents who may not be able to afford similar childcare.

"It’s fantastic to see that over half a million children benefitted from the programme over the summer, and I’m delighted to announce the continuation of the programme into 2023."

The Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme started as a pilot in 2018. It was created in response to the pressures that low-income families can face over the holidays, with some children being less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, and more likely to experience social isolation and ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health.

It provides for school-aged children from reception to year 11 who receive benefits related free school meals and is available for local authorities to fund clubs over summer, Easter and Christmas breaks.

Evidence suggests that attending holiday clubs can have a positive impact on children’s attainment, health and wellbeing. This is especially true of clubs that provide enrichment activities as well as meals – and that involve children and parents in preparing healthy food.