Information for schools and other organisations

We're always interested in hearing from schools and other organisations who would like to support young people in Derby.

How to refer a child to HAF

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is for children who receive benefits-related free school meals, however there are a small number of places available for other children who may benefit from attending a club. If you are a professional, such as a social worker, family support worker or teacher, who is working with a child who may otherwise be isolated or vulnerable during the holiday periods, please email derbyhaf@derby.gov.uk for more information. All referral places are subject to approval and availability.

Apply to become a HAF provider

Winter 2025/26 HAF provision has now been commissioned and we are not accepting any further applications from providers.

The Department for Education has recently announced a further 3 years of HAF funding starting from April 2026. Please check back later in the year for more information on when applications to deliver HAF provision in 2026/27 will be open.

How schools can get involved

There are several ways that schools can get involved in the HAF programme, including:

• delivering a programme from your own school – an ideal way of supporting local families in a familiar environment
• developing a partnership with another provider who could use your school as a venue during the holidays
• supporting the set up and facilitation of the Holiday Activities system to allow for voucher codes to be issued to eligible families
• inviting a member of our team along to speak to your staff team or to attend parents’ evenings to promote the programme
• promoting the HAF programme to eligible families.

To find out more about how schools can participate, email derbyhaf@derby.gov.uk.

How we assess our providers

All providers of the HAF programme must adhere to a set of standards, including:

• current policies and procedures in place for example: safeguarding, health and safety, equality and diversity, complaints, data protection / GDPR, food hygiene
• staff and volunteers to be DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checked and safeguarding trained
• where applicable, providers must be registered with Ofsted and registered as a food business
• all new providers' venues are visited as part of the application process and receive annual Quality Assurance visits
• providers are assessed against a framework of standards which are outlined in the Department for Education holiday activities and food programme 2025.