This page provides guidance for organisations who are interested in delivering the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) in Salford.
This guidance has been developed by combining the Department for Education guidance for Local Authorities with local detail specific to the Salford programme.
In Salford, the Holiday Activities and Food programme is branded as ‘Salford Holiday Fun’
Please take your time to read this information before completing your online grant application form.
Quick links:
Introduction to Holiday Activity and Food Programmes (HAF)
Since 2018, Department for Education funded holiday activities and food programmes, have provided support to children in receipt of free school meals through holiday periods. Following successful pilots between 2018 and 2020, the programme was rolled out to all local authorities in 2021.
Research has shown that the school holidays can be pressure points for some families. For some children that can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from low-income households being:
less likely to access organised out-of-school activities
more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health
more likely to experience social isolation.
HAF programmes are a response to this issue with evidence showing that free holiday clubs can have a positive impact on children and young people, and that they work best when they:
provide consistent and easily accessible enrichment activities
cover more than just breakfast or lunch
involve children (and parents) in food preparation
work through local partnerships.
As a result of this programme, we want children who attend this provision to:
eat healthily over the school holidays
be active during the school holidays
take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character and wellbeing along with their wider educational attainment
be safe and not to be socially isolated
have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition
be more engaged with school and other local services.
We also want to ensure that the families who participate in this programme:
develop their understanding of nutrition and food budgeting
are signposted towards other information and support, for example, health, employment, and education.
Who is the programme for?
Salford Holiday Fun is for school aged children from Reception to Year 11, ages four to 16 years who receive benefits-related free school meals.
Benefits-related free school meals (FSM) are available to pupils if their parents are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits and have a claim verified by their school or local authority. For further information on eligibility, please visit our Apply for free school meals page.
HAF funding for Salford Holiday Fun programmes will only be available to provide free places for children who go to school in Salford and are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals.
Visits from HAF Salford Team
All providers will receive visits during their sessions to offer support and ensure standards are in place across the provision. These visits will be both announced and unannounced.
Framework of standards
Salford Holiday Fun programmes seek to address holiday hunger, inactivity, isolation and learning loss, by children
Having access to safe, non-stigmatising places to go for positive activity
Eating more healthily over the school holidays
Spend time with friends and being more active during the school holidays
Taking part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character, and wellbeing along with their wider education attainment.
Being safe and not to be socially isolated.
Being ready to return to school, college or to move on to work.
Supported with healthy recipes and cooking on a budget.
Be signposted and supported (where required) to early help/family local services.
Have the opportunity to continue participating in sport and physical activity beyond the holidays.
We need a range of providers across the city to help deliver an enriching and exciting holiday programme that will provide the children and young people attending with their best holiday ever!
NB: Our children and young people in Salford have told us that they would like to do a range of exciting, different activities in the holidays which give them new experiences and opportunities to be independent. They have also told us they love to go on trips to new places, and to do things outside in nature. They have shared that they like the people with them at the holiday clubs to be fun, talkative, playful, inclusive and have a good sense of humour. As you plan your proposal consider how engaging your programme is for children and young people, and how your feedback from them is leading your planned activities.
Outcomes for Salford Holiday Fun programmes
All Salford Holiday Fun programmes must deliver on the following outcomes:
Food provision
Enrichment activities
Physical activities
Nutritional education
Food education for families and carers
Signposting and referrals
Robust policies and procedures
Effective Safeguarding
Ratios
All provision must meet the following ratios of staff to children, as a minimum. If you are taking children and young people on trips, or identified further risk in your assessment, you will need to demonstrate a higher ratio.
Age four to eight: one adult to eight children
Age nine to 12: one adult to ten children
Age 13 to 16: one adult to 12 children
Holiday clubs in school settings
We know that schools are safe places and have robust safeguarding arrangements in place.
Where activities are provided by the governing body or proprietor of a school, under the direct supervision or management of their school staff, the school’s child protection policy will apply.
Where the activities are provided separately in the school but by another body, the governing body or proprietor should seek assurance that the body concerned has appropriate safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures in place.
We recommend that anyone involved in the delivery of a holiday club in school settings is familiar with part 1 of Keeping children safe in education.
Holiday clubs in out of school settings
By out-of-school settings we mean organisations or individuals that provide tuition, training, instruction, or activities to children in England without their parents’ or carers’ supervision, but are not:
schools
colleges
education settings providing alternative provision
16 to 19 academies
providers caring for children that are registered with Ofsted or a childminder agency
These settings generally provide tuition, training, instruction, or activities outside normal school hours (for example, evenings, weekends, school holidays), although some settings are run part-time during school hours to help meet the needs of those in home education.
The guidance for providers running out-of-school settings on keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition covers advice on what policies and procedures providers should have in place for health and safety, safeguarding and child protection, staff suitability, and governance.
Volunteers and DBS Checking
We know that in some settings, volunteers can play an important role in the delivery of holiday clubs.
Under no circumstances should a volunteer in respect of whom no checks have been obtained be left unsupervised or allowed to work in regulated activity.
For some of the voluntary staff involved in the delivery of the holiday, activities and food programme in holiday clubs, this work will be done regularly and considered to be regulated activity. This means they will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred list information.
There may be a very small number of volunteers who do not regularly carry out this role, and so it may not be considered as regulated activity. This means they may not be required to have an enhanced DBS check.
The guidance on regulated activity in relation to children contains definitions of what we mean by regular and regulated activity.
Example - a guest speaker or presenter visits a holiday, activities, and food programme club to deliver a talk on nature.
The guest is escorted by staff at the club (who are DBS checked) while on the premises and is not left unsupervised with children at any time. In these circumstances, we would not expect a DBS check to be carried out.
To provide reassurance to parents, families and carers, we strongly recommend that all volunteers who are involved in the delivery of the holiday, activities and food programme in holiday clubs should have an enhanced DBS check (which, where applicable, should include children’s barred list information).
We do not recommend holiday clubs using volunteers that are not DBS checked, but if this occurs, it is the responsibility of the provider to ensure that volunteers are not at any point left alone and unsupervised with children in holiday clubs.
Other workers
All staff who are employed by holiday club providers, funded through the holiday activities and food programme, should be subject to an enhanced DBS check with barred list information.
Part 3 of keeping children safe in education sets out a clear process for safe recruitment. We recommend local authorities and holiday club providers follow this best practice when recruiting volunteers.
Ofsted registration
Holiday clubs may need to register with Ofsted or they may be exempt from registration. Both clubs and providers that would require registration with Ofsted, and those that are exempt, can participate in the holiday activities and food programme.
Families may be eligible for tax free childcare or the childcare costs element of Universal Credit. Through this families may be able to claim back up to 85% of their childcare costs if they are attending and paying for extra childcare at Ofsted registered settings.
All providers should consider registering with Ofsted and will be required to demonstrate the appropriate registration or exemption for their provision. Support is available to all providers to register from jackie.kendall@salford.gov.uk
Eligible organisations
Each application must have a lead organisation who takes overall responsibility for ensuring all standards are met at all times. The following types of organisations are eligible to apply for grant funding:
Constituted community, voluntary, faith and not for profit organisations
Community Interest Companies (CIC)
Charitable organisations
Schools, colleges, and educational establishments
Out of school providers/childcare
Commercial organisations (with a social objective) and are not applying for funding that will generate profit.
What funding can cover
We are able to provide funding to expand your current provision, or start new sessions, however, funding is only available for children attending who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals. For example, if you have 50 places per day and 40 places are for eligible children, then the funding can only pay for 40 places. The remaining 10 places can be funded elsewhere or be paid for places. If you are able to commit to 100% of places being for eligible children, then they can all be funded.
All providers must complete any additional checks on eligibility requested by Salford City Council, such as when accepting ‘walk-ins’ to your provision who have not pre-booked, and so have not been eligibility checked via our online booking platform Eequ Ltd. The same eligibility criteria applies to ‘walk-ins’ and you must obtain and record this.
Organisations can apply for funding to deliver a maximum of four consecutive days at Easter, two days at winter, and 16 days during the summer holidays. Programmes can be delivered on additional days, but these would need to be funded elsewhere or be paid places.
Organisations can apply for funding for a maximum of four hours per young person per day.
Funding is only available for spring (Easter), summer, and winter (Christmas) school holidays. There is no funding available for half term school holidays.
NB: Please ensure you consider any in kind funding that you organisation is able to contribute.
Funding costs
The funding you can apply for is broken down as follows:
Free places for children eligible for Free School Meals (£19 per space per day)
*If you opt to have your food delivered via the central Citywide service, this is at no extra cost to yourselves
Example:
The following calculation is an example showing a programme being delivered for 4 hours per day for 22 days with 50 places per day, that are using the Central Citywide food service, therefore not incurring food costs.
50 places per day X £19 per day X 22 days = £20,900
If you opt to provide your own food, or source your own food partner, then an additional £3.50 per child per day should be applied for
Example:
The following calculation is an example showing a programme being delivered for four hours per day for 22 days with 50 places per day, that are providing or sourcing food themselves.
50 places per day X £22.50 per day X 22 days = £24,750
On top of the above, all providers can apply for additional funding to meet the needs of children with SEND. Please see Section 6 of the online grant application form for what we are able to fund, and therefore, what you can apply for.
(amount x 22 days)
NB: Your total grant value must include any VAT that is applicable (VAT is not paid on top of the grant amount).
SEND
In terms of the SEND definitions, we would consider a child to have:
Complex needs if they are attending a specialist school and would need a specialist level of HAF provision, so unable to attend universal HAF provision even with additional support. We would expect all those children to have an EHCP in place, but also to be identified by their educational placement (on the whole).
Low Level needs if they are able to attend universal HAF provision with additional support, for example equipment, adaptations to the environment, increased staffing ratio.
Annual framework
We will grant applications based on an annual framework of evaluation and review. Funding for each consecutive holiday period will only be awarded based on successful delivery of the previous programme, including satisfactory programme monitoring and financial reconciliation.
Application process
If you wish to apply for grant funding, you will need to do so via our online grant application form, accessible via the providers portal for HAF page.
There is only this one grant application period for the entire year, so please use the link immediately above to view the application window dates. Grant applications must be submitted within the timeframes stated.
We prioritise organisations who are based, and have worked in, Salford as we want HAF to support sustainability for our local groups. We are a Living Wage City and believe Salford people should be paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work. We will prioritise organisations that demonstrate their commitment to the Living Wage.
We recommend that organisations work with local voluntary, community, and social enterprise providers in their area to enrich their provision for the children and support local connections.
Dates for HAF sessions in 2026
Your grant application must cover all 22 days of HAF delivery (Easter, Summer, and Winter), and showcase how you are delivering at these time periods.
We will not accept grant applications that do not cover all of the HAF delivery periods.
22 days delivery per year
A minimum of four-hours per day
Your provision can be longer than these hours but must be a minimum of four hours to match the HAF funding for one session per day.
If you are delivering sessions for a majority of attendees over age 11, sessions can be at a later time of day. Please complete your suggested times on the grant application form.
NB: Due to the number of grant applications we receive, if you cannot meet all of the HAF standards or deliver all of the dates, please do not submit an application.
Application assessment
Once your grant application and supporting documents have been submitted, the Health Improvement Service will review these against the varying required HAF standards outlined in this delivery guidance, and let you know if you have been successful by 23 February 2026.
Other factors we will review your application against include:
Value for money
SEND provision
Applications will be prioritised for funding based on need for provision in each neighbourhood area, although provision is needed in all areas of the city. Areas with the highest FSM need in the city are highlighted on the immediate map below (as darker coloured areas), as taken from the Autumn 2025 school census.
You will then be sent your Exchange of Letters Contract, Information Sharing Agreement, and a copy of the standard Salford City Council Corporate Terms and Conditions, which you will need to sign and return within seven days.
The separate Salford CVS process
For those of you who cannot meet all the Delivery Guidance Requirements for HAF, grants will also be available through Salford CVS for the 2026 programme. This is a separate application process.
Programme Monitoring Requirements / Booking system – Eequ Ltd
Eequ Ltd is the central online advertisement, booking, and monitoring platform used within Salford. It is mandatory for all funded organisations to use the Eequ Ltd system for the online promotion and booking of their sessions, and programme monitoring.
Eequ Ltd provides an automatic eligibility check of bookings at the point of booking. Via taking bookings through Eequ, providers can be certain that their bookings are meeting the condition of grant funding that the Department for Education set: that bookings must be from those eligible for benefits related free school meals, or the Local Authorities 15% criteria.
The Eequ Ltd system has a number of functions:
The system can be used to promote programmes and take bookings directly from parents/carers in advance of programmes starting. This is our preferred method as it means all relevant information for each young person is collected automatically. The system has a messaging function which can be personalised to suit.
Via this method you can easily attend registers for the programme monitoring aspect required as the system holds all the information for you taken at point of booking.
The system can be used to promote activities with bookings still taken directly from parents and carers via your usual methods. Organisations will then be required to import specific and exact participant details and record the days they attended within the Eequ Ltd system.
Organisations offering ‘closed’ provision to a specific group of young people that do not need support with promotion or taking bookings will use the system to import specific and exact participant details and record the days they attended within the Eequ Ltd system.
It is compulsory for all organisations to have their project set up on the Eequ Ltd system by the dates that the Health Improvement Service set each HAF holiday period.
NB: Penalties will be introduced where organisations regularly submit incomplete data sets. This will impact receipt of future funding.
Eequ Ltd will allow providers to control their advertisement listing, see your bookings and information about them, manage contacts, and add permissions from parents as needed.
Eequ Ltd will be accessible to parents via the internet.
NB: It is mandatory for all providers to learn how to use the Eequ Ltd system themselves. To help you, Eequ Ltd offer unlimited training and onboarding calls to support you, and have a team ready to respond and assist you with any queries that you might have.
Data capture requirements
As part of the grant conditions, all funded organisations are required to capture the following information for each unique participant that attends. By using the Eequ Ltd system as recommended (see the section immediately above) then all of this information is collected automatically for you in the system at point of booking.
First name
Surname
Free School Meal eligibility (Yes / No)
School name (From a list of Salford City Council schools)
Whether the young person has a disability or not (Yes / No)
Whether the young person has a special educational need (Yes / No)
Home postcode
Ethnicity (From standard UK ethnicity list)
Gender
Date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY format)
If you opt to only use Eequ Ltd to promote your activities, but to take bookings yourself via your usual booking methods, then you are required to import all of the above information into the Eequ Ltd system for programme monitoring. You must therefore collect this information yourself at point of booking.
Once collected at point of booking, you are required to upload this information into the Eequ Ltd system yourself to complete programme monitoring requirements.
If you are following this method to take bookings yourself, then we would recommend that organisations also collect the following information to ensure the safety of all participants. This information is not required as part of the reporting for the Salford Holiday Fun programme, however, you may find it useful.
Emergency contact details for parent/guardian
Known medical conditions that could impact participation
Allergies and dietary requirements, essential when providing food
Photography and media consent from parent/guardian if you are wishing to take photos or videos
Medical consent in case of emergency situations.
NB: By using the Eequ Ltd system as recommended (see point 1 of the Eequ Ltd section immediately above), then it will record all this information for you at point of booking automatically.
Get more information on data capture
Exchange of letters contract
On approval of your grant application, the Health Improvement Service will send you an Exchange of Letters Contract confirming the grant value. Providers are required to sign and return a copy of this within seven days.
Payment of grants
Over the year, your total funding value will be split proportionately into Easter (20%), Summer (70%) and Winter (10%) values respectively, therefore, providers should expect the largest payment during Summer, medium payment at Easter, and small payment at Christmas to reflect the size of the different HAF delivery periods.
Our process is to set three upfront grant payment periods per year whereby a Purchase Order (PO) is raised via Salford City Council in order for a provider to invoice against as follows:
Easter – the full Easter value (equivalent to 20% of your total grant value)
Winter – the full winter value (equivalent to 10% of your total grant value)
Summer – 75% of the full summer value upfront (so 75% of the 70% of your total grant value)
The upfront dates to invoice on will be confirmed to providers within their Exchange of Letters Contract.
Upon completion of the summer holiday delivery period and all reporting required, a further payment will be agreed with providers on a sliding scale, up to the remaining 25% of the summer value outstanding. This remaining payment will be made solely dependent upon the funded attendance of HAF funded places at your holiday club – as identified via Eequ booking system reports that will be shared with providers.
Please see below how the breakdown of grant payments will be split each year:
Financial Reconciliations, Audits, and Reimbursement of grant funding
The Health Improvement Service will work with providers to conduct financial reconciliations and audits at each HAF period to ensure providers are delivering on their grant application funding. As an example, criteria may include:
HAF bookings are within 80% of the participant numbers providers requested funding for
HAF funded attendance at summer falling within the sliding scale identified above to reflect the outstanding summer grant payment to be awarded
Results of, and any actions required and executed from, an annual Quality Assurance visit to a provider’s programme via the Health Improvement Service
Providers delivering on what they applied to deliver, and meeting the HAF Standards and Outcomes
Compliance with using the Eequ Ltd booking system (see the Programme Monitoring Requirements section on this page)
Compliance and meeting of all dates set for setting up your projects on the Eequ Ltd booking system
Compliance and meeting of all dates set for completing and submitting the programme monitoring requirements within Eequ Ltd
Compliance and meeting of all dates set for any other programme requirements (for example, submitting food numbers and allergy requests to Citywide if you opt to have your food delivered via the central Citywide service).
If discrepancies or repeated non-compliance is found, then it is a condition of your grant award that providers are required to work with Salford City Council in order to reimburse any grant funding requested and agreed upon.
Case studies
As part of the grant conditions, all funded organisations are required to complete a minimum of one case study per year, to show case good practice or an example of a child (anonymised) you feel has benefited particularly from the programme.
We would love to hear more about the impact that the HAF funding is making in lives of the families who are getting involved. We would like you to select a family where you can identify clear benefits from HAF and share their anonymised story with us.
We would also be interested to learn about an innovation or service delivery aspect that you want to showcase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Further support
If you need further support, please contact the Salford HAF Coordination Team:
Angela Eden, Health Improvement Service Manager, email angela.eden@salford.gov.uk
Adam Round, Health Development Officer, email adam.round@salford.gov.uk
Health Improvement Service, email Health.Improvement@salford.gov.uk or call 0800 952 1000 (option 2)
Taruna Patel, Business Manager, email taruna.patel@salford.gov.uk