Commission from Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Lancashire County Council to deliver to deliver a quality and action packed programme of holiday clubs, incorporating meaningful activities and food to engage children and young people from vulnerable families on free school meals across the borough. This national funding not only engages Children and Young People, and promotes them to be active and healthy, but increases their social opportunities and overall wellbeing. Families benefit from an upskilled youth workforce who can support families with a range of signposting and advice help at the point of need. 

The aim of our HAF programme, which is known locally as Get Stuck In is to make free places available to children eligible for free school meals for the equivalent of at least four hours a day, for four days over the Easter and Christmas term breaks and 4 days each of week for 4 weeks over the Summer break. Our provision runs across a network of youth and specialist SEND providers in Blackburn and Darwen. The holiday club provision is open to free school meal eligible school-aged children and young people, and we have a number of places also available to those classed as belonging to a vulnerable group; categories meeting this criteria are defined by the local authority and are currently SEND, Young carers, looked after children or those being supported by a referral agency such as children’s services or justice, particularly where the risk of adverse hardship on the family would be detrimental to outcomes for a child or young person during the school break periods.