Aims, Standards and Marketing
The aim of the Healthy Holiday programme is to provide free places available for children eligible for benefits related free school meals, and other identified vulnerable groups from Foundation Stage 2 to Year 11. These places are available for at least four hours a day, four days a week and for 6 weeks in the year. This covers four weeks in the summer holidays and at least a week’s worth of provision in each of the Easter and winter holidays. Each holiday club provides at least one free meal, hot or cold to ensure all children in attendance are being fed. Clubs are required to follow the school food standards, introducing new healthy foods that can be enjoyed together by children with their peers, and supporting them to build a healthy relationship with food.
We want to help children and young people:
- To have fun
- To be able to choose healthier food options over the school holidays
- To have a greater understanding and knowledge of food, its nutritional value and how their choices are influenced
- To be encouraged to have a healthier relationship with food
- To have a greater understanding of overall wellbeing
- To have access to a range of activities which widen their experiences
- To engage in enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character, wellbeing and social skills
- Return to school feeling engaged, happy and ready to continue their learning
- To be safe, secure and not socially isolated
- To be more engaged with school and other local services
- To receive support for their individual needs
Programme Standards
The holiday clubs meet the following programme standards:
- Healthy meals: holiday clubs must provide at least one healthy meal a day and snacks and must meet the School Food Standards throughout the day.
- Enriching activities: holiday clubs must provide fun and enriching activities that provide children with opportunities to develop or consolidate skills or knowledge.
- Physical Activity: clubs must also provide at least 1 hour of movement (physical activity considered in its wider sense for example; games, play, sports, dance, drama) which meet the Physical Activity Guidelines daily
- Increasing awareness of healthy eating, healthy lifestyles, and positive behaviours within a non-judgemental stigma free environment.
- Signposting and referrals: clubs must be able to provide information, signposting or referrals to other services and support that would benefit the children and young people who attend their provision and their families.
Policies and procedures: clubs must be able to demonstrate and explain their safeguarding arrangements and have relevant and appropriate policies and procedures in place. Where appropriate, clubs must also be compliant with the Ofsted requirements for working with children and young people.
Marketing
Rotherham Healthy Holidays Programme is promoted in various of ways with physical brochures that are handed out in communities across Rotherham, and digital brochures that are sent to schools across Rotherham to share with parents.
Each programme is published on the Rotherham Healthy Holidays website displaying the camps details such as venue, location, age range and dates/times as well as contact information for each provider.
We have introduced a booking system called Zipporah which can be found through the Healthy Holiday website where families are able to look though the camps on offer, create an account and book onto camps.
Programme information and eligible Benefit Related Free School Meal HAF codes are distributed to schools to share with eligible families.
The programme is regularly communicated with internal and external partnerships who are supporting eligible families.
