Plymouth City Council has received funding from the Department for Education to coordinate a city-wide holiday activity and food programme during the 2024 Easter, summer and Christmas holidays to primarily support families with children who receive benefit related free school meals.
The next Fit & Fed programme will be running during Summer 2024.
Frequently asked questions
The programme funds free access to holiday clubs for children on benefit-related free school meals (Reception to Year 11) throughout the Easter, Summer & Christmas holidays.
The Government’s funded programme also allows local authorities to use up to 15% flexible funding to offer funded places to other vulnerable children including Looked After Children, Children with Education, Health Care Plans, Foster Children, Young Carers, children of recognised refugees and children from asylum seeking and Ukrainian families, Children under Child Protection Plans and Children who are Home Educated, who would be eligible for Free School Meals if they were in school.
Due to the limited funding available, we are only able to offer this opportunity to a limited number of children who live or go to school within the Plymouth local authority area and have been referred by approved agencies.
Thanks to the funding from the Department for Education, children on benefit-related free school meals can access holiday clubs free of charge throughout the Easter, Summer & Christmas holidays.
Although places are fully funded, we have to pay for every place so please ensure that you use spaces that are booked and cancel spaces when ill or unable to attend. This will allow other children to attend and allow us to re-direct funding elsewhere.
Yes. You can book into different clubs or you can choose to stay at the same club. Please be aware that some clubs may have booking restrictions so please check in advance.
Children will only be able to access a maximum of 4 days for free during the Easter and Christmas holidays, and a maximum of 16 days for free during the Summer holidays.
The Fit and Fed programme is being managed by the Council’s Sports Development Unit. If you need to speak to someone about the Fit and Fed programme, or have any queries you can send them an email at getactive@plymouthactive.co.uk.
Yes, if they are on benefit-related free school meals. The Department for Education has awarded every local authority area in the country a Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) grant to provide funded places for children on benefit-related free school meals to access holiday clubs within their local area.
If you would like to find out more about the programmes running in Devon or Cornwall, please contact them via the emails below.
- Devon
Website - Devon County Council
Email - childsc.holidayactivitiesfoodprogramme-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
- Cornwall
Website - Active Cornwall
Although children are able to access a maximum of 4 days for free during the Easter and Christmas holidays, and a maximum of 16 days for free during the Summer holidays, some activities or clubs have further limitations on attendance.
Due to the limited number of spaces available at some of our activities or clubs offering specialist activities e.g. watersports, karting, Teen Tasters, we have made the decision to limited the number of attendances that individual children can attend within any one holiday period. This is to allow more children to attend and reduce the number of spaces that are booked and not attended on the day.
If you would like more information on what support the government are offering to combat the cost of living visit GOV.UK.