Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Director of Children and Education

The Scrutiny Board consider a Briefing Note of the Director of Children and Education, together with a video at the meeting, which provided an on the Coventry Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme over the past 12 months.

The Briefing Note indicated that the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is a national initiative, aimed at addressing holiday inequalities through a blend of free positive activities and experiences coupled with healthy food and support to families. The national aims of the programme are to ensure a high-quality experience that will result in children:

·  receiving healthy and nutritious meals

·  maintaining a healthy level of physical activity

·  being happy, having fun and meeting new friends

·  developing a greater understanding of food, nutrition and other health related issues

·  taking part in fun and engaging activities that support their development and well-being

·  feeling safe and secure

·  getting access to the right support services

·  returning to school feeling engaged and ready to learn

Similarly, families should also be able to benefit from this support, and this could be through:

·  providing opportunities to get involved in sessions, for example cookery classes.

·  ensuring they are signposted towards other sources of information and support, such as health services or employment and education opportunities.

In terms of funding arrangements, Coventry City Council is in receipt of an annual Department for Education grant (£1,587,840 for 2024/25 with a further investment of £50,000 from Coventry Building Society) and leads a multi-agency partnership to deliver activities in the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holiday periods.

Therefore, the core eligibility criteria is statutory school-age children (reception to year 11) who are entitled to benefits-related free school meals. Local Authority areas have discretion to broaden eligibility and Coventry have extended this to include children assessed through a Children and Families assessment, undertaken by Children’s Services, as in need, on a child protection plan, in care, assessed to be in financial hardship (through an early help assessment), or referred via the Migration and Resettlement teams. Children and young people in years 12-13 are eligible if they are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals (FSM) and have an Education and Healthcare Plan (EHCP) or are receiving special educational need (SEN) support at their place of education. There is also discretion for parents to refer appropriate children.

As heard by the Board previously, the national roll-out of HAF took place in 2021, with the first Coventry face-to-face delivery taking place in the 2021 summer holiday. This has included wider support through in person events in the build up to going live for the Summer 2024 HAF Programme, including a live cooking demonstration, support to the resettlement team event and in person booking support for families across the city.

HAF funding is in place until 31 March 2025, with Christmas 2024 currently being the last funded holiday. Coventry City Council is part of the national HAF network which is focusing on building the case for funding to be continued post-2025 in the context of increasing needs (e.g. Cost of living).

Councillor K Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, began the debate by highlighting HAF as one of the Council’s biggest success stories, involving more partners, more young people, and more diversity than in the previous four years of the programme. Being able to offer young people a place to feed their aspirations and their confidence while eating a healthy meal was having a continued impact throughout the city.

The Board questioned Officers and received responses on a number of matters relating to the HAF Programme:

·  Delivering the programme while staying within budget and utilising an extra £50,000 investment from Coventry Building Society to prioritise children from SEND (Special Educational Needs and Developments) schools.

·  Positive indications of continuing government funding past March 2025.

·  Expanding provision of the programme to the children of home educators, especially those with SEND considerations – expanding the programme criteria locally whilst bearing in mind the programme’s capacity.

·  Co-ordinating with the ICS and the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport to communicate both the educational and health benefits of the programme.

·  Community organisation and building trusted relationships between the council, the providers, the children and their families.

·  Contingency plans for funding and the prospects for the service if funding stops.

Councillor K Sandhu thanked the Board for their contributions and the officers for their continued successful delivery of the programme.

RESOLVED that the Board:

1.  Notes the information in the report about the Coventry Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.

2.  Promotes the Coventry HAF programme and supports the national case for continued HAF funding post-March 2025.

3.  [additional]

4.  [additional]