Eastbourne MP calls for school holiday initiative to continue

Mrs Ansell explained that last year more than £1.6 million in government funding was awarded to East Sussex and thousands of children and young people had enriching experiences and a healthy lunch through the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme.

The former teacher said: “I am a big fan. It also gives important support to working parents and those with caring responsibilities when the summer holidays can be particularly challenging to juggle.

“I am now working up the local evidence to make the case in Parliament that this government initiative should be continued and extended.

“It was all go at Defiant Sports’ Inclusion Hub in the harbour with a number of activities on offer when I visited. I got to meet several young people working as volunteers and Ratton students, who had trained to be sports leaders at school.

“We know that volunteering is powerfully good for you, on every level, and these helpers were developing important attributes and building their CVs as well as confidence.”

Since 2018 the government’s HAF programme has provided support to children through the holidays who receive free school meals and following successful trails between 2018-2020, the programme was introduced to all upper tier local authorities in 2021.

A government spokesperson said: “Research has shown that the school holidays can be pressure points for some families. For some children this 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, [and] more likely to experience social isolation.

"Our HAF programme is 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, [and] use local partnerships and connections - particularly with the voluntary and community organisation sector.”