Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of overcrowding in social housing in Birmingham on (a) primary and (b) secondary school children's education outcomes in that area.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has evaluated the national impact of poverty on educational outcomes. Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation, Star Assessments and Renaissance Learning shows that disadvantaged pupils have fallen further behind non disadvantaged pupils compared with pre COVID-19 pandemic levels, at Key Stages 1, 2 and 4. This is indicated by a rise in the disadvantage gap index between 2019 and 2022 at KS2 and KS4. That is why the Department has increased its range of support for pupils, families, and schools.
In 2022/23, the Department will be allocating approximately £2,000 per pupil for all pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, which will be delivered through the National Funding Formula, the Pupil Premium, and the 2022/23 School Supplementary Grant together. The Pupil Premium, of which £107.5 million will be allocated to Birmingham schools in 2023/24, enables schools to provide extra support for disadvantaged pupils to help improve their academic and personal achievements. Of the 82,408 eligible pupils in Birmingham, £1,455 per pupil will go to each primary school, £1,035 per pupil to each secondary school, and schools will also receive £ 2,530 per looked after and previously looked after child.
Support also includes the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), where funding has been allocated to schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, around 2.85 million tutoring courses have been started, as at 6 October 2022. The six million courses the Department committed to creating in the Schools White Paper will be delivered by 2024. The Department has made available almost £5 billion for education recovery, including multi year direct investment, so that schools can deliver evidence based interventions, based on pupil’s needs. Collectively, these programmes are making a difference to pupils and schools. Recent data from the Education Policy Institute and Rising Stars/Hodder Education shows that for primary age pupils, most year groups have either caught up in English and mathematics or are now on average 4 to6 weeks behind pre COVID-19 pandemic levels, a significant increase from previous studies which suggested pupils were 2.5 to 3 months behind.
In addition, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities leads an interministerial group for Levelling Up to facilitate cross Government work on the Levelling Up agenda. This group includes Ministers from all Departments leading on missions, including an ambition to reduce the number of poor quality rented homes by one half and for 90% of pupils to achieve the expected level at Key Stage 2. The group provides an opportunity for support, challenge, and accountability on the progression of these missions.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent trends in child poverty in Portsmouth South constituency.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department has evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. The evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why the department has a range of support in place to support pupils, families, and schools.
The Schools White Paper set out a long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. This is founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy. We are also investing in 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), including Portsmouth, where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest. In these areas, we will implement a package of measures to drive school improvement and improve pupil outcomes. Portsmouth is also one of the 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) where the department will make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available to all EIAs. PEIAs are a subset of EIAs that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage.
More widely, the government is committed to closing the disadvantage gap. This government’s work for the ten years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed that progress can be made to narrow the gap, and that the department’s policies and programmes are making an impact. We will continue to monitor progress and to deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, for example through the Pupil Premium, introduced in 2011, and worth over £2.9 billion in 2023/24.
Thanks to the measures brought in by this government, we have driven up school standards across the country. 88% of schools are now rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. The rate of improvement has been even greater in Portsmouth, where there has been an increase in schools reaching this high bar of 36% over the course of this government.
In 2018, the department launched the £60 million English Hubs Programme. The 34 English Hubs are primary schools which are rated outstanding at teaching early reading. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England. Schools supported as partner schools outperformed non-partner schools by around 7 percentage points, when comparing the change in year 1 phonics screening check results between pre-COVID-19 pandemic and 2022.
Portsmouth’s local English Hub, Springhill English Hub, is working hard to engage and support primary schools across Portsmouth to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for Portsmouth schools. The Hub has supported four schools in the city, with another six expected to become partner schools in September 2023.
Schools within Portsmouth are also supported by Solent Maths Hub. Maths Hubs aim to raise the standard of mathematics education from reception through to A level, and harness mathematics leadership and expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all students. Maths Hubs use their networks to deliver a range of Continued Professional Development in mathematics to schools in their geographical patch.
In April 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced plans to extend the £100 million Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. This was accompanied by plans to provide more intensive Maths Hubs support to schools that need it most, including in Priority Education Investment Areas, to continue driving up the quality of mathematics teaching in schools.
Outcomes, as measured by international comparison studies, show improvements in key subjects like reading and maths. Most recently, England came fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age, in the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), with an average score of 558.
Providing support for vulnerable children and young people is a priority for this government. We recognise the strain that families are under and will continue to work collaboratively with local areas to ensure children, young people, and families have access to the support they need, for instance to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of cost of living pressures. Many of the department’s recovery programmes, including the Recovery Premium, are especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged. Funding for the National Tutoring Programme is also allocated on the basis of disadvantage. The department’s guidance to schools highlights the help to those students in particular.
The government spends over £1 billion annually delivering free school meals (FSM) to pupils in schools, as the provision of nutritious food ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits, and can concentrate and learn. In addition, the department has extended the National School Breakfast programme for another year until July 2024. Overall, we are investing up to £30 million in the programme, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.
This Government has extended FSM eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. The department provides free meals for 2 million disadvantaged pupils through the benefits-related criteria. Combined with almost 1.3 million infant pupils who also receive an FSM through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, this accounts for over one third of all pupils in school, compared to one sixth of pupils in 2010.
This year, the department is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. The programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her policies aiming to reduce child poverty.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department has evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. The evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why the department has a range of support in place to support pupils, families, and schools.
The Schools White Paper set out a long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. This is founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy. We are also investing in 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), including Portsmouth, where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest. In these areas, we will implement a package of measures to drive school improvement and improve pupil outcomes. Portsmouth is also one of the 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) where the department will make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available to all EIAs. PEIAs are a subset of EIAs that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage.
More widely, the government is committed to closing the disadvantage gap. This government’s work for the ten years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed that progress can be made to narrow the gap, and that the department’s policies and programmes are making an impact. We will continue to monitor progress and to deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, for example through the Pupil Premium, introduced in 2011, and worth over £2.9 billion in 2023/24.
Thanks to the measures brought in by this government, we have driven up school standards across the country. 88% of schools are now rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. The rate of improvement has been even greater in Portsmouth, where there has been an increase in schools reaching this high bar of 36% over the course of this government.
In 2018, the department launched the £60 million English Hubs Programme. The 34 English Hubs are primary schools which are rated outstanding at teaching early reading. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England. Schools supported as partner schools outperformed non-partner schools by around 7 percentage points, when comparing the change in year 1 phonics screening check results between pre-COVID-19 pandemic and 2022.
Portsmouth’s local English Hub, Springhill English Hub, is working hard to engage and support primary schools across Portsmouth to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for Portsmouth schools. The Hub has supported four schools in the city, with another six expected to become partner schools in September 2023.
Schools within Portsmouth are also supported by Solent Maths Hub. Maths Hubs aim to raise the standard of mathematics education from reception through to A level, and harness mathematics leadership and expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all students. Maths Hubs use their networks to deliver a range of Continued Professional Development in mathematics to schools in their geographical patch.
In April 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced plans to extend the £100 million Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. This was accompanied by plans to provide more intensive Maths Hubs support to schools that need it most, including in Priority Education Investment Areas, to continue driving up the quality of mathematics teaching in schools.
Outcomes, as measured by international comparison studies, show improvements in key subjects like reading and maths. Most recently, England came fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age, in the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), with an average score of 558.
Providing support for vulnerable children and young people is a priority for this government. We recognise the strain that families are under and will continue to work collaboratively with local areas to ensure children, young people, and families have access to the support they need, for instance to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of cost of living pressures. Many of the department’s recovery programmes, including the Recovery Premium, are especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged. Funding for the National Tutoring Programme is also allocated on the basis of disadvantage. The department’s guidance to schools highlights the help to those students in particular.
The government spends over £1 billion annually delivering free school meals (FSM) to pupils in schools, as the provision of nutritious food ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits, and can concentrate and learn. In addition, the department has extended the National School Breakfast programme for another year until July 2024. Overall, we are investing up to £30 million in the programme, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.
This Government has extended FSM eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. The department provides free meals for 2 million disadvantaged pupils through the benefits-related criteria. Combined with almost 1.3 million infant pupils who also receive an FSM through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, this accounts for over one third of all pupils in school, compared to one sixth of pupils in 2010.
This year, the department is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. The programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school students received free school meals in the Tooting constituency in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department publishes figures on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. The most recently published figures can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote healthy eating in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department encourages a healthy balanced diet and healthy life choices through school funding, legislation and guidance. Schools are encouraged to have a whole school approach to healthy eating through the National Curriculum and school food provision.
The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.
1.9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and are claiming a free, healthy and nutritious school meal. An additional 1.25 million infants enjoy a free meal at lunchtime, following the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals.
The School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme also provides over 2.2 million pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. Schools are encouraged to use this as an opportunity to educate pupils on the benefits of a healthy, balanced diet.
The importance of a healthy diet is also included in the science curriculum for both primary and secondary school. Healthy eating is covered through topics relating to nutrition and digestion, which cover the content of a healthy diet and the impact of diet on how the body functions.
The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet (including understanding nutritional content), the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals, the characteristics of a poor diet, and the risks associated with unhealthy eating. By the end of secondary school pupils should know how to maintain a healthy diet and understand the links between a poor diet and health risks.
Healthy eating and opportunities to develop pupils’ cooking skills are covered in the design and technology (DT) curriculum. Cooking and nutrition is a discrete strand of the DT curriculum and is compulsory in maintained schools for Key Stages 1 to 3. The curriculum aims to teach pupils how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. The Department has also introduced a new food preparation and nutrition GCSE to provide pupils with practical cookery experience and teach them the underlying scientific concepts of nutrition and healthy eating.
The Healthy Schools Rating Scheme celebrates the positive actions that schools are delivering in terms of healthy living, healthy eating and physical activity, and supports schools in identifying further actions that they can take in this area. This voluntary rating scheme is available for both primary and secondary schools.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that pupil premium students in receipt of free school meals have equal access to grammar schools; and whether the government is taking steps to increase the number of such students attending grammar schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has no plans to open more grammar schools. The Department’s priority is to concentrate on ensuring that as many pupils as possible, whatever their ability, have access to an outstanding education. Setting and streaming of pupils is common practice in secondary schools and enables teachers to tailor lessons to suit pupils of similar abilities and ensures that the highest ability pupils are offered additional stretch.
The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) supports a small number of expansion projects. Eligible grammar schools can apply for CIF funding in an annual bidding round
The below table shows the average Attainment 8 and Progress 8 data for non-selective and selective secondary schools in the 2021/22 academic year. It does not take account of the differences in pupil abilities or characteristics, for example free school meal eligibility, between selective and non-selective schools.
Average Attainment 8 and Progress 8 scores for selective and non-selective schools, 2021/22 | |||||
| Non-selective schools | Selective schools | |||
Average Attainment 8 score of schools | 47.8 | 74.1 | |||
Average Progress 8 score of schools | -0.06 | 0.57 | |||
A wide range of published research looks at the effect of grammar schools on social mobility. Grammar schools offer benefits to those children that attend them. Research shows that, in some areas with lots of selective schools, the attainment of pupils at local non-selective schools is negatively affected relative to their peers in areas with no selective schools. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The Department is currently looking at renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA), which sets out the commitment of GSHA members to increase the number of disadvantaged pupils on roll. Alongside the MoU, the 22 grammar schools that previously received funding through the Selective Schools Expansion Fund (SSEF) all prioritise pupil premium children for admission and undertake outreach work to increase the number of disadvantaged pupils on roll. The Department is evaluating delivery of their Fair Access and Partnership Plans over a five-year period. Between 2018/19 and 2021/22, the percentage of pupils eligible for pupil premium attending SSEF schools has increased from 7.2% to 8.6%.
[1] Andrews et al., 2016, EPI, “Grammar schools and social mobility”: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/grammar-schools-social-mobility/.
[2] Atkinson et al., 2006, "The result of 11+ Selection: An Investigation into Opportunities and Outcomes for Pupils in Selective LEAs": https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4798623_The_Result_of_11_Plus_Selection_An_Investigation_into_Opportunities_and_Outcomes_for_Pupils_in_Selective_LEAs.
[3] Gorard and Siddiqui, 2016, "Grammar schools in England: a new approach to analysing their intakes and outcomes": https://dro.dur.ac.uk/20400/.
[4] Burgess et al., 2018, "Assessing the role of grammar schools in promoting social mobility": http://repec.ioe.ac.uk/REPEc/pdf/qsswp1709.pdf.
[5] Cribb et al., 2013, "Entry into Grammar Schools in England": https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poorgrammarreport-2.pdf.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the impact of eligible children not accessing their right to free meals under the Holiday Activity and Food Programme on levels of food poverty of those children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.
Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals. Local authorities are responsible for the collection and assurance of data for their HAF programme. For 2023, we have added an additional requirement for every local authority to compile and publish a report on their HAF programme that covers how much HAF funding they receive and how it has been spent, along with how many children they’ve worked with in each holiday period, including breakdowns of the proportion of primary and secondary aged children and the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities or additional needs who have taken part in HAF. These reports are expected to be made available by local authorities no later than 30 June 2023.
Every HAF funded holiday club must provide at least 1 meal a day, which can be breakfast, lunch or an evening meal, and meals must meet school food standards as outlined at: http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/actions/school-food-standards/.
Every local authority should have in place a robust system to monitor HAF clubs they fund so that they can be assured that they meet the expected standards for the programme, and that they are providing a high quality and fun experience for children. Local authorities are asked to ensure that the offer of free holiday club provision is available for all children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in their area, though attendance on the HAF programme is entirely voluntary.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to assess the nutritional value of meals provided by the Holiday Activities Fund.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.
Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals. Local authorities are responsible for the collection and assurance of data for their HAF programme. For 2023, we have added an additional requirement for every local authority to compile and publish a report on their HAF programme that covers how much HAF funding they receive and how it has been spent, along with how many children they’ve worked with in each holiday period, including breakdowns of the proportion of primary and secondary aged children and the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities or additional needs who have taken part in HAF. These reports are expected to be made available by local authorities no later than 30 June 2023.
Every HAF funded holiday club must provide at least 1 meal a day, which can be breakfast, lunch or an evening meal, and meals must meet school food standards as outlined at: http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/actions/school-food-standards/.
Every local authority should have in place a robust system to monitor HAF clubs they fund so that they can be assured that they meet the expected standards for the programme, and that they are providing a high quality and fun experience for children. Local authorities are asked to ensure that the offer of free holiday club provision is available for all children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in their area, though attendance on the HAF programme is entirely voluntary.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing free childcare in school holidays for children of parents who have to work during school holidays.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.
Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals. Local authorities are responsible for the collection and assurance of data for their HAF programme. For 2023, we have added an additional requirement for every local authority to compile and publish a report on their HAF programme that covers how much HAF funding they receive and how it has been spent, along with how many children they’ve worked with in each holiday period, including breakdowns of the proportion of primary and secondary aged children and the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities or additional needs who have taken part in HAF. These reports are expected to be made available by local authorities no later than 30 June 2023.
Every HAF funded holiday club must provide at least 1 meal a day, which can be breakfast, lunch or an evening meal, and meals must meet school food standards as outlined at: http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/actions/school-food-standards/.
Every local authority should have in place a robust system to monitor HAF clubs they fund so that they can be assured that they meet the expected standards for the programme, and that they are providing a high quality and fun experience for children. Local authorities are asked to ensure that the offer of free holiday club provision is available for all children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in their area, though attendance on the HAF programme is entirely voluntary.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children who receive free school meals have been able to access the Holiday Activities Fund (HAF) in each of the holidays since that Fund was created in (a) York and (b) England.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.
Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals. Local authorities are responsible for the collection and assurance of data for their HAF programme. For 2023, we have added an additional requirement for every local authority to compile and publish a report on their HAF programme that covers how much HAF funding they receive and how it has been spent, along with how many children they’ve worked with in each holiday period, including breakdowns of the proportion of primary and secondary aged children and the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities or additional needs who have taken part in HAF. These reports are expected to be made available by local authorities no later than 30 June 2023.
Every HAF funded holiday club must provide at least 1 meal a day, which can be breakfast, lunch or an evening meal, and meals must meet school food standards as outlined at: http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/actions/school-food-standards/.
Every local authority should have in place a robust system to monitor HAF clubs they fund so that they can be assured that they meet the expected standards for the programme, and that they are providing a high quality and fun experience for children. Local authorities are asked to ensure that the offer of free holiday club provision is available for all children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in their area, though attendance on the HAF programme is entirely voluntary.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families.