HAF annual report

North Tyneside Council received a total allocation of £828,140 for the 2025 HAF Programme, to be delivered across the three main holiday periods.

£680,875 was invested in face-to-face delivery. This includes all HAF-funded 4x4 camps, as well as central offers such as pantomimes, ice skating, gym and swim passes, and even residential experiences.

In February, we piloted a half-term delivery for the first time. This created 2,421 available places, including 589 specialist SEND places. Despite a high number of bookings, a significant number of these were non-attendances (no-shows), showing that this activity period may not have been as needed for families. 

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To maximise reach, North Tyneside Council operates a funding model allowing providers to apply for up to £30 per child per day. While this approach increases overall capacity, it is not sufficient to meet the needs of all eligible children during each holiday period. Similarly, the 15% flexible funding allocation for children not eligible for FSM is limited and cannot fully meet the high demand from locally identified families experiencing hardship.

Additional external funding has played a crucial role in enhancing the programme’s reach and offer:

• Meals & More funding enabled the provision of 8,000 meals during HAF 2025 and supported a “Big Day Out”
• Albany Furniture provided match funding to support 66 surfing lessons during the summer
• The Bread and Butter Thing, a national charity and member of the North Tyneside Food Partnership, supported 600 HAF places across the Easter and summer programmes
• A further 85 places were funded for children not meeting FSM eligibility criteria, delivered across five provisions in the most deprived areas of the borough thanks to Karbon Homes.