HAF Holiday Activity Fund 2026-29

Tender description

Cheshire East Council is seeking to commission a number of providers to deliver face to face school holiday activities for young people in Cheshire East. The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is a ‘Department for Education’ (DfE) initiative enabling local authorities to coordinate a programme that provides school age young people between the ages of 4 – 16, and up to age 18 for eligible SEND young people, with healthy food and enriching activities during the summer and winter holidays. These school holiday activities provide young people with: • positive and safe things to do and places to go • the opportunity to spend time with friends, to develop personally and socially, and reduce isolation • the chance to undertake new activities and have new experiences Cheshire East Council is flexible in its approach to service delivery, always seeking solutions that will offer quality outcomes and value for money and working with delivery partners who share our values and commitment to the success of this area of support. Cheshire East Council's Corporate Plan sets out clear priorities, and all providers will be required to contribute towards the corporate objectives and improve outcomes for the people of Cheshire East. It is the intention of Cheshire East Council to commission ‘free to access’ school holiday sessions/activities. Therefore, any bids submitted will cover the costs in full within the pricing and proposal schedule, without the need for subsidies from children and families accessing the session/activity. Tenders will be accepted under two LOTS – • LOT 1 is for providers who are offering general HAF provision. • LOT 2 is restricted to applications for specialist provision e.g., SEND, Teenagers. LOT 2 provides access to higher individual session costings to reflect the additional costing/provision that may be needed to support these groups of young people. Providers who are providing inclusive SEND provision within their wider offer (incurring no additional costs), please select LOT 1. Keywords: SEND, HAF, Free school meals, school, Holiday Activity, Holiday