Local MP Alan Mak has welcomed £314,000 of funding for summer holiday clubs across the Havant area this year.
He visited Park Community School in Leigh Park to see families sit down for a healthy lunch before enjoying a performance by Happy's Circus in a Big Top erected in the school grounds.
The special treat was organised as the culmination of five weeks of holiday activities to help local children maintain their learning and broaden their horizons.
A range of summer activities for children have been provided thanks to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, funded by the Department for Education and delivered on the ground by Hampshire County Council through its Connect4Communities programme. The Holiday Activities and Food programme was started and funded by the last Conservative Government with sufficient funding until March 2025 already announced before the July 2024 General Election.
The aim of HAF is to provide enriching activities and healthy meals to children from reception to Year 11 during the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays.
This year the DfE has provided £3,530,740 of funding to HCC and the Isle of Wight Council to co-ordinate HAF programmes.
The Havant area was allocated £314,000 to provide 8,800 places at summer holiday clubs this year, while partner organisations delivering HAF activities have also offered additional places to fee-paying families.
This is on top of Havant's Easter allocation of £85,079 and a budgeted allocation of £70,764 for this Christmas.
Since HAF was fully formed as a national programme in 2021/22, Hampshire has spent £1,463,092 on directly supporting families in the Havant area.
Park Community School took part in the initial HAF pilot in 2017/18 and Susan Parish MBE, who until recently was the school's Community Manager, led this pioneering work. Her MBE was awarded in recognition of this and her wider work to tackle local inequalities.
Flo Fearon, Susan's successor as Community Manager, said: "Some families have been coming to the holiday clubs every day, taking part in crafts, cooking and sport. We've had visits from falcons and reptiles, plus Winchester Science Centre. It's been fun and educational."
She added: "We've also run a youth programme for 11 to 15-year-olds who've been on trips out, including swimming, skiing, climbing and skateboarding."
Local parent Ashleigh Fountain from The Warren was at the holiday club with children Frances, five, and three-year-old Sebastian.
She said: "Coming here gives them a routine over the summer. They've really enjoyed it.
"They've had lunch and done crafts, making things like pom poms, badges and superhero masks. They even made ice cream on cookery days."
Frances added: "I really liked making a bracelet."
The HAF programme is funded to March 2025 and Alan is calling on the new Labour Government to commit to continuing support for it.
Mr Mak said: "The holiday clubs which began under the previous Conservative Government are a great way to keep children occupied during the school holidays. They are learning, having fun, making friends and getting a healthy meal too. I will continue to support funding for HAF activities in our area because I've seen how much they are valued by local children and parents, and I am calling on the new Government to continue the funding."
Photos: Alan Mak MP with Park Community School headteacher Chris Anders, Flo Fearon and Leigh Park children
