Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Summer 2026

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme enables local authorities in England to deliver inclusive, enriching activities including a hot meal (where possible) over the school holidays. Eligible children and young people can book up to 16 free places throughout the summer holidays. 

The Staffordshire HAF programme will run at various locations in local areas starting from Monday 20 July until Monday 31 August 2026.

It is funded for children and young people aged 5 – 16 years who receive benefit related free school meals. 

How do parents/carers book?

All eligible parents and carers will receive an email or letter from Staffordshire County Council containing their child’s individual HAF code.

Schools and Family Hubs will also have access to these codes and can help share booking details with eligible families.

Booking steps

Bookings officially open on Friday 19 June at 4pm.

Browse activities in advance:  Activities will be visible on our website before bookings open. Visit: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/holidayactivities

Book online: When bookings open, a ‘Book Now’ button will appear on the HAF booking page of the county council website.

Create an account:   Parents/carers will need to register an account via the booking platform on the website. We recommend doing this before 19 June.

Have your HAF code ready:   They will need their child’s HAF code to book their chosen activities.

To avoid disappointment, parents/carers should book as soon as possible at: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/holidayactivities.

HAF teen offer

A range of activities exclusively for young people aged 11 to 16 who are eligible for benefit-related free school meals are also available on our HAF programme. As well as fun activities, teenagers can also take part in development opportunities such as football coaching. Full details and booking information are available on the Staffordshire County Council website.

HAF half-term

An additional HAF programme will take place during October half term 2026, and the HAF code will also be valid for use during this time. If this is successful, we will look at running the programme in other half terms.

FAQs

There’s a child that would benefit from the programme but is not eligible for free school meals, how can they benefit from a funded place?

Some children can be referred via professionals to access a HAF place by requesting a professional referral form from our team. Please email: StaffordshireHAF@staffordshire.gov.uk

HAF codes issued on a referral basis are valid for Easter, Summer, October half-term and Winter 2026.

Can a family pay for their child to attend HAF?

Some of the holiday clubs will also have places that can be paid for. Please check our booking platform to see if there are any paid for places available for your chosen activity.