Supporting our Local Young People
November 10th, 2022
The team at Cumulus Outdoors are proud to have supported more than 300 local young people as part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
Holiday Activities and Food Programme in Swanage
Since 2018, the Department for Education holiday activities and food programme (HAF) has provided support to children in receipt of free school meals through holiday periods. Following successful pilots, the programme was rolled out to all 152 county councils in 2021 and continued in 2022. Within this framework, Dorset Council teamed up with Cumulus Outdoors and other outdoor adventure activity providers to coordinate and run free, enriching holiday activities including healthy food.
Cumulus Outdoors was happy to be in the position to support the programme again in 2022 and also further expand it to open up a Holiday Club provision for local schools and children aged between 5 and 16 years. Over the six-week summer holiday period, we were able to provide 360 places through the HAF programme while also enabling 215 additional local children to enjoy our Holiday Club.
Enriching activities for younger groups included beach safety, Mini Olympics and circus skills, bushcraft, nature art & crafts, nature walk and aeroball while the activities for older groups included climbing, coasteering, high ropes, water sports (kayaking & SUP), tag archery, air rifles and beach safety. All who attended also received a healthy, nutritious lunch cooked by our on-site catering team plus a goody bag with tomato or cress seeds and healthy recipes.
HAF Aims and Objectives
The stated aims of the programme were, amongst others:
- Eat healthily and to be active over the school holidays
- Take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character and wellbeing along with their wider educational attainment
- Be safe and not to be socially isolated
- Have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition
- To develop and consolidate existing skills and knowledge
- To try out new experiences
- To have fun and socialise
Caregiver Feedback
From the great feedback we received we were pleased that we were more than able to fulfil these aims and objectives.
One parent told us their child ‘thoroughly enjoyed the kayaking and their lunch’. They also thought it was really ‘well organised and great value for money’.
While the mother of a participant with special educational needs praised:
‘The activities leaders have been amazing and always gone extra mile to help her and give her encouragement to socialise with others’.
We also had some Ukrainian refugees attend as part of the HAF scheme who our instructors were delighted to see them ‘come out of their shell‘.
We are proud to be a part of such a rewarding programme and look forward to running the next sessions during the Christmas holidays.
Get in touch
Please get in touch to find out more about the school holiday clubs offered by Cumulus Outdoors in Swanage