Plymouth City Council has received funding from the Department for Education to coordinate a city-wide holiday activity and food programme during the 2023 Easter, summer and Christmas holidays to primarily support families with children who receive benefit related free school meals.
Summer 2023
The next Fit and Fed holiday club will be taking place during the summer holiday (Monday 24 July to Friday 1 September). Each child is entitled to 16 days of provision over the summer.
Eligibility
Use the following button to check if a child is eligible to attend a Fit and Fed holiday club. If you are eligible you will get a code. You will need to provide this code to the holiday club provider when booking.
Frequently asked questions
The programme is primarily for children on benefit related free school meals. We are also able to offer funded places to Looked After Children, Children with Education, Health Care Plans, Foster Children, Young Carers, children of recognised refugees and children from asylum seeking and Ukrainian families, Children under Child Protection Plans and Children who are Home Educated, who would be eligible for Free School Meals if they were in school.
If your child does not currently fall into any of the groups above, they are not eligible for the Fit and Fed programme. However, there are many holiday clubs running across the city that are open to everyone.
Unfortunately not. The Holiday Activities and Food funding from Department of Education only supports school-aged children receiving benefit related free school meals.
You can find out more information, check your eligibility and submit an application on our free school meals page.
Thanks to funding from the Department for Education, our holiday clubs are able to provide activities free of charge for children who receive benefit related free school meals, Looked After Children, Children with Education, Health Care Plans, foster children, young carers, children of recognised refugees and children from asylum seeking families.
Although places are fully funded for you, Plymouth City Council have to pay for every place so please ensure that you use spaces that are booked and cancel spaces when ill or unable to attend.
Yes, every child who is registered in Plymouth on benefit related Free School Meals has been sent a code via a letter. This needs to be given to the holiday provider at the point of booking.
We are developing an online code checker for parents which should be available soon. Other eligible children will not be issued a code and will need to contact the Sports Development Unit on 01752 307008 or email sportsdev@plymouth.gov.uk for eligibility.
Each holiday club is managing its own bookings. You will need to contact them directly.
Yes. You can book into different clubs or you can choose to stay at the same club. Some clubs may have booking restrictions so please check with clubs on their policies.
Each holiday club will have a different theme (e.g. sport, art, outdoors, dance) and will offer a different mix of activities.
Daily activities will include some exercise, food education, fun and enriching activities as well as a healthy meal.
Your child does not need to bring anything with them although a water bottle/drink is advisable. They should wear comfortable clothing and footwear that allows them to run around and play games in. They may also need to wear appropriate clothing if activities are outside e.g. coat, jumper, hat.
All of the holiday club providers have declared they have suitable arrangements and appropriate policies and procedures in place in relation to Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Insurance and Accessibility.
Where appropriate, clubs are also compliant with Ofsted requirements.
The Fit and Fed programme is being managed by the Council’s Sports Development Unit. If you need to speak to someone about the Fit and Fed programme, or have any queries you can send them an email at sportsdev@plymouth.gov.uk.
All Fit and Fed clubs aim to be inclusive and will try to accommodate the needs of an individual child, some of our holiday clubs are more accessible than others and can provide further assistance for those with additional needs.
If your child has additional needs and does not require a one to one worker to access our holiday clubs please contact the holiday club you wish to take part in directly to discuss your child’s needs. If your child need more support please contact the Sports Development Unit who will be able to guide you to the most appropriate club and provide further support.
The Department for Education has awarded every local authority area in the country a Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) grant to provide funded places for children on benefit-related free school meals to access holiday clubs within their local area. Therefore if you do not live within the Plymouth City Council boundary or attend a Plymouth school you should contact the local coordinator for Devon or Cornwall County Council and access their programmes.
For anyone interested in being part of Plymouth’s Fit and Fed programme please contact Barry Mountstevens, Community Sports Manager at barry.mountstevens@plymouth.gov.uk.
More information on the national Holiday Activities and Food Programme from the Department for Education can be found on the GOV.UK website.
If you would like more information on what support the government are offering to combat the cost of living visit GOV.UK.