Decision

1. To enter into a contract for £47,831 with Gloucestershire County Council, based on the standard terms and conditions for the purchase of children’s school holiday activities/food support services and any associated deeds of variation for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
   
   2. To note the delivery plan for the delivery of the Summer HAF programme.
   
   3. To delegate authority to the Head of Communities, Wellbeing & Partnerships in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities to enter into grant agreements with the provider organisations who will deliver the HAF programme.
   
   

Reasons for the decision

The HAF programme is a Department for Education initiative providing enriching holiday activities and healthy meals for children eligible for free school meals (FSM). HAF aims to reduce the “holiday experience gap,” improving nutrition, and supporting children’s wellbeing, as research shows that children from low income families are more likely to have unhealthy food options and experience social isolation during holidays.

DfE have awarded £1,655,070 per annum, 2026-2029, to Gloucestershire County Council to fund these services. GCC have opted to distribute this via an open procurement process to enable local delivery.

Following a competitive tendering exercise, the Council was appointed as district lead for Cheltenham Borough on 20 March. The role of the District Lead Organisation is to develop, contract and deliver the HAF programme in that District, to ensure that the provision meets DFE requirements, and the DfE’s HAF contract standards.
In terms of the contract, legal advice has been sought and One Legal are now satisfied that the contract poses no risks to the Council.

Payments

The administration payments to the council as district lead are as follows:

District

Funding  Spring 2026

Funding Summer 2026

Funding Winter 2026

Total

Cheltenham

£7,972

£31,887

£7,972

£47,831

Out of this allocation, £30,300 will be taken as a contribution to CBC overheads of administering the programme.

The delivery allocations to the council for the purpose of subcontracting activity providers for HAF programme delivery are as follows:

District

Funding  Spring 2026

Funding Summer 2026

Funding Winter 2026

Total

Cheltenham

£26, 053

£104, 214

£26,053

£156, 320

The Council undertakes due diligence checks on the providers to ensure that the appropriate policies and procedures are in place.

The Council enters into grant agreements with the providers. The agreements set out the conditions of funding, plus the DFE HAF Framework Standards and arrangements for quality assessment checks.

 
Spring HAF 2026

Although the council was not yet formally appointed as district lead, with GCC agreement, we undertook an open and transparent process whereby potential HAF providers were invited to submit bids via an online platform. These were assessed by a panel comprising of the cabinet lead, representative of GRCC (VCS infrastructure provider) and NCLB officers. The programme was delivered from 1 April.
The Spring HAF programme comprised 13 delivery partners, at a cost of £25,990 to deliver just under 850 spaces over a 4-day period. Details of the Spring delivery plan are supplied in Appendix A.

Summer HAF 2026

The bidding process for summer HAF delivery opened on 29 April 2026 and again providers were invited to submit bids via an online platform – with closing date of 27 May

Potential providers were also invited to attend an in-person prospective HAF provider event on 5 May. This session was held to outline local processes and priorities for HAF delivery in Cheltenham and provide an opportunity for prospective providers to discuss potential delivery areas. After presenting processes and priorities, CBC staff left the event leaving a rep from the Children’s Society to facilitate an informal discussion with providers to explore opportunities to collaborate on bids.

In total, 23 bids were received, requesting a total of £172k. These were assessed by a panel comprising of the cabinet lead, representative of GRCC (VCS infrastructure provider) and NCLB officers.

The delivery plan is attached as Appendix B that includes 19 providers – including CBC-facilitated Party in the Park with an allocation of £10k.

Background information:

Core Requirements for the District Lead Organisation.

•              The provider must have a base of operations in the district they are delivering in.

•              Have the responsibility in their district to ensure that the programme meets DFE requirements for the HAF Programme detailed below.

•              Be ambassadors and champions of the Gloucestershire HAF programme, working in partnership with other District Leads, GCC HAF team and other key stakeholders to maximise the impact of the programme and its resources in Gloucestershire.

•              To develop a focus group to include the voice of the young person in planning for the HAF programme.

•              Work with GCC HAF team to agree providers for each HAF holiday to reach FSM children and young people in the district.

•              Ensure all schools in the district are aware of and engaged in the HAF programme, with adequate representation on the Stakeholder network.

•              Work with activity providers and provide opportunities to ensure children, young people, and families in their district are actively shaping provision.

•              To arrange and chair district provider meetings ensuring all district providers are aware of any updates and have the space to air any challenges or concerns.

•              To work with the Council to agree monitoring questions for activity providers

•              To bear the responsibility of your district providers updating and uploading registers and monitoring forms and contacting those providers who have not uploaded or updating registers on the Family Hubs booking system.

•              Provide monitoring and evaluation information in line with agreed deadlines.

•              To ensure subcontracted providers are providing the required due diligence to the Council.

•              To work towards the goals and targets as set out in the Council’s One Plan

Alternative options considered

Not applicable