A range of free holiday activities are on offer for eligible families this summer.
Through the Holiday Activity and Food programme (HAF) there is a huge number of things to help keep the kids active during the summer break.
From arts and crafts, sporting events and other physical activities there is a host of entertaining things to do, making sure no one gets bored over the holidays.
Funded through the Department for Education, HAF’s goal is to ensure that some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Manchester – aged between 5-16 years old – get the support they need when the school term is over.
The HAF is primarily for families whose children are in receipt of free school meals – but eligibility can be checked via the MCRactive website.
During the previous financial year via the HAF, Manchester City Council has supported 29,224 children in accessing 3,971 holiday sessions. Additional support is also on offer for children with special educational needs as well as children in care and young carers.
A free and nutritious meal is also provided as part of this programme ensuring that no child has to endure holiday hunger.
A range of families will be eligible for HAF – details of which can be found by visiting the MCRactive website here – mcractive.com/haf – where you can register for free.
The Council knows that the HAF can make a huge difference for the families who take part. 98% of the children who take part say they came home having met a new friend, and parents have provided feedback telling us that their child comes home feeling more engaged and less likely to spend time using electronic equipment.
On top of the HAF programme parents and families can find an extensive range of other free or low-cost activities that are taking place in Manchester this summer by visiting our Loads to Do website. They can enjoy great events like Parktastic, a new series of free, drop-in play sessions run by the council and its youth delivery partners taking place at parks all over the city.
There is also a range of support available for anyone in Manchester who has been struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis, with a free advice line operating to anyone in need of additional help. Details can be found here.
Councillor Julie Reid, Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People said: “We know the holidays can be a real pinch point for families which is why schemes such as the HAF programme are so important.
“Providing free activities can be a real boost for children of all ages throughout the holidays, allowing them to meet new friends and try out new things – both hugely significant in terms of their personal wellbeing and mental health.
“A huge amount of work has taken place in recent years to address the inequality around early years development and we’re proud to be able to have schemes in place that will help us achieve this aim.
“There are a lot of great events that will be running over the summer holidays with a free meal or snack included, so if you have not already been contacted to take part I’d urge families to have a look at our Loads to Do website and see what they think their child would enjoy over the break.”
Manchester as a Child Friendly City
Manchester is determined to make the city the very best place for children and young people to grow up in. A place where children’s rights are understood, respected and actioned in the everyday life of the city and in decision making. A place also where children and young people are given a voice and where their ideas and opinions matter.
In 2023 it therefore set itself the target of becoming a UNICEF recognised Child Friendly City.
The city’s bid to be recognised by UNICEF as a Child Friendly City will see the council and local partners putting children’s rights into practice over a time frame of three to five years, as they work together towards the shared goal.
As part of this the council, in consultation with children and young people, has had to identify areas of particular focus – known as ‘badges’ – that it must work towards before it can be recognised as a UNICEF Child Friendly City.
The top three badges identified by Manchester’s children and young people for the city to focus on are: Safe and Secure, Place, and Healthy. In addition to these the city must also focus on a further three core badges – Culture, Co-operation and leadership, and Communication – and has also set itself the extra challenge of including a seventh badge, Equal and Included, as a cross-cutting golden thread through all its work in each of the different badge areas.
With over 200 languages spoken in Manchester and as the only city outside London to have residents in each of the 90 listed ethnic groups in the census, city leaders agreed that the Equal and Included priority should as a necessity underpin all of the work undertaken towards becoming a Child-Friendly City.
For more information visit childfriendlymanchester.co.uk
Making Manchester Fairer
Making Manchester Fairer is a five-year action plan initiated by the Manchester City Council aimed at addressing health inequalities and improving fairness in the city. The plan focuses on eight key themes:
- Early years, children, and young people
- Poverty, income, and debt
- Work and employment
- Prevention of ill health and preventable death
- Homes and housing
- Places, transport, and climate change
- Tackling systemic and structural racism and discrimination
- Communities and power
This initiative is part of a broader Anti-Poverty Strategy that seeks to produce evidence-based recommendations to tackle poverty and its consequences.
