We have funding from the Department for Education's (DfE) holiday activities and food programme again this year.
This funding means we can offer fun activities and tasty food free of charge to children who are:
- in receipt of benefit-related free school meals
- attending school in the Dorset Council area
We also have discretionary codes available to children who are:
- in the care of the local authority
- participating in a resettlement program
- referred by a school, family, or social worker
Once you sign up we'll send you your holiday pass code by text or email. Keep your code somewhere safe as you'll need it to book free places on holiday activities throughout the year.
If you don't know your child's passcode, or you wish to apply for a pass code, you can email us your child’s:
- name
- date of birth
- school
and we will reply to you within 3 working days.
Passcodes are issued when Free School Meal applications are approved.
Many of the activities that accept the pass code will also be open to fee-paying customers too.
If your child is not eligible for free school meals, many activities that accept the pass code will also be open to fee-paying customers too. You can search for activities in your area on our Family Information Directory.
How we use our HAF funding
We've been working closely with local organisations, holiday clubs and activity providers to make sure there's a variety of activities available that appeal to children and young people of all ages and abilities.
A huge thank you to all our providers and families across Dorset for making HAF a great success. HAF providers delivered a variety of activities including:
- sports
- cultural
- forest school/outdoor education
- food nutrition
Our annual review focuses on the programme in Dorset across the Summer 2023, Christmas 2023 and Easter 2024 holidays. You can read the HAF annual report 2024 to 2025.
Watch this video of how the funding has impacted children, young people, parents and providers across Dorset:
HAF programme providers
Find out how to become a provider of our HAF programme.
Free school meals
Free school meals are available to children whose parents or carers receive financial support (also known as benefits). Find out more about how to get free school meals.