Call for Local Support for the Big Norfolk Holiday Fun Programme

Could you be part of building an engaging holiday activity programme to help children and young people in Norfolk have a great Summer?

We are working alongside Norfolk County Council to coordinate the Big Norfolk Holiday Fun (BNHF) programme for the County. This Department for Education funded Holiday Activities and Food Programme brings fun and healthy activities including nutritious food to children during the school holidays. This scheme is open to children whose families are eligible to receive free school meals only.

We successfully delivered a blended online and face-to-face holiday activity offer during the Easter holidays. This saw over 7,000 families take up the offer of free food and activity boxes. Several hundreds joined in a varied programme of online music, cookery, and physical activity sessions. And more than 500 young people took part in the face to face offer (this was limited due to Covid).

What’s the plan for Summer?

The provision of an online offer for Easter was down to the pandemic. But as restrictions are now lifting, we are planning for a full face-to-face offer of fun and healthy activities for children during the Summer break.

The BNHF will run for a period of 6 weeks over the Summer period. Providers need to only provide activities for 4 weeks out of the 6 week window during Summer.

The activities need to run for 4 days each week, and include a healthy lunch for the participants. We’ve got lots more information about the requirements for the activities and the food offer, including an FAQs section.

We are busy mapping out what the holiday activities offer can be – and that’s where you come in!

We are seeking expressions of intent from local activity providers, venues, schools, community organisations, and any other organisations who can help deliver a holiday activity and food programme across the county. This will help us map out what activity can be provided, where, and for how many children and young people.

We’re hoping to develop a rich and varied programme of engaging activities for children and young people to enjoy this Summer. Everything from physical activity camps and music, to arts and crafts and cookery. If you are in a position to provide healthy and positive summer activities for children and young people aged 5 – 16, then we’d love to hear from you.

How can I find out more?

We are holding an online information session on Thursday 20th May at 6pm. In this session you’ll get more information and a chance to ask questions relating to the Summer programme. 

You can also find out more about the programme and how the food and activity provision works. Find out more and complete an expression of intent by visiting Big Norfolk Holiday Fun information page and FAQs.