NOTE:  The majority of this is intended for families eligible for free school meals.

We know that, particularly in rural schools, many families may be eligible but unaware and that the funding for free meals for all pupils throughout the Infants phase of school means that people often don't register for them even if they are eligible. This also means that they may be missing out on other initiatives that are linked directly to FSM eligiblity.

You can find out more about eligiblity for FSM from the link at the end!

Holiday activities & food (HAF) programme announced for 2021

Cumbria County Council has been given £1.2 million by the government to spend in 2021 to provide high-quality fun activities over the holidays for school aged children and young people eligible for and receiving benefits-related free school meals.

The programme will run over the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays with the aim being to provide fun physical activities, a nutritious meal and enrichment sessions around cooking, eating well and learning new skills for those young people who prefer a less active holiday.

The Easter holiday offer will be virtual due to Covid-19 restrictions still being in place and will include:

• A  series of ‘live’ interactive exercise and fitness sessions delivered by Active Cumbria and CandoFM.
• A range of activities of which include cooking lessons, picnics,  art/craft sessions and lots more, delivered by Our 0-19 Child and Family Support Services (CFSS) from Barnardo’s and Family Action.
• An online activity programme in the second week of the Easter holiday delivering virtual stories, art & craft sessions provided by the Library service. 

In the summer and Christmas holidays there will be face to face sessions in local settings such as schools and Leisure/Community centres; allowing children and young people to choose from a wide range of activities which will include sport, outdoor activities such as climbing and canoeing, and a raft of enrichment sessions followed by a nutritious meal.

Children and their families can find out more about the Easter activities by emailing HAF@Cumbria.gov.uk or can sign up to the activities on the links below:

Easter Exercise and Fitness Offer:

Active Cumbria in partnership with CandoFM have organized a series of ‘LIVE’ exercise and fitness sessions for children and young people from Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, those pupils at risk of being NEET (Not in Education or Employment and Training) and those pupils with a SEND who are entitled to free school meals.

To register, participants will need to visit the following link: https://activecumbria.eventbrite.co.uk so that they can access the zoom link to the activity session they wish to attend.

The number of participants for each activity session is limited, so please do register early to avoid any disappointment. 

Barnardo’s Eden – ‘Families Together’ Time

Children and their families will be encouraged to look out for information which will be shared by schools and on our Facebook page.

In Eden, families can register their interest by using any of the following and then complete the booking instructions once confirmed to enable resources to be delivered and / or collected:

Telephone: 01768 899901

E-mail: enquiries.eden@barnardos.org.uk

Family Action – Families, Food and Fun (HAF-DfE)

Throughout the Easter holidays children, young people and their families will be invited to get involved with a wide range of fun activities - arts and crafts, nature detectives, fun food recipes, and much more. Find out more on our 0-19 district Facebook pages: 

https://www.facebook.com/CarlisleSupport