Abstract Background School holidays can be a period of isolation and difficulty for children from low-income families. Limited opportunities for enrichment activities, and food insecurity, mean that children’s health and well-being can suffer. There is also potential learning loss, particularly during longer holiday periods. The Holiday Activities 9-12y; n =2). Primary school children (8-12y; n =15) participated in focus groups. Data were analysed using the Framework Method. HAF Leads ( n =9) completed an economic survey. Results Five key themes were identified: (1) Eligibility, reach and attendance: Open-access provision is needed to reduce stigma and improve attendance. (2) The importance of relationships: Families and communities need to work together; (3) Delivering a high-quality, inclusive HAF programme: there is a need for flexible choice-led provision; (4) Schools as trusted advocates: Schools can support reach and recruitment of the HAF programme; and (5) Evaluation of HAF: Current evaluations are insufficient and a comprehensive evaluation with children, families and communities is needed. Conclusion To ensure that families are receiving the support they need, we recommend that changes to the programme allow community organisations to have agency to decide how best to work with their families, achieved by greater flexibility within the national guidelines and criteria. Moreover, we recommend poverty-proofed , place-based holiday provision that is iteratively developed with the involvement of local families.
Hatch et al. (Sat,) studied this question.