Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) 2026
Free Government-funded holiday clubs with healthy meals for children who are claiming benefit-related free school meals.
Summer 2026 HAF clubs will be announced soon
All clubs will be listed via the booking system, Plinth. To speed up the registration process, you can make your account now.
Book your place
For any queries contact haf@towerhamlets.gov.uk
HAF report
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) report details how we performed in the last year.
Read the annual report
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The HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) programme is a government-funded initiative. It aims to provide healthy meals and fun activities to children during the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays.
The programme supports families with children on benefits-related free school meals. This is different from the universal free school meals for all Tower Hamlets children.
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The HAF programme is for children and young people aged 4 to 16 on benefits-related free school meals.
In contrast, universal free school meals are available to all children, regardless of income. However, benefits-related meals are limited to those in families receiving certain benefits.
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A HAF code is a unique ID for each eligible child to join HAF activities. Children in Tower Hamlets who get free school meals and attend school will automatically receive a HAF code before holidays. HAF codes are issued by the council, not schools.
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Apply online: Visit the free school meals page and complete the application. You’ll need to provide details about your income and benefits.
Start the free school meals application form
Seek support: Schools can help you with the application process. Apply early as the registration can take some time to be processed and reflected in the system.
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Yes. Your child must be receiving benefits-related free school meals for your child to be eligible for the HAF programme.
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You should receive confirmation that says your child has been registered for benefits-related free school meals. You should provide a copy of this confirmation to your club when you register to access a free space.
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The HAF programme offers activities for physical, creative and social growth. These include sports, arts and crafts, music, drama, cooking, workshops and trips.
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Condition For Processing Personal Data
It is necessary for us to process your personal data (name, address, contact details), under the GDPR article 6 task carried out in the public interest and consent
We will also collect Special category data such as (health, personal and household circumstances) under article 9 Medical, Health or Social Care and Explicit consent.
How long do we keep your information?
We will only hold your information for as long as is required by law and to provide you with the necessary services. This is likely to be for 7 years after the case is closed. For further details, you can view our Retention Schedule.
We may also anonymise some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this for statistical analysis of data to allow the Council to effectively target and plan the provision of services.
Information sharing
Your personal information may be shared with internal departments or with external partners and agencies involved in delivering services on our behalf. As stated above this will include the Department of Education.
Your Rights
You can find out more about your rights on our Data Protection page and this includes details of your rights about automated decisions, such as the ranking of Housing Applications, and how to complain to the Information Commissioner.