Holiday Play Schemes: Disability
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve access to holiday clubs for disabled children in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.
Answered by Department for Education
The government is committed to improving access to high-quality holiday provision for school-aged children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Through the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme, the department is spending over £600 million across the three financial years from 2026/27 to provide free holiday club places, healthy meals and enriching activities to eligible children from low-income families during school holidays in England.
Local authorities are responsible for understanding local needs and delivering HAF provision that is inclusive and accessible. They have flexibility to tailor provision for children with SEND who are eligible for free school meals and have discretion to use up to 15% of funding to provide free holiday club places to children who are not eligible but could benefit from HAF, such as those with SEND.
The department is providing local authorities with an additional £12.9 million in 2026/27 to support their capacity to sustain a sufficient school-age childcare system, including ensuring sufficient holiday childcare and childcare for children in England with SEND.
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