Funding Secured to Run Holiday Club Provision

This Spring after successfully securing funding support from the Our Mind Matters Small Grants Fund through Fife Council and Scottish Government, we were able to provide a fully funded holiday club provision with free spaces allocated through a targeted approach ensuring it supported families who really needed it.

Throughout the day our team facilitated an action-packed programme of outdoor learning activities with everything from bug hunts to rocket launches and pond dipping! Our outdoor learning sessions gave children access to experiences that didn’t just create great memories but were designed to build their confidence and resilience and develop new knowledge and skills.

“He thoroughly enjoyed finding different species of insects and the pond dipping. He found it super interesting and couldn’t wait to tell us all about it at home.”

“He had a lot of new experiences at the holiday club, things he hasn’t had the opportunity to do before and these activities made him really happy, he seems more keen to learn about new things now. His confidence grew also when meeting the other children, he was glad to be given the opportunity to meet new people.”

There was lots of social engagement for the children who made new friends with others attending the club and it was lovely to see the difference in the children’s levels of confidence from the start of the day, where many arrived quiet and anxious through to the end of the day where they were working together as a team to complete challenges!

“He felt more and more confident each day and really enjoyed doing things he wouldn’t of usually had the chance to do, he looked forward to the group tig games in the morning and participating with the staff and other kids”

For many parents, the school holidays bring a complex a range of strains and stress from finding affordable childcare, through to dealing with household food insecurity without receiving the Free School Meals provided during term time to provide healthy meals for their children.

This project aimed to relieve the financial strain and associated impact on mental health, these funded places provided reassurance for parents that their children were in a safe, stimulating environment with a nutritious food provision with snacks and lunch all included. We aimed to help bridge the gap creating the equal opportunity for children to have the same experiences as others and participate fully in a wider variety of activities than they would otherwise have access to during the holidays.

“The funding was so helpful in a massive way, for my child to be able to experience things that I wouldn’t usually be able to afford to let him attend, providing lunch throughout the holidays for him also and the fuel allowance allowed me to be able to get him there and back every day”

The feedback from parents, carers and social workers demonstrated the positive impact the experience has had on the whole family unit with parents noting that this provision enabled them to take time to access mental health support services for themselves, it reduced their anxiety and stress levels and created opportunities for family units who were otherwise separated to spend time together.

“It is very rare that the NE of Fife gets such a well thought of provision taking into consideration milage. This was fantastic and I hope it gets funded again.” – local social worker

Our team thoroughly enjoyed delivering this project and getting to know all the children participating in the Holiday Club!

“Working with the children at Holiday Club was an incredibly rewarding experience. A personal highlight was watching the children come out of their shells and bond as a group” - Calum McAndrew, Education and Creative Programmes Leader

We have secured funding to provide these allocated free spaces for upcoming in-service days and the summer holiday period and we’re looking forward to continuing to build relationships with families and local support services through this project. We are passionate about providing accessible opportunities and widening access, these funded places allow the families who need it the most to take part in the sessions free of charge, however our Holiday Club is open to everyone and if you would like to find out more about your child attending then check out the ‘Events’ section of our website where you can book paid for places for the summer holidays, we’ve got an action-packed programme of activities set and we can’t wait to see you there!