Summer holiday food, activities and childcare programme: guidance for local authorities

3. Use of the funding

Funding should be flexible and responsive to the needs of eligible children and families, as defined by this guidance. In order to meet local needs, partnerships should be developed to plan and coordinate the most effective use of this funding to achieve policy objectives. This includes making best use of existing services and capacity across sectors (such as the out of school care sector, youth work or children's services) to provide a broad and flexible programme, utilising the expertise of trusted partners to target provision most effectively.

It is expected that the majority of spend will be on financing the cross-sectoral delivery of a coordinated programme of activities, childcare and food for school age children across each local authority area, with a particular focus on SIMD areas where practicable. This can include running bespoke programmes for eligible families or funding spaces for eligible children within existing local services alongside paid-for provision to eliminate stigma. Funding can be spread across varied providers who specialise in offering activities, childcare and food, including both regulated and unregulated providers.

Consideration should also be given to:

• Who is best placed to deliver services that meet the needs of eligible families and ensuring that potential partners are kept informed of ways they can bid in for funding.
• Exploring alternative funding streams to supplement Scottish Government and Local Authority sources in order to create more sustainable holiday provision, e.g. through local sponsorship deals or entering partnerships with local businesses to provide services in kind.
• Using funding for areas identified for improvement in the evaluation of the Summer 2021 offer, e.g. addressing barriers to participation, for example additional discretionary spend to mitigate against transportation costs; ensure staffing is in place at appropriate ratios and with the necessary training and experience to include children with Additional Support Needs.
• Capital costs, such as the purchase of play equipment, or improvement to services that promote sustainability and quality experiences.
• Paying for staff and volunteer training.
• Food provision, ensuring food is varied, nutritious, and culturally appropriate.