5-11 | Holiday Provision

Your Community

Holiday Clubs

Some degree of planning and preparation is required but undoubtedly the holiday club experience is something that is enjoyed by all and often considered to be well worth the effort.Running holiday clubs also create an extended time where a Biblical theme can be explored to a level which weekly clubs cant always allow for.

The amount of time a church runs a holiday club ranges from 3 afternoons a week to 5 mornings a week to a 10am-3pm day.There is no set length of time and very often depends on the availability and energy levels of the volunteers.

Choosing the right programme

Some churches have people who are very gifted in writing and creating their own holiday club programme.However, for those of us who arent so gifted in this area creating a programme for a holiday club doesnt need to be difficult as there is a huge variety of pre-written material that a church could access and deliver with minimal preparation. Below are some links which includes specially written resources which are available to churches:

http://www.barnabasinchurches.org.uk/holiday-club/

http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/HolidayandMidweekClubs/2368.id

https://www.messychurch.org.uk/resource/messy-family-fun-holiday-club-all-family

http://www.friendsandheroes.com/uk/right-coming-soon

Activity Days

This is an alternative to the week long holiday club.Some churches use this approach if volunteers availability is limited or if there are only a few children in the local community.An Activity Day can be 3 consecutive days which explore a different theme each day. Alternatively, a series of whole day/half day weekly events which are run over a series of weeks over the school holidays.These activity days are often stand-alone events with a Christian message threaded through the activities.Activity days include a craft day; a sports day; a games day; a baking day etc. the more focussed activity days allows for the different interests of the children and the different skills of the volunteers.

Filling the Hunger Gap

For those children receiving Free School Meals what happens during the holidays?Are they still able to get a hot meal a day?Many churches are beginning to see this as a need in their communities and responding to this need by either providing a Christmas Hamper or ensuring that there is a hot meal a week during the school holidays.Churches are working in partnership with their local school to identify the families most in need and then responding sensitively to them and providing them with the opportunity to receive a hot meal or a meal parcel.

One organisation, MakeLunch highlights the need on their website;

School holidays are not just a break from the classroom. For many, they are also a break from hot meals.

For the thirteen weeks of school holidays this year, many pupils in the UK will not eat a hot meal each day. At school more than 1.2 million pupils who may otherwise go without are eligible to receive free school meals. Outside of term time though, free school meals are not available and many pupils are left without regular hot food.

This is where MakeLunch comes in. During school holidays, our network of churches and community groups open Lunch Kitchens across the UK to provide free, healthy, cooked food for pupils who usually receive free school meals. We believe that every child deserves to eat a cooked meal every day.

For further information on how your church can support your local community through MakeLunch, click on the link https://www.makelunch.org.uk/