Department for Education published holiday clubs guidance

Children’s Minister Vicky Ford says:

“Holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings play a vital role throughout the summer holidays - engaging children with entertaining activities, as well as providing much needed childcare for hard working parents who need our support to return to work where they can.   

“The measures we put in place throughout the pandemic have been challenging for everyone, but particularly for families whose children will be eager to get back outside and be active. By following the guidance carefully and putting the necessary measures in place, providers can operate safely over the summer and parents can feel reassured that safety is being prioritised.   

“Alongside this, we are also rolling out our £9 million Holiday and Food programme in England, providing thousands of children with free nutritious food and enriching activities during the summer period as well as continuing to fund £3.6 billion for free childcare places.” 

Background information: 

• Today, Wednesday 1 July, the Department for Education has published guidance for providers who run community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children over the age of 5, setting out the safety measures that must be in place to ensure they can operate over the summer holiday. 
• While schools are open in a provider’s local area, providers of these settings should follow the same protective measures as schools to limit different groups of children mixing. Providers who plan to open or remain open from the end of the summer term, should implement this guidance published today when state schools in their local area have closed. 
• This follows on from the confirmation from the Prime Minister that from Saturday 4 July these providers can operate over the summer holiday, subject to the science and with safety measures in place. 
• Children will be able to attend settings such as tuition and learning centres, extracurricular clubs (e.g. ballet classes, gymnastics training, football coaching), uniformed youth organisations (e.g. Scouts and Guides), supplementary schools, private language schools and religious settings offering education (for example madrassahs, yeshivas, and Sunday schools).
• Alongside this, the Department has published separate guidance for parents and carers to follow if they choose to send their children to these settings.
• It sets out that parents should consider sending their child to the same setting consistently, rather than many different ones, to minimise the risk of mixing groups of children. They should also choose local settings, and are encouraged to walk or cycle.
• Providers caring for children under the age of 5 would not be captured by this guidance, and should refer to the guidance for early years and childcare providers during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.