Bury expands half-term activities and meals for eligible families

What Bury announced for October half-term

The council describes its half-term activities and meals offer as an expansion. Government funds HAF, while Bury Council co-ordinates the programme locally. Its announcement highlights sport, crafts, outdoor activities and wellbeing sessions.

The council’s 9 October announcement does not give comparative place totals or an additional funding figure. It establishes the council’s stated expansion, rather than a quantified increase in capacity or participation.

There is also a separate change to holiday food support. The council says its school holiday food-voucher scheme has ended following changes to Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance. Term-time free school meals are unaffected and continue normally.

Vouchers used for Bury HAF bookings are different from those former holiday food vouchers. HAF combines attendance at activities with food provision, rather than simply continuing the previous voucher arrangement.

National guidance identifies Easter, summer and Christmas as HAF’s core delivery periods. It also permits half-term delivery in 2026–27, with expected half-term spending not exceeding 5% of an authority’s HAF allocation. That national spending provision is not a statement of how much Bury has allocated to October sessions.

Who qualifies under the current eligibility rules

Bury HAF eligibility requires care because receiving free school meals does not always mean a child qualifies. The council’s announcement refers to benefits-related free school meals. National guidance distinguishes targeted eligibility from the wider entitlement introduced from September 2026.

Under that guidance, HAF remains aligned with targeted free school meals. It does not automatically extend to every child covered by the expanded free school meals entitlement for Universal Credit households.

For the targeted Universal Credit route, the guidance identifies an annual earnings threshold of £7,400. This is one part of the eligibility framework, not a complete assessment for every household. Families should not use that figure alone to decide whether their child qualifies.

Universal infant free school meals are a separate entitlement. Receiving them alone does not establish Bury HAF eligibility. National guidance also says transitional free school meal protections ended after the 2025–26 school year, potentially changing a child’s position.

There is a further route for some vulnerable children outside the usual criteria. Bury Council says professional referrals can support access. Schools, family support workers, health visitors and other relevant professionals are among those who can refer.

How vouchers and activity bookings work

Booking opened on 5 October for provision scheduled across 26–30 October 2026. Individual providers do not necessarily operate every day, so the dates attached to each session matter.

For Bury HAF bookings, eligible families receive voucher information by email and/or text. The message explains how to access their Holiday Activities account and book activities and food provision.

Accounts display activities, dates, times, age restrictions and suitability information. Families can compare those details before selecting sessions, rather than treating the programme as one interchangeable offer.

Each voucher appears as four credits, representing four four-hour sessions. Some providers advertise longer attendance windows, however. The credit description does not mean every activity starts, finishes or operates in exactly the same way.

If a code is missing, the council directs families to their Bury school office. Families whose children attend schools outside Bury can contact haf@bury.gov.uk. These are the support routes for Bury HAF bookings in the information checked on 24 October 2026.

The council encourages early booking, but credits do not reserve places automatically. Bury HAF bookings depend on the sessions available through the account, alongside each provider’s published restrictions.

SEND suitability and accompanied activities

SEND means special educational needs and disabilities. The council’s suitability categories distinguish mild needs, moderate needs, risky behaviours and severe needs.

These categories describe provision; they are not individual clinical assessments. A level attached to an activity does not confirm that it meets every child’s particular needs. Bury HAF eligibility and a session’s suitability are separate questions.

The council says providers request relevant care information beforehand. This helps inform consideration of the match between a child and a session. The published categories alone do not establish staffing ratios, specialist qualifications or particular adjustments.

One accompanied option is Bee Inclusive at Jump Xtreme in Bolton. The listing checked on 24 October 2026 covers SEND Levels 1–4 and requires parents or carers to stay.

Meals and nutrition within the holiday programme

Half-term activities and meals: food standards

National HAF guidance requires at least one daily meal and compliance with School Food Standards, including for snacks. These are programme requirements, not evidence that a particular local session has undergone an inspection.

The national HAF guidance for 2026–27 encourages hot meals where practical, while allowing suitable cold alternatives. Healthy meals should therefore not be read as a promise of a hot lunch at every session.

Food provision must consider allergies, dietary needs and religious or cultural requirements. The guidance establishes those expectations, but does not supply an individual provider’s menu or confirm a particular accommodation for a child.

Where funded and paid places operate together, children should receive the same food offer. The different funding routes should not result in different meals within that mixed provision.

Nutrition learning is another programme expectation, alongside physical activity and enrichment. National examples include cooking, growing produce and tasting activities. These explain the scope of HAF; they do not mean every Bury provider will deliver all three.

The Bury FC listing specifically includes nutrition activities and lunch. Other providers have their own descriptions. Together, the local descriptions and national requirements explain how food fits into half-term activities and meals without implying one menu or format across every venue.