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Local children enjoy new activities
Local children enjoy new activities
Published: Tuesday, 22nd March 2022

Young people in Oldham can now book onto fun, exciting activities for Easter and for many, it won’t even cost a penny.

This comes after the council was recently allocated a further £1.45m to continue running its popular Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for the next three years.

The latest set of activities take place between 9 and 24 April with free places primarily available for children aged 5-16 who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

Upcoming sessions include everything from growing sessions, to cooking lessons and various sporting activities with places also available for those who aren’t eligible.

However, these bookings may come at a small additional cost, so residents are advised to check with event providers beforehand.

Oldham’s HAF programme, funded by the Department for Education, aims to support young people to socialise with people of a similar age while they have a great time learning and playing new, fun, physical and enriching sessions.

Every child receives a healthy hot meal as part of their booking, while they also get to learn about healthy eating and the preparation of food – information they can put it into practice when they go home.

Since Easter last year, the council has engaged with more than 9,000 children and has provided over 1,200 sessions.

Councillor Eddie Moore, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “Easter is only a few weeks away now and we’re keen to make this an incredibly fun holiday period for our children and young people.

“We have amazing activities available to book onto thanks to the fantastic offer put forward from our local providers and we can’t wait for the fun to commence.

“So, if you are looking for some ideas to keep your children occupied over the upcoming school holidays, please visit our HAF events website and book your places today.

“We know this provision can really help families in terms of managing additional costs like childcare and food bills over the holidays, so we really want to help.”

For more information on HAF and how to book your activities, visit www.oldham.gov.uk/haf

Oldham Council would like to remind families who are struggling this Easter, to seek further support through the local authority. This comes as the cost-of-living continues to increase – including energy bills which are set to rise by 54% in April.

“It’s an incredibly tough time for many families at the moment, especially those on low incomes,” Cllr Moores added.

“While our Easter HAF programme will help ease the pressure for some, there’s plenty of other support available for those who aren’t coping.

“Through our We Can Help campaign, we have advice on areas such as welfare and mental wellbeing, financial advice and other topics such as how we can support you with your heating and access to emergency food.

“So please do not struggle, let us help you and your families."

For more details on our wider support, please visit www.oldham.gov.uk/wecanhelp

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