Malearn HAF
Enriching young people’s lives
Based in Thurrock, Malearn was established to support the community and deliver the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme to children aged 4 to 11 years in South Ockendon and Purfleet. Situated in the town centre near several local schools, Malearn offers enriching holiday experiences to young people, including an equal mix of boys and girls with varying abilities, including mild, moderate, and severe SEND.
Being an inclusive club, Malearn prioritises integrating children with SEND with mainstream children and providing close supervision and support, including one-to-one support. The organisation also offers a wide range of activities to help children develop their skills, such as enrichment sessions, physical activity and food workshops.
The winter HAF sessions were a huge success, with overbooked sessions and high attendance. Highlights included a wide range of Christmas-themed enrichment activities and a trip to the pantomime, as well as collaborations with other organisations, such as the Thurrock Early Years Oral Health Programme Coordinator, who provided valuable workshops around positive oral hygiene.
Young people also had the opportunity to meet Santa and receive gifts, and families received food hampers to help with the cost-of-living crisis.
Additional funding was used to purchase new boxing kits and a stereo for musical dance activities, also a bouncy castle was hired for more physical activity. These resources aimed to encourage children to stay active and support their physical development, despite the lack of outdoor space.
Key Outcomes
- Location - The change of venue has allowed Malearn to reach new children as it is situated in another part of South Ockendon. Therefore, they can consider splitting the club delivery in two for longer holiday sessions.
- Holiday provision expansion - Malearn were keen to expand their holiday provisions to Loughton and Purfleet, as they could reach children and families that are struggling with the long-distance travelling to current venue. They have also considered working with local schools to offer after school clubs in these areas.
- Family experiences - The family experience to the Snow White pantomime was fully booked within 20 minutes of going live, although, majority of children did not attend their mainstream club. Moving forward, Malearn need to review how their family experiences is promoted to ensure children that have booked onto their mainstream club also have places to book.
