Over the last year, we have worked with our providers to emphasise the importance and benefit of overbooking, to minimise the impact of no shows and reduce the number of wasted places. This has helped most of our providers, particularly those who fill their bookings but haven't always had full attendance, to bring their attendance up to meet or exceed the number of places they have been allocated.

In Bexley, we have also been tracking provider bookings closely as soon as the vouchers go out to parents. The percentage of booked places has been added to a spreadsheet and colour coded to show the providers who have filled their bookings, and those who we may need to provide support to.

This has been beneficial in ensuring that providers are being pro-active in marketing and filling their places. Our HAF Coordinator can intervene and provide support where necessary. It also allows us to realistically assess whether a programme is financially viable and make decisions to either reduce their number of spaces, or recommend they cancel their programme. We’re then able to redistribute places to other providers who have large waiting lists. We can also use this data to make informed decisions when planning the overall programme for the next holiday period.

One key learning from this year came through our HAF provider Fresh Chances, who highlighted the importance of supporting older children within the context of their family needs. In several instances, engagement only occurred when younger siblings were also included - revealing strong protective dynamics within families.

A standout case involved AJ, a 13-year-old young carer for a visually impaired parent. Through Fresh Chances’ supportive environment, AJ was encouraged to build independence, try new activities, and even joined the local library for the first time.

This experience reinforced the need to identify and support young carers and to consider family-based access where appropriate in future programme planning.