Creating partnerships with organisations who will donate items or funds to Bexley’s HAF Programme has been a challenge.  A variety of companies and organisations have been contacted, but due to the demand they’ve received, they have not been able to support us.

While launching the centralised booking system was initially a challenge in 2023, by 2025 we were fully comfortable with it. Both our team and providers are confident in using the system, and schools are well engaged with the process. The setup and coordination of programmes through the platform have become routine, with significantly fewer issues compared to the early stages.

Each holiday period since has become easier, with us only needing to support new staff in schools and new providers. However, parents not being familiar with the system has affected bookings, particularly those who had not got access to technology or didn’t speak English very well. HolidayActivities are working on translating the vouchers and the voucher instructions into other languages to support these families.

The increase in confidence in the booking system, building stronger relationships with schools, and increasing marketing has had a positive impact on our attendance.  More parents know about the programme and know the providers.  However, we have noticed that many parents have preferred clubs they attend regularly and will sit on waiting lists for these providers instead of booking with an alternative organisation.  This means that some vouchers are redeemed but not used.

We have continued to find engaging secondary-aged children more challenging, so we are focusing on working with providers who have experience with older young people and can offer activities that are better suited to their interests and age group. Our martial arts provision and one of our football providers have been particularly successful, as they give older children the opportunity to take on a more active role in sessions, including supporting coaching activities and gaining valuable work experience. Our hair braiding provision has also proved especially popular, particularly with secondary-aged girls.

We are continuing to strengthen and promote our offer for older children by working with these providers to create separate, targeted marketing materials that can be shared with families and help highlight the activities most relevant to this age group.