Procurement description
West Northamptonshire Council is undertaking pre market engagement with potential providers as part of our intention to commission the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme for a two year period. The Council has delivered the HAF programme locally for the past five years in line with Department for Education (DfE) HAF guidance, supporting eligible children and young people to access healthy meals, enriching activities, and opportunities for learning and personal development during school holidays.
The HAF programme is a key contributor to our Best Start in Life ambition, helping to reduce health inequalities, support physical and emotional wellbeing, strengthen family resilience, and ensure that children and young people are safe, healthy, and able to thrive. As community needs across West Northamptonshire continue to evolve, we are seeking innovative, inclusive, and place based delivery models that align with both national expectations and local priorities.
This pre market engagement seeks to inform our future commissioning approach and ensure that the HAF programme continues to deliver high quality provision that is accessible, nutritious, and inclusive, while targeting those children and families who will benefit most. We are particularly keen to understand how a potential HAF coordinator service can demonstrate alignment with the following local priority areas, which reflect DfE HAF principles and our Best Start in Life strategy:
• Targeting and aligning HAF provision to areas with the highest levels of Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility to reduce inequality and maximise impact
• Delivering a high quality hot food and nutrition offer that promotes healthy eating, food education, and positive lifelong habits
• Ensuring inclusive, high quality SEND provision that removes barriers to participation and supports a wide range of needs
• Developing engaging and age appropriate provision for secondary school aged young people (11+), supporting social connection, wellbeing, and positive outcomes
We welcome insights, ideas, and examples of best practice that will support the continued development of a HAF programme that delivers meaningful outcomes for children, young people, and families across West Northamptonshire.
Current position
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is funded by grant support from the Department for Education (DfE). It provides free holiday activities, enrichment opportunities, and nutritious meals for children and young people aged 5–16 who are eligible for benefits related free school meals.
The programme has been delivered through an externally commissioned arrangement for the past five years. The current HAF Coordinator is Northamptonshire Sport, which manages HAF Northants, a central platform used to promote the programme and communicate with delivery partners.
The role of the HAF Coordinator is to oversee delivery of the programme within West Northamptonshire, expand its reach to families who would benefit most, and work closely with the HAF Contract Manager at West Northamptonshire Council.
The HAF programme delivery offer is expected to operate during the Easter/Spring, Summer, and Christmas/Winter school holiday periods, each year.
We have identified a gap in HAF delivery within several of our most deprived areas, including Semilong, Kingsthorpe, Briars Hill, Kings Heath, and Castle, which we are keen to address through market engagement.
Purpose of the Pre Market Engagement
The purpose of this pre market engagement exercise is to:
• Understand the market and readiness to deliver the HAF Programme across West Northamptonshire.
• Explore the most viable commissioning approach to deliver the HAF Programme.
• To explore how the current approach does or does not impact on recruitment and retention of good staff.
• Raise awareness of, and promote, the forthcoming tender opportunity to potential activity and the HAF coordination service provider
• To understand what a suitable delivery model would look like.
• Enable potential providers to consider and plan for the resources and capacity that may be required to participate in the future procurement process