Use of the School Setting During the Summer Holidays: Mixed‐Methods Evaluation of Food and Fun Clubs in Wales

Abstract

OBJECTIVE School summer holiday clubs in deprived areas of Wales were evaluated to examine opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity and explore delivery processes. METHODS Ten Food and Fun clubs participated in 2016. Quantitative data (child and parent surveys; N = 196, N = 84) assessed the opportunity to provide children with breakfast and lunch. A sub‐sample of children wore an accelerometer (N = 41) to evaluate the opportunity for achieving 1‐hour of moderate to vigorous activity (MVPA) at club. Features of successful club delivery were identified through; focus groups (child and parent; N = 74, N = 69) and interviews (staff/volunteer; N = 32). RESULTS Opportunities for healthy eating were delivered with high fidelity: 86% of children reported breakfast consumption and 75% eating a healthy lunch. On club days, children reported consuming fewer sugary snacks (66%), fewer sugary drinks (81%), and more fruits and vegetables (67%). About 71% of children achieved the recommended MVPA at club, with children engaging in more MVPA (+17 minutes/day, p < .01) on average compared to non‐club days. Successful delivery processes were: use of school facilities and staff; flexible partnership‐working; and whole family involvement. CONCLUSIONS Schools appear to provide a suitable setting for the delivery of healthy eating and physical activity opportunities during school summer holidays.

Implementing Holiday Provision Programmes: A Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of Senior Stakeholders

“…Previous academic research has investigated the benefits and issues of holiday provision from the views of staff delivering holiday provision and attendees of holiday clubs, and identified outcomes in terms of health and wellbeing for children as well as parents, staff and volunteers (Defeyter et al, 2015;Graham et al, 2016;Holley et al, 2019;Morgan et al, 2019). Moreover, recent research identified that holiday clubs relied upon networks and connections with other civil society organizations to deliver holiday provision (Stretesky et al, 2020).…”

“…Moreover, recent research identified that holiday clubs relied upon networks and connections with other civil society organizations to deliver holiday provision (Stretesky et al, 2020). Nevertheless, there is a gap in the literature on the implementation of holiday provision and the adaption and fidelity of providing food provision within community and school based settings (Graham et al, 2016;Holley et al, 2019;Morgan et al, 2019). As the development of holiday clubs continues, there is a need to examine the views of senior stakeholders responsible for facilitating and implementing holiday provision.…”

Adaptations to Holiday Club Food Provision to Alleviate Food Insecurity During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Staff emphasised that holiday clubs are not just about providing food, “ it's about getting involved and then learning those essential life skills ” and “ it's about being proactive and empowering them ” (P7, Programme Manager). Previous research has found that holiday clubs provide a range of health, wellbeing, and developmental opportunities to children and families including alleviating hunger ( 17 ), reducing social isolation ( 21 ), enhancing social skills ( 22 ), and promoting healthy eating ( 23 ) and physical activity ( 21 ). Holiday clubs enable these opportunities by providing a wealth of services including food, entertainment equipment, sport, physical activity, fun days out, information and education ( 24 ).…”

“…Non-DfE funded holiday programmes are therefore also essential to protect families outside of the DfE targeted areas and yet it is currently unknown how many non-DfE funded programmes are operating. Nevertheless, prior to Covid-19 research suggested that holiday clubs have a range of benefits including alleviating hunger ( 17 ), reducing social isolation ( 21 ), enhancing social skills ( 22 ), and promoting healthy eating ( 23 ) and physical activity ( 21 ). Similarly, holiday clubs provide a wealth of services including material goods (e.g., food and entertainment equipment), sport, physical activity, fun days out, information and education ( 24 ).…”

Procurement and delivery of food at holiday provision clubs

“…In response to concerns about children experiencing holiday food insecurity, community groups, local authorities, schools and faith groups have established holiday clubs in economically deprived neighborhoods to provide free food and activities to children during the school holidays. Recent research on holiday provision has demonstrated a need to support families as a result of the increased financial hardship and risk of isolation during the school holidays (Graham et al, 2016, Mann et al, 2020 and identified a range of social, wellbeing, and health benefits for attendees (Defeyter et al, 2015;Graham et al, 2016;Holley et al, 2019;Morgan et al, 2019). More recently, governments across the devolved nations of the UK have pledged funding to support programs of holiday provision, albeit these funding initiatives vary in scale and are not evenly distributed among disadvantaged communities (Mann et al, 2018).…”