Holiday Activities and Food annual report 2025
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) team at Gateshead Council is committed to listening to and learning from the families we support. In line with this commitment, throughout 2025 we actively engaged with parents and carers by attending a number of parent carer forums. These sessions provided valuable opportunities to hear directly from families, ensuring that the voices of parents and carers are central to the development of our programme.
A key theme that emerged from these discussions was a desire for more family-focused opportunities, alongside an increase in activities specifically designed to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Families expressed the importance of being able to enjoy activities together in inclusive environments, as well as the need for provision that caters more specifically to the needs of SEND children.
In response to this feedback, we expanded our offer over the Christmas period to include a range of family-based activities. These included inclusive family crazy golf sessions, engaging musical performances at The Glasshouse, and a festive pantomime at The Customs House in South Shields. These events were designed not only to provide enjoyable experiences but also to create opportunities for families to spend meaningful time together during the holiday season.
We remain fully committed to ensuring that the HAF programme is inclusive and accessible for children from all backgrounds, including those with SEND. Many of our HAF providers are highly skilled and experienced in supporting children with a wide range of additional needs, ensuring that activities are welcoming, safe, and enjoyable for all participants.
Our SEND provision plays a vital role in enabling every child to take part, have fun, and reach their full potential. It also offers valuable respite for parents and carers during school holidays, giving families additional support when it is most needed. As part of our ongoing commitment, we continue to work closely with our providers to enhance their skills and confidence through dedicated SEND training, while also encouraging the development and expansion of SEND-specific provision across the HAF programme.
Feedback from parents and carers of SEND children has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the impact that inclusive, well-designed provision can have on both children and their families. We have included a selection of these comments below to reflect their experiences.
"We attended golf at the Metrocentre as a family. The staff there are absolutely lovely and couldn't be more helpful. This is the second time we have attended this event with you. The staff are very accommodating and allowed my younger child to join in each time we went as child care is a big issue for me."
"Attended Pinocchio at The Customs House, and thoroughly enjoyed it!"
"During the holiday, we had a wonderful and enjoyable time, spending quality moments with our families and friends. We also made sure to use our time in a positive way by reading, developing our skills, and practicing our favourite hobbies.
The holiday was a great opportunity to relax and recharge, which helped us return to school feeling refreshed, motivated, and ready to learn. We are excited for this new term and will do our best to achieve success and excellent results."
