Purpose

Proposed
Decision:
Cabinet Member for Education
and Skills to;
 
1.    
Approve the proposed HAF delivery model and
commissioning approach from 2025.
 
2.    
Commence formal procurement activity to tender for a
service, award a contract(s) (three years, with a 12 month break
clause) and develop robust contract management for oversight of the
contract(s) performance.
 
3.    
Confirm that in accordance with
Decision
23/00009  that Corporate Director Children, Young People and
Education accept Future allocations of the Holiday Activity and
Food Grant for use in accordance with the grant determination
letter which will be issued by the Department for Education and the
relevant terms and conditions, provided these remain substantially
the same as the current; and to delegate authority to the Director
of Education and SEN to manage and deploy the accepted Holiday
Activity and Food Grant in accordance with the grant conditions and
arrangements detailed in the report, including entering into
contracts through a compliant procurement route and have a team in
place to roll out the HAF Programme from 2025-2026 and
beyond.
 
4.    
Delegate authority to the Director of Education and
SEN, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and
Skills, to take other necessary actions, including but not limited
to entering into contracts, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or
other legal agreements, as required to implement the
decision.
 
 
Reason for the
Decision:
 
If KCC wishes to make use of
the DfE Grant for Holiday Activity Fund Services, a key decision is
required to confirm the delivery model and commissioning
approach.  This will determine the
policy approach, confirming how KCC intends to deliver against the
DfE requirements.  The decision will
also provide authority to enter into relevant contracts.
 
 
·      
Total value of contract exceeds £1m and
impacts across more than two electoral divisions.
 
Background:
The Holiday Activities and Food
(HAF) Programme in Kent focusses on children’s physical
health and wellbeing by providing healthy food and exciting
activities for children and young people during the school
holidays. Families of children aged four to 16 years, who are in
receipt of benefits-related free school meals, can access free
opportunities during the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays.
This programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE),
accompanied by grant conditions.
 
Since 2021 The Education People
(TEP) have been commissioned through an “additional works
request” to manage the HAF programme. CYPE have been
exploring opportunities regarding a move towards a more long-term
provision for HAF and how this may look from June 2025 and beyond,
should the funding continue.
 
Soft Market Engagement has been
conducted to seek the best possible solution for procuring a new
HAF service. In addition, extensive engagement with young people
and schools has been undertaken, to gather their views, ideas and
suggestions regarding HAF delivery and activities. 
 
What is being
proposed?
As part of soft Market Engagement, a variety
of options were explored with a focus on maximising delivery for
those young people with SEND, aged 11+ and those with low school
attendance. The options considered were:
 

Do Nothing
Set up a new grant scheme
Develop a light touch Dynamic
Purchasing System (DPS) or similar compliant contract route under
the new Procurement Act 2023 with soft lots
Develop a Framework contract
arrangement
A mix of the above

 
The proposed decision is  Option 3 - to develop a light touch DPS or a
similar compliant contract route. This will allow targeting of
areas that have not had take-up while the soft lotting will support
smaller grassroots organisations to apply for more localised
provision. Previous experience has proven this to be
successful.  Both the procured and
internal activity will focus on providing school holiday activities
and food for children and young people eligible for the HAF scheme.
Additionally, it is proposed to create a HAF Programme Team within
KCC, carrying out the non-procurement activity.
 
 

Decision

As Cabinet
Member for Education and Skills, I agree to:
1.    
Approve the proposed HAF delivery model and
commissioning approach from 2025.
 
2.    
Commence formal procurement activity to tender for a
service, award a contract(s) (three years, with a 12 month break
clause) and develop robust contract management for oversight of the
contract(s) performance.
 
3.    
Confirm that in accordance with
Decision 23/00009  that Corporate Director Children,
Young People and Education accept Future allocations of the Holiday
Activity and Food Grant for use in accordance with the grant
determination letter which will be issued by the Department for
Education and the relevant terms and conditions, provided these
remain substantially the same as the current; and to delegate
authority to the Director of Education and SEN to manage and deploy
the accepted Holiday Activity and Food Grant in accordance with the
grant conditions and arrangements detailed in the report, including
entering into contracts through a compliant procurement route and
have a team in place to roll out the HAF Programme from 2025-2026
and beyond.
 
4.    
Delegate authority to the Director of Education and
SEN, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and
Skills, to take other necessary actions, including but not limited
to entering into contracts, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or
other legal agreements, as required to implement the
decision.