HAF Annual Report 2023/24

Throughout 2023, several additional activities were offered at HAF provisions to bolster the offer even further. These ‘Added Value’ activities offered over the Easter and Winter delivery periods included activities such as a roaming farm, beatbox workshops, a gaming bus, Zorb activities and magic workshops.

Alongside our ‘Added Value’ activities, Phunky Foods was commissioned to deliver nutritional education sessions at 20 venues across Buckinghamshire over the Easter period; delivering for 522 children and young people in various settings. With feedback showing that 75% of children had learnt something new, 73% saying they had tried something new and 70% saying they would like to put into practice what they had learnt.

We also welcomed the introduction of Bikeability across the summer and Winter delivery periods with local partner Tiny Bikers delivering 25 x 2-hour Balance-ability sessions across 10 providers and 14 locations; supporting 280 children aged 4 to 7 attending HAF to learn to ride a bike.

Alongside the additional activities available to the children and young people attending, the HAF programme supplied targeted providers with take-home activity boxes. These were sent home with the children and young people accessing their provision and included:

• 450 vegetable growing kits funded by Public Health in the summer
• 480 Wild for Life boxes distributed at Easter

These boxes contained activities geared towards children and young people exploring nature in their local area to improve their knowledge and confidence.

Further collaboration with Wild for Life also occurred over the Winter period with 150 boxes purchased as a ‘remote’ provision and distributed via referral to eligible children and young people who for various reasons, were unable to attend HAF’s face-to-face offering; with the feedback from those who received them being very positive.

During the summer 2023 delivery period, the HAF programme worked closely with Aylesbury Town Council to fund food vouchers for eligible families accessing their ‘Live in the Park’ event over the August bank holiday weekend, engaging with the free-to-access activities available on-site. These vouchers were well received with over 100 food vouchers redeemed on the day.

Winter 2023 also saw the return of the two one-day family pantomime and meal events, open to all eligible children and young people and their parents/carers. These events, held at Aylesbury and High Wycombe, comprised family tickets to the pantomime at Wycombe Swan and Aylesbury Waterside theatres, followed by a Christmas family meal and entertainment.

The two events were very well attended with 88% attendance at Wycombe Swan Theatre and 94% attendance at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre.