FEAST is all about food, entertainment, activities, sport and being together. Eligible children and young people in North Yorkshire can book onto our school holiday activities for free, where each day they’ll also receive a free hot meal or packed lunch. There are loads of activities to get involved in and they’re absolutely free for eligible children!

FEAST is a Department for Education (DfE) Holiday Activities and Food programme. The DfE has designed the programme specifically to support those on benefits-related Free School Meals. All children who receive benefits-related Free School Meals are automatically eligible for FEAST.

Your school can also make other children and young people who face significant financial and/or other disadvantage eligible by exception. This might include, for example, young carers, refugees and asylum seekers and those with SEND.

Apart from receiving benefits-related Free School Meals, there are no criteria that guarantee a child/young person is eligible for FEAST, and there is no automatic entitlement to eligibility based on any particular experience, including those examples listed above.

For example, a child/young person having SEND does not mean their family would necessarily struggle to pay for their attendance at a holiday activity.

Schools know their children and young people better than North Yorkshire Together, so you are best placed to decide whether your children and young people not on benefits-related Free School Meals should be made eligible for FEAST by exception.

Please make the decision that is right for your school and your families, bearing in mind:

• You should allocate a voucher to any children/young people that North Yorkshire Together has previously made eligible for FEAST.
  • We can provide a list of these children/young people, and parents/guardians will contact you if they have not yet received a voucher.
• There is a limit to how many non-FSM children/young people the FEAST programme overall can allow to be made eligible. To support us to achieve this, we would ask that you aim not to increase your total number of eligible children/young people by more than 15%

We know that every school is different, and in some cases an additional 15% eligibility will not be enough. You are able to make the decision to increase this, if your families really need the support of the programme.

We will review data periodically to ensure fair access to the programme for the key audience – those on benefits-related Free School Meals – is ensured.

Any parent/guardian asking to be made eligible will be redirected to their school. Please do not redirect enquiries regarding eligibility to North Yorkshire Together: you as a school make the decision.

Please note that schools using the automatic allocation process in HolidayActivities can only identify and allocate vouchers to those who are eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals (using your school’s MIS). Any young people you wish to make eligible by exception, you must log onto HolidayActivities and do this manually. For the Christmas 2023 period, please do this before Wednesday 15th November at the latest, as all automatically issued vouchers will be sent out on Thursday 16th November. HolidayActivities have a guide on how to add additional students for this 15%.

Each school is individually responsible for allocating FEAST vouchers to eligible children and young people via HolidayActivities. You issue these through HolidayActivities, a platform that is completely free for schools and parents/guardians alike.

If your school has issued a voucher and this has not been received, please ask the recipient to check their junk mail folders. In the event that it hasn’t been received, please contact support@holidayactivities.com for help.

If receiving an email or text is not accessible to a parent/guardian, please provide them with their voucher in another way (e.g. over the phone, or by printing this letter template with their 16-digit voucher number on it). Thank you for using the method that best suits the parent/guardian.

You can find their 16-digit voucher number in HolidayActivities by following these simple steps.

Please note: you can only view UNCLAIMED vouchers. If the voucher has already been claimed, please ask the parents to log into their account at app.holidayactivities.com in the same way they did when they claimed the voucher.

HolidayActivities is a dedicated online platform built to run the Holiday Activities and Food programme for local authorities across the UK.

90% of North Yorkshire schools already use Wonde, the parent company of HolidayActivities, and your usage of HolidayActivities will be completely free to your school*. HolidayActivities have a very helpful support team who are highly experienced in onboarding the system in schools across the country.

You need to activate HolidayActivities in order to distribute vouchers to eligible families directly via HolidayActivities. Parents will then book FEAST activities and manage their bookings via a personal log in to the HolidayActivities platform.

Contact support@holidayactivities.com to get set-up on HolidayActivities or call 01638 438311.

*If you are new to Wonde, at the end of a trial period, you may be offered a paid-for version of the service, but there is no requirement of you to accept this or participate in a paid-for version of Wonde in order to use HolidayActivities to manage allocating your FEAST vouchers. 

If your school has already logged into a HolidayActivities account and ordered vouchers in a previous holiday, you will receive an email inviting you to automatically issue your vouchers for the upcoming holiday.

Follow the link in the email from HolidayActivities and when instructed, select ‘confirm’ to enable your FEAST vouchers to be automatically issued. 

Please note that vouchers won’t be issued to parents/carers immediately. North Yorkshire Together sets a date with HolidayActivities for all vouchers to be issued at the same time (for Christmas 2023 the issue date will be Thursday 16th November). To help ensure all families receive their voucher and can book a place at the same time, we encourage all schools to complete their voucher activation / ordering process as soon as possible.

*IMPORTANT: The automatic allocation process can only identify and allocate vouchers to those who are eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals (using your school’s MIS).

Any young people you wish to make eligible by exception, you must log onto HolidayActivities and do this manually as soon as possible, before Wednesday 15th November at the latest for the Christmas holiday period. HolidayActivities have a guide on how to add additional students for this 15%.

If your school has not ordered vouchers from HolidayActivities before, you’ll need to set this up. The process is quick and simple. Contact support@holidayactivities.com for assistance or call 01638 438311.

If receiving an email or text is not accessible to a parent/guardian, please provide them with their voucher in another way (e.g. over the phone, or by printing this letter template with their 16-digit voucher number on it). Thank you for using the method that best suits the parent/guardian.

You can find their 16-digit voucher number in HolidayActivities by following these simple steps.

Please note: you can only view UNCLAIMED vouchers. If the voucher has already been claimed, please ask the parents to log into their account at app.holidayactivities.com in the same way they did when they claimed the voucher.

Free FEAST places are booked and managed through an online platform called HolidayActivities. Here’s how it works:

1. If eligible, parents/carers will receive an email or text message from HolidayActivities.com – please click on the link to view your voucher.
   • Please note: If parents/carers have more than one child, they will receive multiple vouchers via email or text message. Follow all 8 steps listed here for the first child. For the next child(ren), click the link in the text/email sent to them, and it will add them to the account already set up.
2. If parents/carers have not used HolidayActivities before, they’ll need to create an account. This can be done easily by providing their email address, or clicking to log in via Apple or Google. If they sign up via email, they will not have a password. They will be emailed a unique link each time they go to log in.
3. When signing up, they’ll be asked to enter their name, email and phone number. Then click ‘save details’.
4. The HolidayActivities voucher that they were emailed will be linked to their account and show the available credits they have to use. They can then click on the arrow to see the available activities.

   

5. They will be asked to add the child’s age, this is to ensure they only see activities suitable to their child’s age group.
6. They can now browse all available activities. Click ‘View activity’ to see photos, available dates and read a short description.
7. When they’re ready to book, click on the ‘Select date’ button.
8. Complete the parent details, child details and a second emergency contact. These details will be remembered to make future bookings easier. Confirm they have read and understood the terms and conditions. Once they select Complete booking, they’ll receive a confirmation email notifying them that their booking is either confirmed or awaiting approval.
9. They can now return to the activity and book more dates for their child, return to their vouchers or manage and cancel their bookings.

Note: If a parent/guardian did not receive their voucher via email or text (e.g. it was written down for them due to accessibility reasons), they can go to app.holidayactivities.com to log in or sign up and manually connect their voucher to their account. They can also use the information on our Families FAQ about how to book activities without using the internet.

If parents/carers have any issues in creating an account, making a booking or managing their booking, please ask them to contact the HolidayActivities team on support@holidayactivities.com

Please note, the HolidayActivities team are not who is delivering the activity and therefore cannot provide more information about the activities, or accept a booking (if it is pending).

Any parent/guardian asking to be made eligible will be redirected to their school. Please do not redirect enquiries regarding eligibility to North Yorkshire Together: you as a school make the decision.

Schools are asked that any pupil who has previously been made eligible for FEAST by North Yorkshire Together in previous holiday periods is allocated a voucher.

Parents/guardians will receive a voucher for each child, sent by schools individually via an email or text through HolidayActivties – an online platform.

To make a booking, parents/guardians click the link provided in any voucher received – this will take them to the HolidayActivities platform. Once there, you’ll be invited to sign up for, or log in to, your account. Follow the instructions to set up this account, and the first voucher will be added automatically.

Then parents/guardians return to their email and click the voucher link(s) in any other emails they have received from HolidayActivities. Doing so will add these vouchers to the account they have already created.

For help with your account or making and managing your booking on HolidayActivities, email support@holidayactivities.com or call 01638 438311. 

If a parent/guardian isn’t able to use the online platform HolidayActivities to make a booking, they should contact the activity provider directly.

We have a printable version of our activity finder, using the provider contact details listed. This document also contains instructions for parents/guardians on how to make their booking offline.

Note that families are requested to give the activity provider their 16-digit HolidayActivities voucher number in order to book a free place. To assist, we have created a letter template in which you can paste their 16-digit voucher number, then print and give this to the family. You can also give this to them in an email, over the phone etc. Thank you for using the method that best suits the parent/guardian.

You can find their 16-digit voucher number in HolidayActivities by following these simple steps.

Please note: you can only view UNCLAIMED vouchers. If the voucher has already been claimed, please ask the parents to log into their account at app.holidayactivities.com in the same way they did when they claimed the voucher.

FEAST is open to all children and young people across North Yorkshire, and many of our providers offer paid places alongside their free FEAST spaces.

Take a look at the holiday activities available in our activity finder page or on own downloadable listings (coming soon for Christmas). To book a paid place, please contact the provider directly via the contact details supplied in their listing.

If a parent/guardian has been issued a voucher and lost or not received it, they are asked to come to you as their school to receive a new copy.

There are instructions here of how to view a child/young person’s voucher via your HolidayActivities school account here.

Thank you for providing the parent/guardian with the voucher in whatever way is best for them.

You can write it down, tell it to them over the phone, email it to them, or place it directly in this template letter that tells them more about FEAST. There is no way to reissue the voucher directly via HolidayActivities.

Please note, schools can only see vouchers of children/young people that have not already been claimed. If a parent/guardian requests their voucher, and you see that it has already been claimed, please ask them to log into their account at app.holidayactivities.com, in the same way they did when they claimed the voucher (e.g. via email or social log in).

You may also wish to direct the parent/guardian listed as the main contact on your MIS to search their emails or texts for ‘HolidayActivities’ to see if it is in their inbox or junk email folder.

Most bookings are made via HolidayActivities. Once a parent/guardian has claimed their voucher by clicking on the link in the email/text they received, they do not need the 16-digit voucher again to make a booking, as it will be automatically attached to their account.

However, they will need the 16-digit voucher if making a booking over the phone/email or in person due to access requirements.

If the child/young person attends your school, you, the school, can issue them a voucher if they are eligible (see eligibility criteria above, including information about who can be ‘eligible by exception’ and going over the recommended 15% additional allowance if required).

You can allocate vouchers to additional children/young people even after your original vouchers have been disseminated (Thursday 16th November for Christmas 2023).

If the child/young person does not attend your school, you can:

• Speak to the family and ask them to contact their school to request the voucher
• If you don’t have a relationship with the family, speak to the school directly to request the voucher on the child’s behalf
• If you aren’t able to contact the school, or they can’t help, contact hello@northyorkshire.co.uk 

If they have simply lost or not received their voucher, please see the above FAQ ‘What if someone has lost their FEAST voucher’

Yes. Some of the activities we offer are specifically for children with special educational needs, and many others are inclusive for those children.  

Find out what’s on in your area using our activity finder, or by logging onto HolidayActivities, and use the search filters to see which are suitable for your child. If you have any questions, please contact the provider directly using the details in their listing. 

You can translate this website by clicking the button in the bottom left of every screen. You can also download translated information about FEAST using the links below.

• Dari
• Pashto
• Polish
• Russian
• Ukrainian

Please contact hello@northyorkshiretogether.co.uk with details of the child you would like to take part.

If a child or young person can’t make it to any events or activities in person, they can check out our video workshops. There are also lots of activities and recipes in our FEAST booklet to help families stay active and creative at home.

North Yorkshire Council has commissioned North Yorkshire Together, a partnership between Rural Arts, North Yorkshire Sport and North Yorkshire Youth, to coordinate the programme which is being branded as FEAST.

The Department for Education has given North Yorkshire Council funding to coordinate FEAST.

You can contact us by email at hello@northyorkshiretogether.co.uk. If you have a question about a specific activity or provider please contact them direct using the information on their listing.

In an emergency, you should call 999.

Every provider taking part in FEAST has provided North Yorkshire Together with a copy of their safeguarding policy and insurance details, and has completed our Safeguarding Checklist.

If you have any concerns about the safety or welfare of a young person taking part in FEAST, you should telephone 0300 131 2 131 or email children&families@northyorks.gov.uk. More information can be found at https://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/about-us/worried-about-a-child/

No, the FEAST programme does not distribute any vouchers with monetary value, or cash, credit,  bank transfers etc.

The Department for Education funding for the FEAST programme is only allowed to be spent providing eligible children with fun and enriching activities over the school holidays, where free food is also distributed.

If you need financial support, please see the below funds to see if you are eligible or get in touch with North Yorkshire Council or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/household-support-fund

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/local-assistance-fund

https://www.warmandwell.org.uk/

You can find information about support schemes and organisations which may be able to help on the North Yorkshire Council cost of living support page.

The Household Support Fund was set up by the Government to help people who are struggling with the increase in living costs and feeling the financial pressure of paying their bills. You’ll find more information about the Household Support Fund in North Yorkshire at the Household Support Fund page.

If you’re not eligible for the Household Support Fund but you are struggling to pay for food, energy and other essentials you may be able to get other financial support through schemes such as the North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund (NYLAF) and a fund managed by North Yorkshire Citizens Advice and Law Centre that helps people struggling to pay their energy bills.

The North Yorkshire Council cost of living support page also contains advice on money, debt, benefit entitlement, free school meals and childcare costs as well as information about free Wi-Fi, digital support, travel and transport. The page also has information about energy saving, foodbanks and community-based support including Warm Welcome Spaces and local schemes depending on where you live.

North Yorkshire Citizen’s Advice and Law Centre provide free, confidential and impartial advice to help people find a way forward with whatever problems they face, including money and benefits. You can get advice in person, over the phone, on a web chat or by email by contacting North Yorkshire Citizen’s Advice and Law Centre direct.