The Time2Move Holiday Programme Goes from Strength to Strength

The Time2Move (T2M) Holiday Programme known nationally as the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme provides holiday activities and food for children across Cornwall, and it has wrapped up its fifth Summer of holiday provision in Cornwall, with spectacular results…

This summer saw a record number of children attending the programme, with more unique participants than in previous summers. This growth highlights both the ongoing need for the programme and the positive impact it continues to have on the community. Beyond the numbers, it reflects families’ increasing trust in the support we provide. We have also strengthened our relationships with locally trusted organisations, enhancing the reach and quality of the services they offer. Our work with SEND networks has continued to grow, ensuring that children with additional needs are supported in a way that is both inclusive and responsive. In addition, our new collaboration with Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food (MOF) has added real value, giving providers, children and families practical skills and knowledge that promote healthier lifestyles and long-term wellbeing. Together, these developments demonstrate not only the success of this summer’s programme but also our commitment to building sustainable community connections and delivering meaningful outcomes for the children and families we serve.

The summer also came with the news that the programme will continue for a further 3 years through to end of March 2029 and Lewis Sanders from Active Cornwall said “The HAF programme has had a huge impact on children in Cornwall giving them the opportunity to engage with other children, try new activities and even go in the sea and ride a bike for the first time! Working through a network of over 120 locally trusted organisations we have reached all our local communities connecting children and families with local opportunities for them to continue to be active, to receive nutritious meals, interact socially with peers and get the support they need to flourish as a family living in Cornwall.” Round Up This summer, we provided 121 different activities, with 84 unique providers and awarded £1,068,993 across Cornwall. This saw 31,063 meals provided, 6,680 children attend the programme, 3,932 of them being children in receipt of benefits related free school meals. Beth, Project Support Officer for the Time2Move Holiday Programme at Active Cornwall said “This summer’s Time2Move Holiday Programme has been one of our best yet. We’re so proud of everything that the programme has achieved, including 3 additional years of funding confirmed! We’re excited do develop the programme further to continue to support young people and their families in Cornwall.” (See attached summer 2025 infographic). DfE Visit On 27th August 2025 we hosted a virtual visit for the Department for Education (DfE) wishing to observe our local HAF (Holiday Activities and Food Programme) provision.

Hosted online by Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, and Mandy Brown, Head of Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF), these informal virtual visits are an opportunity for DfE colleagues to see the impact of the work they help to support. Over 400 members of DfE staff joined online for the hour-long visit which included an informative introduction from Tim Marrion, Partnership Manager (Children, Young People and Families) at Active Cornwall, about the delivery of the HAF programme in Cornwall, known locally as Time2Move. Read more about this here - www.activecornwall.org/time2move-programme-hosts-department-foreducation-virtual-visit/ Food focus - MOF As the cost-of-living crisis continues, The Trussell Trust reports a 51% increase in the distribution of emergency food parcels in the past five years, with over 1,000,000 parcels being provided for children alone (The Trussell Trust, 2025). This reliance of so many families on food banks makes the provision of hot and healthy meals as part of The Time2Move Holiday Programme even more crucial. So, this year, we have been putting even more energy into developing the food and nutrition element of our programme to ensure that it is the best that it can be.

This summer was the first summer that we have worked with Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food Programme, and this has allowed 9 Time2Move Holiday Programme providers to be trained and able to provide their community including children, parents/carers and local communities the benefits of cooking from scratch. This is on top of encouraging and funding all provision to offer a second breakfast to all children and the amazing achievement that 31,063 hot meals were provided to over the summer holidays. Adie Dove from KBSK in Bodmin says “Food was central to everything we did this summer, not as an addon, but as a vital part of wellbeing, dignity, and inclusion. At Fun in the Park, we served over 1,000 hot meals, from hot dogs to Thai green curry, alongside fresh fruit, strawberries and cream, and cream teas.

Families repeatedly told us that being able to sit down and eat together, without worrying about cost, was one of the most special parts of the day. One parent said simply: “Free food is great.” while another admitted: “The pressure of the summer holidays and the guilt of not being able to do much with the kids is so hard. I can’t believe this is all free. Thank you.”