Your Holiday Hub: supporting families during the Easter school holidays

Councillor Asher Craig is pictured, smiling, with trees behind her.
This blog is from Cllr Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor for Children Services, Education, and Equalities and Labour Councillor for St George West ward.

With the Easter school holidays just around the corner, activity providers across Bristol are gearing up to welcome thousands of children and young people as part of our Your Holiday Hub programme.

Every weekday over the Easter school holidays (3 April to 14 April) fun activities and food clubs will run across Bristol, including arts and craft, sports camp, and forest school. Children and young people from Reception to Year 11 who receive benefits related free school meals during term time will be able to access Your Holiday Hub for free. Alongside Your Holiday Hub, children and young people who receive free school meals will also receive free school meal vouchers for the duration of the school holidays.

Central to the Your Holiday Hub programme is food. Children and young people participating in Your Holiday Hub activities will receive a free hot meal with each four-hour activity. The aim of the programme is to ensure our children and young people have access to healthy meals during the school holidays. We also want them to be inspired to take in interest in where their food comes from and what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle through interactive food workshops.

Food is a source of celebration and connection, it connects families, communities, and cultures. Easter celebrations are often associated with food following 40 days of Lent, where traditionally food is restricted. This year, the Easter school holidays also coincide with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. With over 31,000 Muslims in Bristol, Ramadan is considered the most important time of the year for many families. During this period, observers of the tradition refrain from eating, drinking and other physical needs from dawn until dusk. However, the significance of food during Ramadan cannot be overstated because it’s the time when friends and families come together in the evening to break the fast, strengthening their community bonds through food. This year, several activity providers are catering for families who are partaking in Ramadan by offering evening meals and food to take home.

Young people and parents attend a pond, with an allotment in the background. This is at Your Holiday Hub's activities club.

Learning Partnership West is one of the providers offering food and activities over the holidays. Pete Woods, head of Learning Partnership West (LPW) has told us:

“We run weekly LPW Urban Park sessions in Barton Hill and have done for ten years. The aim of this project is to deliver high quality activities in one of the most diverse communities in Bristol.

“As the holidays fall during Ramadan, we will be making some special adjustments to our provision. We will be providing food boxes supplied by our wonderful chef to be opened at home for young people who are fasting during daylight hours, and hot food will be provided to non-fasting children and young people during the day.”

Your Holiday Hub is a fantastic initiative which celebrates Bristol’s rich food culture through activities and

A full list of activities can be found on the Your Holiday Hub website and can be filtered according to age, activity, and location.

Mayor Marvin Rees is pictured arm wrestling with a student of Compass Point primary school.

For info:

Free school meal vouchers will be distributed through the schools, please contact your child’s school for more information.

If you have a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), please contact the holiday provider directly to discuss your child’s individual needs.