Key Points
- Funding and Expansion: St Peter's C.E. Primary School in Farnworth launched a four-week summer holiday club after securing government funding through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.
- Meeting Community Need: Headteacher Jenny Scott highlighted that the initiative follows an expansion of wraparound care, including extended breakfast club hours and an after-school club launched in January, following overwhelming parent survey feedback.
- Free and Paid Places: The club offers free sessions for pupils eligible for benefit-related free school meals (serving no fewer than 20 eligible children daily), alongside paid options at £20 per day for other school pupils.
- Consistency in Staffing: Existing internal breakfast and after-school club staff volunteered to run the holiday programme, eliminating external recruitment and ensuring familiar, trusted faces for the children.
- Early Years Integration: Places were extended to incoming Reception pupils, easing logistically complex and costly multi-site childcare setups for families with nursery-aged siblings.
- Corporate Community Partnership: Tesco’s Farnworth branch actively backed the provision, with Community Champion Wendy delivering weekly food supplies and prizes.
Bolton (Bolton Today) August 18, 2026 - A FOUR-WEEK summer holiday club launched by St Peter’s C.E. Primary School in Farnworth has proved to be a highly successful addition to its expanding wraparound childcare services, providing crucial financial and logistical relief to working parents in the local area. As reported by Grace Williams of The Bolton News, the primary educational institution successfully applied for financial backing via the national Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) initiative to deliver the tailored summer provision. Headteacher Jenny Scott confirmed that school management had already been actively exploring avenues to broaden its extracurricular care to align with the growing demands of local households.
How Did St Peter’s Primary Develop Its Expanded Wraparound Provision?
According to reporting by Grace Williams of The Bolton News, St Peter’s C.E. Primary School had already established a foundational framework for morning childcare prior to launching the seasonal initiative. As explained by Headteacher Jenny Scott to The Bolton News,
“We have a long-standing breakfast club that's partially funded through Magic Breakfast and has been running for a number of years”.
The national charity Magic Breakfast assists over 350,000 children daily across the United Kingdom by offering nutritional morning meals and practical guidance to eradicate classroom hunger.
However, escalating socio-economic pressures and shifting working hours for families prompted the school leadership team to evaluate the wider scope of their care offerings. As reported by reporter Grace Williams of The Bolton News, Headteacher Jenny Scott stated that
“The school decided to look further at our wraparound care. We increased the breakfast club hours and from January provided an after-school club. We wanted to meet the needs of the community and recognised that there was an increasing need for childcare”.
When the school conducted formal diagnostic surveys with parents and guardians regarding the proposed additions, Ms Scott revealed that the institutional response was “overwhelming,” confirming a deep demand for local, affordable, and trustworthy childcare options.
What Role Does the Government HAF Grant Play in School Funding?
As detailed by Grace Williams in The Bolton News, the core catalyst for the new four-week summer programme was the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) grant scheme. Describing the application process, Headteacher Jenny Scott stated,
“We applied for the HAF programme and were successful, so this has been the first time we've run it”.
Under statutory rules governing the HAF grant framework, recipient educational facilities are mandated to operate the holiday programme for a minimum four-week duration while ring-fencing a set quota of places for pupils who qualify for benefit-related free school meals. In accordance with these regulations, eligible pupils receive full access to the holiday club completely free of charge on a first-come, first-served allocation model.
Highlighting the turnout and demographic uptake during the summer sessions, Headteacher Jenny Scott informed Grace Williams of The Bolton News that
“Every day, we never have less than 20 children on free school meals”.
How Are Paid Places Structured for Non-Eligible Families?
Beyond the free provisions secured through government funding, St Peter’s C.E. Primary built in paid spaces to support working parents who fall outside the strict benefit threshold but still face substantial childcare expenses.
As reported by Grace Williams of The Bolton News, Headteacher Jenny Scott outlined that paid positions are priced at £20 per day for enrolled pupils. Explaining the rationale behind this pricing model, Headteacher Jenny Scott told The Bolton News,
“We have families that are on the cusp of needing that support, so we again wanted it to meet the needs of the community”.
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Why Is Familiar Staffing Important to the Holiday Club Model?
A distinctive operational advantage of the St Peter’s primary holiday club was its reliance on existing internal workforce members rather than external contract staff. As reported by reporter Grace Williams of The Bolton News, staff currently employed in the school's standard breakfast and after-school clubs voluntarily stepped forward to work during the summer period. Consequently, the primary school avoided the administrative delay and cost of recruiting third-party personnel.
Emphasising the emotional and psychological benefits of this staffing structure, Headteacher Jenny Scott stated to The Bolton News that
“The staff know the children, so the relationships are already in place”.
As recorded by Grace Williams of The Bolton News, Holiday Club Manager Rebecca Bessell shared her personal motivation for opting to work throughout the long academic recess. Speaking to The Bolton News, Holiday Club Manager Rebecca Bessell said,
“I genuinely love my job and working here. I know the children that come to the holiday club, their backgrounds and what they need. I wanted to be here to provide that stability for them, someone that they know and trust”.
How Does the Club Support New Reception Pupils and Reduce Costs?
In addition to serving current pupils, St Peter’s C.E. Primary made a strategic operational decision to extend holiday club slots to children scheduled to enter Reception in the upcoming autumn term. As reported by Grace Williams in The Bolton News, this decision provided immediate structural relief for parents managing multiple drop-off points for siblings.
Holiday Club Manager Rebecca Bessell highlighted a case study to The Bolton News regarding a local mother who significantly reduced her daily financial and travel burdens. As cited by Grace Williams of The Bolton News, Holiday Club Manager Rebecca Bessell stated:
“The parent has a child in our school and a boy in nursery. It was costing her £56 a day for childcare and she was having to travel to two different places. She really wanted him to come here because she knows the staff and he will be joining our breakfast and after-school club from September. He's settled in really well”.
What External Support Did Local Businesses Provide to the Scheme?
The holiday programme received local corporate backing, notably from the nearby Tesco retail branch in Farnworth. As reported by Grace Williams of The Bolton News, store representatives contacted the primary school proactively to offer practical resources.
Specifically, Tesco’s Community Champion, identified as Wendy, contributed activity prizes and direct nutritional supplies. Describing the corporate collaboration, Holiday Club Manager Rebecca Bessell informed The Bolton News that
“She's given us all sorts and has been popping in every week to drop things off”.
What Activities Do Children Participate in at the Club?
As observed during an on-site visit by The Bolton News, reported by journalist Grace Williams, the club operates four days a week, running from Tuesday through Friday. Facilitated by warm seasonal weather, staff organized extensive outdoor physical play, group games, and recreational activities across the school premises.
Reflecting on the inaugural execution of the HAF-funded project, Headteacher Jenny Scott told The Bolton News that the programme had been “really successful” and expressed a clear intention to continue securing grants to maintain the service in subsequent academic years.