| Enable Ability are delighted to share this great achievement, recognised by Portsmouth City Council! Mia and Georgia had a lovely time at the awards ceremony, and are pictured holding our award.
“A provider of free holiday clubs for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Portsmouth has won the Southeast division of the HAF Awards 2023, for its outstanding and innovative care.
Enable Ability, HAF Fun Pompey’s dedicated special educational needs and disabled (SEND) provider, has been recognised for its high quality, inclusive care of SEND children during the school holidays, along with the training it has given to other activity-runners.
Enable Ability’s services are carefully designed around their users’ needs and provide inclusive care and activities for those with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities.
HAF provides free enriching activities and nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of children across England, who come from low-income families, throughout the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays.
Mia Sandells, Inclusive Playscheme Team Leader for Enable Ability said:
“We are delighted to have been recognised as one of the HAF Awards Regional Champions for 2023, following a nomination from Portsmouth City Council.
We are incredibly grateful for the support we receive as, in turn, it means that we can further support our clients in ways that are needed in the current climate. As a provider of the HAF service, we know it means a great deal to the children and their families who benefit from having this support as due to their SEND needs they would be unable to access other playschemes.”
Enable Ability ran one of 8,000 clubs, events or organised activities in England that offered an experience to around 600,000 children over summer 2022.
Minister Claire Coutinho, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, said:
“Our Holiday Activity and Food Programme gives children across the country access to incredible experiences during the holidays, helping to make friends and create memories through enriching and fun activities. Enable Ability has gone above and beyond in offering an experience like no other which is why they’re this year’s winner of the outstanding and innovative provision award.”
Cllr Suzy Horton, Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education said: “HAF Fun Pompey is a testament to the amazing support network we have in Portsmouth. I am so proud of the team and how they have managed to extend this offer to help children with a range of needs, their families and the local economy. HAF Fun Pompey is a truly amazing experience for children and young people.They can make new friends, try exciting new foods, discover hidden talents by exploring new activities they may not have had the opportunity to try before. I hope many children and young people can enjoy this year’s wonderful programme.”
The government’s holiday activities and food programme started as a pilot in 2018. It was created in response to the pressures that low-income families can face over the holidays, with some children being less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, and more likely to experience social isolation and ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health.
The continuation of the holiday activities and food programme is part of the government’s commitment to support vulnerable families with rising costs due to global inflationary pressures, particularly in disadvantaged areas. This programme runs alongside the household support fund which supports vulnerable households through small payments for food, clothing, and utilities. The fund has recently been extended to 30 March 2024 with an additional £1 billion to be used by used by local authorities to support vulnerable households.
Photo caption: Mia Sandells, Inclusive Playscheme Team Leader and Georgia Hescott, Paulsgrove Playscheme Team Leader with their award.
Well done Mia and Georgia!
|
