Holiday Club Programmes in Northern Ireland: The Voices of Children and Young People.

Jackie Shinwell,Caitlin Allen,Ellen Finlay,Margaret Anne Defeyter

doi:10.3390/ijerph18031337

Jackie Shinwell, Caitlin Allen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18031337

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Abstract

In Northern Ireland, nearly 30% of children are thought to be at risk of going hungry in the summer holidays when they are unable to access free school meals. Community groups, voluntary groups, local authorities, and faith groups have responded to this concern by developing and delivering holiday programmes that enable children from low-income families to take part in activities and access food. The current study used purposive sampling to investigate children’s and young people’s views of holiday provision, from across three holiday clubs, in Northern Ireland. Both primary school children (n = 34; aged 4–11) and secondary school children (n = 31; aged 12–17) showed high levels of awareness of poverty and food insecurity and associated pressures and stresses on households. Importantly, children and young people did not feel stigmatised about attending holiday provision, suggesting a positive and inclusive culture towards holiday club attendance. Children reported that they enjoyed the range of activities provided at holiday clubs and reported that attendance improved their self-confidence, especially for some older children, who acted as peer mentors to younger attendees, helped them to develop new skills, and provided them with opportunities to socialise with peers in a safe environment, out with their normal social groupings in school. Older children showed a high level of shrewdness and knowledge of sectarian divides in communities but spoke positively about how different religious or cultural backgrounds did not matter in terms of meeting and making new friends in holiday club settings. In terms of food provision, the findings of this study suggest that further work needs to be done to support children to access and eat healthy, nutritious food.

Highlights

In Northern Ireland, nearly 30% of all school-aged children are entitled to a free school meal during term time [1]
Prior research suggests that access to food is an important aspect of holiday club attendance and holiday club staff have reported that holiday clubs are needed because of high levels of food insecurity in disadvantaged communities [3,5]
The findings of this study highlight that children and young people are acutely aware of the structural causes of poverty and associated outcomes, such as food insecurity, and a lack of disposal household income on multiple actors

Summary

Introduction

In Northern Ireland, nearly 30% of all school-aged children are entitled to a free school meal during term time [1]. During the school summer holidays, when the safety net of free school meals is removed, many children from low-income families are thought to be at risk of holiday hunger [2]. In response to concerns that nearly 96,000 schoolaged children in Northern Ireland may be at risk of going hungry in the holidays, more than. 80 organisations, including voluntary and community groups, local authorities, schools and churches, have developed summer holiday clubs to enable children from low-income families and newly arrived immigrant families to access food and activities during the eight week school summer holiday period [4]. Parents and carers have reported that holiday club attendance may reduce household food insecurity

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