How to Onboard HAF Providers: A Complete Guide for Local Authorities
A practical guide to recruiting, vetting, and onboarding activity providers for the Holiday Activities and Food programme. Covers safeguarding checks, quality assurance, grant agreements, and digital onboarding workflows.
The quality of a Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme depends on the quality of its providers. Local authorities must recruit, vet, approve, and support a network of activity providers — often 30 to 100+ organisations — for each holiday period. Getting provider onboarding right ensures that children receive safe, enriching provision that meets DfE standards. This guide covers the complete provider onboarding process, from initial recruitment through to ongoing quality assurance.
What you'll learn: How to recruit providers, what checks are required, how to structure the onboarding process, and how to manage providers throughout the programme.
Key challenges: The administrative burden of onboarding dozens of providers, ensuring consistent compliance, and maintaining quality without creating excessive bureaucracy.
Practical tools: How digital onboarding through platforms like Plinth can streamline the process and reduce the risk of missed checks.
TL;DR — Provider Onboarding for HAF
HAF provider onboarding involves recruiting suitable organisations, verifying their safeguarding and compliance credentials, approving their activity plans, setting up grant agreements, and supporting them through delivery. With many authorities working with 50–100+ providers, the administrative burden is substantial when managed manually. Key requirements include: DBS checks for all staff working with children, appropriate insurance, safeguarding policies, risk assessments, and activity plans that meet DfE standards for physical activity, food, and enrichment. Digital onboarding through platforms like Plinth allows providers to self-serve much of the process, reducing email chasing and ensuring nothing is missed.
Why Provider Onboarding Matters
Provider onboarding is not just administrative box-ticking — it directly affects the safety, quality, and reach of your HAF programme.
Safeguarding: Children attending HAF provision are often from vulnerable backgrounds. Rigorous vetting ensures that every provider meets safeguarding standards, protecting children from harm. The DfE is clear that local authorities are responsible for ensuring the safety of HAF provision, even when delivered by external organisations.
Quality: The DfE requires HAF sessions to include physical activity, enrichment, and healthy food. Without proper onboarding, providers may deliver provision that does not meet these standards, putting DfE compliance at risk.
Reach: Effective provider recruitment ensures geographic coverage across your authority area. Without a deliberate approach, provision tends to cluster in areas where established providers already operate, leaving gaps in underserved communities. Nationally, approximately 2 million FSM-eligible children should have access to HAF — achieving this requires providers in every neighbourhood.
Reporting: Provider data feeds directly into DfE Q38 returns. If provider information is incomplete or inaccurate, reporting becomes problematic.
The time invested in thorough onboarding is repaid through safer provision, better quality, and easier DfE reporting.
Step 1: Recruiting Providers
The first step is identifying and attracting a diverse range of activity providers across your authority area.
Where to Find Providers
Existing networks: Start with organisations that have previously delivered HAF or similar holiday provision. These providers already understand the requirements and can deliver with minimal additional support.
Schools: Many schools are well-placed to deliver HAF, particularly during the summer. They have premises, DBS-checked staff, and existing relationships with FSM-eligible families. A significant share of HAF provision nationally is delivered by or in partnership with schools.
Voluntary and community sector: Local charities, community groups, sports clubs, arts organisations, and youth services often have the skills and motivation to deliver HAF but may need support with the application process.
Private providers: Holiday club operators, sports coaching companies, and other private providers can expand capacity, particularly for specialist activities like swimming, martial arts, or performing arts.
Faith organisations: Churches, mosques, temples, and other faith-based organisations often have suitable premises and community connections, particularly in areas underserved by other providers.
Recruitment Best Practice
Open application process: Publish clear criteria and a simple application form, allowing any eligible organisation to apply. This ensures you are not inadvertently excluding potential providers.
Targeted outreach: Actively approach organisations in areas where provision is lacking. Do not rely solely on open applications — the organisations you most need may not be aware of HAF or may need encouragement to apply.
Information sessions: Run briefing sessions (in person and online) explaining what HAF involves, what is expected of providers, and what support is available. This helps providers make informed decisions about whether to apply.
Realistic expectations: Be clear about funding levels, reporting requirements, and the administrative obligations involved. Providers who enter the programme with unrealistic expectations are more likely to drop out or underperform.
Aim for geographic coverage, activity diversity, and a mix of provider types to ensure every eligible family has meaningful choices.
Step 2: The Onboarding Checklist
Once providers have expressed interest, they must complete a structured onboarding process. Here is what needs to be checked and collected.
Safeguarding Requirements
| Requirement | What to Check | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|---|
| DBS checks | Enhanced DBS for all staff and volunteers working with children | DBS certificate numbers and dates |
| Safeguarding policy | Written policy covering reporting procedures, designated safeguarding lead, and staff training | Copy of policy document |
| Safeguarding training | Evidence that staff have completed appropriate safeguarding training | Training certificates or records |
| Designated Safeguarding Lead | Named individual responsible for safeguarding at each delivery site | Name and contact details |
| Whistleblowing policy | Procedures for staff to raise concerns | Copy of policy |
Insurance and Legal
| Requirement | What to Check | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability insurance | Minimum £5 million cover (some authorities require £10 million) | Insurance certificate |
| Employer's liability insurance | If the provider has employees | Insurance certificate |
| Professional indemnity | For specialist activities (e.g. sports coaching) | Insurance certificate |
| Ofsted registration | Required if providing childcare for children under 8 for more than 2 hours | Ofsted registration number |
| Organisational structure | Registered charity, CIC, limited company, etc. | Registration documents |
Premises and Health & Safety
| Requirement | What to Check | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Risk assessment | Site-specific risk assessment for the delivery venue | Copy of risk assessment |
| Fire safety | Fire risk assessment and evacuation procedures | Fire safety documentation |
| First aid | Qualified first aider on site, appropriate first aid equipment | First aid certificates |
| Accessibility | Suitability for children with disabilities and SEND | Accessibility statement |
| Food hygiene | If preparing food on site, appropriate food hygiene certification | Food hygiene certificates and rating |
Activity and Quality Requirements
| Requirement | What to Check | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Activity plan | Programme of activities meeting DfE standards | Written activity plan |
| Physical activity | Minimum 60 minutes per day | Timetable showing physical activity |
| Food provision | Healthy meal meeting School Food Standards | Menu and food sourcing plan |
| Nutritional education | Inclusion of food/nutrition learning activities | Description in activity plan |
| Enrichment | Activities beyond basic childcare | Evidence in activity plan |
| Inclusion | Plan for including children with SEND and additional needs | Inclusion statement |
This is a substantial checklist. Managing it for 50+ providers using email and spreadsheets is a significant undertaking — one of the primary reasons authorities adopt digital onboarding platforms.
Step 3: Structuring the Onboarding Workflow
The onboarding process needs to be structured clearly so that providers know what is expected and the HAF team can track progress efficiently.
Manual Workflow (Email and Spreadsheets)
- Send application form to interested providers
- Receive completed applications via email
- Log applications in a tracking spreadsheet
- Review each application for completeness
- Email providers requesting missing documents
- Receive and file documents (often across multiple emails)
- Check each requirement against the checklist
- Record approval status in the spreadsheet
- Send approval confirmation to the provider
- Set up provider in the booking system (if separate)
Typical timeline: 2–6 weeks per provider, with significant email chasing.
Common problems: Documents lost in email threads, inconsistent tracking, providers unsure of their status, and items missed during review.
Digital Workflow (Using Plinth)
Plinth provides a structured digital onboarding workflow:
- Provider receives a link to the online onboarding portal
- Provider completes the application form and uploads required documents
- The system checks for completeness automatically, flagging missing items
- The HAF team reviews submissions through a dashboard showing status for every provider
- Providers can see what is outstanding and upload additional documents without email
- The HAF team approves or requests changes through the platform
- Approved providers are automatically enabled in the booking system
- All documentation is stored centrally and accessible for audit
Typical timeline: 1–2 weeks per provider, with minimal email chasing.
Key advantages: Self-service for providers, automatic completeness checking, central document storage, and clear audit trail.
Step 4: Grant Agreements and Funding
Once a provider is approved, the financial relationship must be formalised.
Setting Funding Rates
Funding rates vary between authorities but typically cover:
Per-place funding: A rate per child per session, often ranging from £10–£25 depending on the type of activity and local costs. This is the most common funding model.
Block funding: A fixed amount for a defined number of sessions and places, regardless of actual attendance. This provides certainty for providers but does not incentivise maximising attendance.
Hybrid models: A base amount plus per-attendance top-up, balancing provider certainty with attendance incentives.
Grant Agreement Essentials
Your grant agreement should clearly set out:
- Funding amount and payment schedule
- Expected number of places and sessions
- Quality standards and DfE requirements
- Data collection and reporting obligations
- Attendance recording requirements
- Safeguarding obligations
- Insurance and compliance requirements
- Monitoring and evaluation arrangements
- Clawback provisions (for non-delivery or non-compliance)
- Payment terms (advance, arrears, or split)
Clear grant agreements prevent misunderstandings and provide a framework for addressing issues if they arise during delivery.
Step 5: Training and Support
Approved providers need support to deliver effectively, particularly those new to HAF.
Pre-Delivery Training
HAF requirements briefing: Cover the DfE standards for physical activity, food, enrichment, and nutritional education. Ensure providers understand what is expected and how it will be monitored.
Booking system training: If using a central booking platform, train providers on how to view their bookings, manage capacity, and record attendance. Plinth provides provider-facing training and resources to ensure smooth adoption.
Safeguarding refresher: Reinforce safeguarding expectations and reporting procedures. Ensure every provider knows who to contact if a concern arises.
Data collection: Explain what data providers need to capture, in what format, and when — particularly attendance data and any activity categorisation needed for Q38 reporting.
Ongoing Support During Delivery
Single point of contact: Assign a member of the HAF team as the named contact for each provider (or group of providers). This ensures providers know who to reach when issues arise.
Quality monitoring visits: Plan visits during the holiday period to observe provision and provide feedback. These should be supportive rather than purely compliance-focused.
Issue resolution: Have clear procedures for addressing problems — from minor quality concerns to serious safeguarding issues — including escalation routes and potential suspension of providers if necessary.
Step 6: Ongoing Provider Management
Provider onboarding is not a one-off exercise. Managing the provider relationship throughout the year is essential for programme quality.
Between Holiday Periods
Feedback and review: After each holiday period, share feedback with providers based on monitoring visits, family feedback, and attendance data. Celebrate successes and address areas for improvement.
Renewal process: Decide whether to continue with each provider for the next holiday period. Providers in good standing should have a streamlined renewal process — they should not have to re-submit every document each time.
New provider recruitment: Identify gaps in provision and recruit new providers to fill them. The period between holiday deliveries is the best time for this.
Provider development: Offer training and development opportunities to help providers improve their offer, particularly in areas like SEND inclusion, nutritional education, or activity diversity.
Building Long-Term Relationships
The most effective HAF programmes are built on strong, long-term relationships with providers. Providers who feel valued and supported deliver better provision and are more likely to return year after year — reducing the recruitment burden and improving consistency for families.
Treat providers as partners, not just contractors. Their expertise and community connections are essential to reaching the families who need HAF most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many providers does a typical HAF programme need?
This varies significantly based on the size and geography of the local authority. Smaller unitary authorities might work with 20–30 providers, while large county councils may need 80–120+. The key metric is not the number of providers but the number of places available relative to the FSM-eligible population, with geographic coverage across the authority area. A good starting point is to ensure there are sufficient places for at least 20–30% of FSM-eligible children in the area, as not all eligible children will attend in any given holiday period.
What if a provider fails safeguarding checks?
If a provider cannot meet safeguarding requirements — for example, they lack DBS checks for staff, have no safeguarding policy, or have safeguarding concerns in their history — they should not be approved. Safety is non-negotiable. In some cases, you may be able to support providers to meet requirements (for example, fast-tracking DBS applications or providing safeguarding training), but approval should never be granted until all requirements are met.
How do we handle providers who deliver across multiple authorities?
Some providers, particularly larger organisations, deliver HAF in multiple local authority areas. Each authority is responsible for its own onboarding and compliance checking, but you can reduce duplication by accepting evidence from other authorities (for example, DBS checks and insurance certificates) where appropriate. Establishing relationships with neighbouring authorities' HAF teams helps streamline this.
Should we require Ofsted registration for all providers?
Ofsted registration is legally required for providers offering childcare for children under 8 for more than 2 hours per day. Not all HAF provision meets this threshold (for example, activity sessions that are not classified as childcare). However, some authorities require Ofsted registration or equivalent as a quality indicator even where it is not legally required. This is a local decision — requiring it provides an additional quality assurance layer but may exclude some community organisations that deliver excellent provision without Ofsted registration.
How do we manage the paperwork for 50+ providers?
This is one of the strongest arguments for digital onboarding. Managing compliance documentation for 50+ providers via email and spreadsheets is extremely time-consuming and error-prone. A digital platform like Plinth centralises all provider documentation, tracks compliance status automatically, and provides a clear dashboard showing which providers are approved, which have outstanding items, and which need attention. This transforms provider management from a chaotic email exercise into a structured, auditable process.
Conclusion & Call to Action
Provider onboarding is the foundation of a safe, high-quality HAF programme. While the compliance requirements are extensive, a structured approach — supported by the right tools — makes the process manageable even at scale.
Safety first: Safeguarding checks are non-negotiable. Every child attending HAF provision must be in a safe environment with vetted staff.
Structure reduces burden: A clear onboarding workflow, whether manual or digital, ensures nothing is missed and reduces the chasing that consumes HAF coordinators' time.
Digital transformation: Platforms like Plinth are specifically designed to streamline provider onboarding, reducing the process from weeks of email exchanges to days of structured, self-service documentation.
Relationships matter: Beyond compliance, building strong provider relationships improves programme quality and reduces recruitment burden over time.
Effective provider onboarding is not just about ticking boxes — it is about building a network of trusted partners who deliver excellent provision for the children who need it most.
Ready to streamline provider onboarding? Book a demo of Plinth to see how digital onboarding works in practice.
Recommended Next Pages
What Is the HAF Programme? – A comprehensive overview of the Holiday Activities and Food programme.
Best Booking Systems for HAF Programmes – How provider onboarding connects to central booking.
How to Complete HAF DfE Reporting – Why good provider data is essential for Q38 reporting.
How to Track HAF Attendance – Setting up providers for accurate attendance recording.
HAF Management Software vs Spreadsheets – The case for digital tools across all aspects of HAF delivery.
FSM Eligibility Checking for HAF – Ensuring providers understand the eligibility checking process.
Last updated: February 2026
For more information about HAF provider onboarding with Plinth, contact our team or schedule a demo.