Challenges and opportunities for inclusive, equitable and accessible school holiday clubs for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Background: Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly those from families with low-income, experience inequities across educational and health outcomes. The school holidays are difficult for families with low-income, prompting UK government programmes including the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) clubs. Little is known about how inclusive these holiday clubs are for children with SEND, despite this being a group who may particularly benefit. This study is embedded within a wider project on the HAF programme to explore the challenges and opportunities for inclusive and accessible holiday club provision and provides recommendations for the HAF Toolkit. Methods: Participant experiences were captured using two qualitative methods: 1) interviews with holiday programme delivery staff and parents of attendees (staff n=28, parents n=10); 2) focus group discussions at creative workshops with parents whose children are eligible for the holiday programme but do not attend (n=22). The Framework Method and Reflexive Thematic Analysis were used. Methods: Participant experiences were captured using two qualitative methods: (1) interviews with holiday programme delivery staff and parents of attendees (staff n = 28, parents n = 10); (2) focus group discussions at creative workshops with parents whose children are eligible for the holiday programme but do not attend (n = 22). The Framework Method and Reflexive Thematic Analysis were used. Results: Findings reveal challenges and opportunities around accessing and experiencing the holiday clubs for children with SEND. Access subthemes included: lack of clarity in advertising whether clubs welcome children with SEND; frequent non-disclosure from parents of their child’s needs; accessible transportation; and additional resources needed for SEND provision. Experience subthemes included: food provision for children with SEND; training and staffing that covers the range of needs; and the experiences of children within mainstream provision versus specialist providers of SEND clubs. All participant groups illuminated areas where holiday clubs could be improved to ensure an enjoyable and equitable experience for children with SEND. However, wider debates around ableism and the challenges children with SEND face in society broadly were also illustrated in data. Further, the current economic context and the additional resources needed to support inclusive holiday club provision underpinned much of the data. Opportunities were highlighted such as parent volunteers and external investment, that could maximise the potential of the current government funding. Conclusions: Our findings highlight issues in access and experience of holiday clubs for children with SEND and provide potential avenues for promoting inclusivity, including how adaptations to the Toolkit could specifically improve HAF. There are considerable challenges to achieving inclusive holiday clubs (financial or otherwise) but if we are to reduce inequities, addressing these should be a public health priority.