The aim of the fund is to support local organisations deliver activities and food to children and young people from low-income families across Falkirk during the Autumn school holiday (13-26 October).

• Funding up to £500 will be available for projects
• Projects must have activities that cover a minimum number of 2 days throughout the Autumn holiday  

Applications are open from Monday 25 August to Wednesday 3 September.

The panel will review applications until Friday 10 September. Outcomes will be communicated, and payments processed from the following week.

The funding for the 2025 Autumn School Holiday Food and Activities Fund targets school-aged children and young people, with a particular emphasis on those who are likely to face disadvantages due to ongoing poverty.

The priority groups identified by Fairer Falkirk's analysis of national and local data include:

• School-aged children (5 - 14)
• Young people (14 - 19)
• Large families (3 + Children)
• Lone parents
• Care Experienced Young People
• Kinship Care Families
• Priority areas

Fair Work First

Moving forward, all organisations receiving public sector grant funding must comply with the Scottish Government's Fair Work First Guidance. This will apply to organisations receiving funding through the School Holiday Food and Activity Fund.

Please review the guidance and confirm if your organisation is compliant with the following:

• Payment of at least the real Living Wage
• Appropriate channels for effective workers' voice
• If you do not currently meet this, then you can request an exemption. If you are not compliant, then please confirm this and tell us the reasons why an exemption should be granted (for example, you are working towards compliance, or the size of your organisation is such that at present you are unable to comply).

Receipts and End of Award report

Receipts must be provided on request for any significant items of expense which funding has been requested for. By applying for and accepting this funding, you are acknowledging that you understand this and will provide this information at our request.

It is a criterion of grant funding that an End of Award report is submitted, using the template we provide. At the end of the Easter activities, you will be asked to complete the report. Failure to provide information may have a detrimental impact on any future funding applications.

A selection of activities is available to book for Autumn 2025, and a new community transport project may also help lower transport costs.

Please email fairerfalkirk@falkirk.gov.uk for more details.

Like last year, it is possible to apply for multiple School Holiday funds simultaneously. While any group or organisation can apply for multiple funds, this option is particularly beneficial for those delivering similar types of sessions across different holidays.

In the application form, you'll notice new fields in the "Sessions" and "Expenses" tabs. Before adding a session or listing expenses, you'll need to select the specific holiday to which the sessions and expenses apply.

The available school holiday funds are Autumn 2025 and Easter 2026. You can apply for one or two. If you only wish to apply for the Autumn fund, simply select "Autumn 2025" and proceed as usual. Due to limited funding, we took the difficult decision to cut the 2025 Christmas and the 2026 February funds.

If your application for multiple funds is approved, you will not need to reapply for the subsequent funds. However, please note that a positive response from the panel does not guarantee the receipt of funds. The final amount will be confirmed once all applications for the relevant funds have been reviewed and finalised.

Fund amounts

To assist you in applying for multiple funds and planning your activities in advance, the maximum amounts available for each holiday fund are:

• Autumn 2025 – £500
• Easter 2026 – £500

We understand that lower funding may impact your ability to deliver activities, but our goal is to support as many groups as possible.

We have implemented a notification email system to confirm the receipt of your application.

Once your application is submitted, you will receive an automatic email confirming the submission, which will include a PDF copy of your application.

If you do not receive this email within 24 hours, please contact fairerfalkirk@falkirk.gov.uk as soon as possible, as this may indicate that your submission was not successfully delivered.

Support is available to help you develop your application.

Completing your application

For help completing your application, including how you can promote food and activities towards the target groups, email fairerfalkirk@falkirk.gov.uk.

NHS nutrition resources

To help you prepare and serve simple, healthy meals for children please email fairerfalkirk@falkirk.gov.uk for more information and resources.

Organising activities

For advice on how to organise activities for children and young people email cameron.reid@falkirk.gov.uk.

Capacity building

For help with capacity building, applications and event organising, email Frank.McChord@falkirk.gov.uk.

For help with capacity building, applying for funding, and governance support email CVS Falkirk info@cvsfalkirk.org.uk.

Menu ideas and food guidance

For menu ideas, portion guidance, resources, and training to support the food provision of funding, email fv.fvcommunitynutrition@nhs.scot or visit NHS Forth Valley - Nutrition.