Children's holiday project misses out on funding

A community project leader has raised concerns "the most vulnerable kids will lose out" after he was unsuccessful in gaining funding to run activities over the school break.

Keiren Thompson runs Helping Kids Achieve, which provides sporting activities and free meals for children in Nottingham in term-time and during school holidays.

However, Thompson was not awarded funding to run the project, based in Bulwell, during this year's school holidays.

Nottingham City Council said funding was awarded through a competitive process, and added that requests significantly exceeded the budget.

Helping Kids Achieve has been providing free and low-cost extra-curricular activities for children during the school holidays since 2021.

Thompson won the BBC Sports Personality Unsung Hero award in 2019 for his work with the project.

The 36-year-old grew up in Bulwell and was hospitalised as a teenager after being badly beaten in an attack.

He said: "I come from a working class background and my parents struggled to take me to clubs like this.

"I wanted to give these kids something to do because I know what it's like."

The sessions, which run twice a week, are open to everyone, but Thompson said there was an emphasis on getting children from deprived areas of the city "off the streets" and doing something positive.

Around 50 young people attend each session, and those who are entitled to free school meals can attend for free.

He relies on funding from HAF, the government's Holiday Activities and Food fund, which provides local authorities with the cash to provide free activities during the school holidays.

Figures from Nottingham City Council show it was awarded £1.837m to deliver the HAF programme in 2026-27.

However, for the first time in five years, Thompson has not been allocated funding to run sessions this year.

"A lot of the children we help are vulnerable and some of them are at risk of being excluded," Thompson said.

"Our sessions give them routine and an option other than causing trouble.

"If we can't support them, I'm worried they'll go down the wrong path."

Marissa, 56, sends her youngest son to Thompson's sessions during the half term.

She said lots of parents are concerned about the impact it will have on their children.

"I speak to parents who tell me that Keiren's sessions are a lifeline for them," she said. "Everybody is really upset."

"Holiday periods are a time where the disadvantage gaps can widen. This is a place where kids can get a free meal and learn new skills.

"We are shocked this is happening because the sessions are always full and parents struggle to get a space."

Thompson's sessions are based in Bulwell and attended by lots of children at Bulwell Academy.

Matt Irons, principal at Bulwell Academy, said: "Helping Kids Achieve offers vital opportunities, structured support, and safe, meaningful activities that many of our young people would otherwise not have access to.

"Continued funding for HKA is essential to ensuring our pupils can keep benefiting from the guidance and enrichment he provides on a daily basis."

In a statement, Nottingham City Council said: "All applications were assessed using a clear scoring matrix to ensure a fair, transparent and robust process, alongside consideration of geographical spread and age range to ensure provision across the city.

"On this occasion, Helping Kids Achieve did not meet the required score to be awarded funding.

"In total, 34 providers have been funded to deliver activities across 51 sites. During the upcoming spring holiday, 7,774 places will be available for eligible children and young people."

In the meantime, Keiren said he will look at other funding options to try and ensure his sessions can run over the summer and October school holidays.

"We've lost Easter, but I'm hopeful that we'll find other funding so we can continue to help kids when they aren't in school.

"The bottom line is - our young people need to be invested in. That is what helps society overall."

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