HAPpy Learn & Share Winter 2025 - Resources

Where & when?

The most recent Hertfordshire HAPpy Learn & Share event took place on Thursday 20th November 2025. This virtual event ran online from 10:00am until 1:00pm.

The schedule is shown below.

Who is this webinar for?

Under the theme of Disability and Inclusion, the content of this Learn & Share webinar was targeted towards individuals working in management or coordination roles in your organisation, for example - administrators, managers, supervisors, organisers, training co-ordinators and similar HAF related positions. This event provided an opportunity to improve knowledge of the HAPpy: Holiday Activity Programme and to discuss and share your experiences and ideas with other providers within Hertfordshire.  

The event was hosted online to allow greater flexibility for attendees.

The Learn & Share schedule and  links to all of the Powerpoint presentations delivered can be found below.

If you have any questions or would like to follow up on any areas of the event please contact hsptraining@herts.ac.uk

 

Learn & Share Schedule

Time	Title	Presenter
10:00-10:15	Welcome Address and HAF national update	George Gearing Childrens Services - Hertfordshire County Council
10:15-10:25	Interactive Session & Icebreaker Activity	Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP)
10:25-11:05	Activities to support Mental Health & the Wellbeing Library	Karen Shaw - Mind
11:05 - 11:50	Improving HAPpy experiences for children with additional needs	Orla Moore - HSP with Charley Martin from Mad Science
11:50-12:00	No Limits 2026 - the Hertfordshire Year of Disability Sport & Physical Activity	Emma Catlin (HSP)
12:00-12:30	HAF Reset and the New Application Process for Easter 2026	Katie Purcell from Hertfordshire Community Foundation (HCF)
12:30-13:00	Open Q&A	(All)

 

 

 

 

 

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Detailed Description of Sessions

10:00am - The webinar will start with an introduction and National HAF update from George Gearing of Hertfordshire County Council’s Children’s Services. 

10:15am - Interactive Icebreaker Activity

10:25am - Karen Shaw, from mental health charity Mind, will expand on their popular workshop from the May 2025 Learn & Share event at the University of Hertfordshire. Karen will discuss supporting young people’s mental health using activities as part of the HAPpy programme and will introduce the Young People’s Wellbeing & Mental Health Library. 

11:05 - Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP) will present a session on supporting children with SEND to have improved experiences in specialist and universal HAPpy provision. This will include an interview with Charley Martin from Mad Science who will share their experiences of engaging with parents and supporting young people with SEND in Hertfordshire.

11:50am - Emma Catlin from HSP will introduce No Limits 2026 - the campaign name for the Hertfordshire Year of Disability Sport & Physical Activity, led by HSP and working closely with the Herts Disability Sports Foundation and The Activity Alliance. The year-long campaign aims to break down barriers and create lasting change in how disabled people access and experience sport and physical activity in Hertfordshire. Learn how your organisation can get onboard with this exciting campaign. 

12noon - Easter 2026 will be the first phase of the new Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) contract as such some process will change and reset. In this session, Katie Purcell from Hertfordshire Community Foundation (HCF) will provide essential information on the new application process for HAF funding. She will clarify important timelines and affirm our expectations around the quality of applications and delivery. Not to be missed if your organisation intends to apply for HAF funding for Easter 2026. 

12:30pm At the end of the webinar there will be an optional 30min Q&A session to discuss the day’s content or any other HAPpy queries you would like to raise. You can also use this time to share any useful learning from your recent HAF experiences with the other attendees.

 

Presentations - PowerPoint Slides