Eequ is a popular booking platform for the free Holiday Activities and Food programme which is available primarily to families who receive benefit-related Free School Meals.

Some providers also offer affordable paid sessions alongside their HAF places for families that don't quite meet the eligibility criteria.

In this article, we will explain how parents can browse, book and stay organised using Eequ.

No. During your first booking, we will automatically create an account that you can use forever.

This depends on your county.

No code is needed for: East Sussex, Milton-Keynes, Portsmouth, Newham London Borough, Herefordshire, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove and Redbridge London Borough.

Other counties may insist on a code and may decline your booking if you do not have this. Please check with your school or the council if you didn't get one. You can rebook with your code.

Free places are primarily for children of 4-16 yrs that receive benefit-related free school meals. Receiving Universal free school meals that all children receive in Reception, Year 1 and 2, does not automatically make you entitled to free HAF sessions.

You may be eligible for a place in certain other special situations but you will normally be told this by your school. If you think you have a special reason for being eligible you will be able to explain this during your booking.

You may receive a link by email taking you directly to a collection of HAF listings for your county. Click on the tabs to see the listings and upcoming dates.

Alternatively, you can go to the Eequ search page, click on the HAF filter and zoom into your area to see what is available near you.

When you find the listing that you want to book, the process is simple. Click BOOK, SELECT DATES and tick all the dates you want to go.

In Step 1 of checkout select all the attendees. If you have booked before, your children will appear. If this is your first booking with Eequ, you can Add a Child during checkout.

In Step 2 you can select a ticket. In Step 3 you must answer a set of questions to help your Council approve eligibility and to help the provider be aware of your child's learning and health needs.

In Step 3, you can complete your booking request.

You will now be taking to your booking page where you can see the details of your booking. It will be shown as "Waiting Approval" initially.

You can see the progress of your booking requests by checking your Booking Page or Schedule Page on Eequ.

Your Schedule Page is a great place to see where you need to be for each child throughout the holidays. The yellow label will change to green when it is approved.

You will also receive email notifications for all your booking requests, confirmations and messages from providers.

Make sure you add hello@eequ.org to your contacts and check your Spam or Junk folder if you don't immediately get an email.

If you find an email from Eequ in Spam, mark it as safe and drag it to your Inbox.

Simply log in and open your menu to find the messages and cancel pages.

There are lots of helpful buttons on your Schedule Page as well.

We call reviews "Reflections". Simply open your menu, click on Reflections and you will be able to write a Relection on any you have booked.

Metnors really appreciate your comments and this helps other parents too.

If you have any questions about the venue or activities use the CONTACT button on the listing. Your message will go directly to the Mentor (provider).

If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact your school or the HAF team at the Council directly.

If you have a query about using Eequ use the Chat link on the right of this page or email hello@eequ.org for more support on booking.