Developing children’s play in Merseyside since 1974.

Our mission since 1974…

MPAC has existed to champion the importance of play and youth work and to strengthen the organisations and people who make it happen. Our mission is to ensure that children and young people across Merseyside have access to high-quality, inclusive play and youth opportunities by supporting the sector, influencing practice and policy, and building resilient, community-led provision.

Support

We support organisations helping them to be better governed, managed and resourced. We offer capacity building support including undertaking DBS checks, support through our facilitated Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme and capacity building support.

Engage

We engage children and young people in fun, positive and developmental activities, with everything from recently developed creative art spaces, music tech/tuition/performance spaces to state-of-the-art counselling rooms currently supporting around 100 young people per week meeting a range of mental health and wellbeing needs.

Connect

We connect through our facilitated network of 120 play providers, under the banner of ‘Positive about Play’, enabling collaboration, co-delivery, information and resource sharing to build a stronger play and youth sector.

Developing partnerships and developing engagement with play providers

MPAC works alongside play and youth providers across Merseyside to build strong, trusted partnerships rooted in local need and lived experience. We actively engage voluntary, community and grassroots organisations to share learning, strengthen practice and amplify collective voice.

Through networks, forums and one-to-one support, we connect providers to each other and to opportunities for funding, training and influence. By fostering collaboration rather than competition, we help play and youth organisations become more resilient, more confident and better equipped to respond to the challenges facing children, young people and families.

Our partnerships span community organisations, local authorities, funders and strategic bodies, enabling play providers to shape conversations, inform policy and contribute to system-wide change.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF): Information for parents

The aim of the HAF programme is to make free places available to children eligible for benefits-related free school meals for the equivalent of at least four hours a day, four days a week and for six weeks a year and would help children and young people:

• To eat more healthily over the school holidays (programmes will be expected to work towards the school food standards as part of the programme)
• To be more active during the school holidays
• To take part in engaging and enriching activates which support the development of resilience, character, and well-being along with their wider education attainment
• To be safe and not to be socially isolated
• To increase their understand of nutrition and healthy eating ; and
• To be more engaged with school and other local services.

This is a great opportunity to get children and young people involved in local activities.  MPAC believes in the Child’s Right to Play as enshrined in Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and we encourage all children to take part in local activities where they can.

MPAC to Deliver Liverpool’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme from Summer 2026

Merseyside Play Action Council (MPAC) is proud to announce that it will be administering Liverpool’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme for the next three years, beginning with the Summer Holidays in 2026.