The summer holidays can be an amazing time for children with parents in good jobs, with generous holiday entitlement, who may be able to work from home, too. Six weeks of family time can create some of the most magical memories of a child’s life.

Yet, as a recent survey revealed, six in 10 families can’t afford holiday clubs, time off work or family trips out during the holidays.

The average cost of childcare over summer is now £900, and with the rising cost of food and other activities, it is understandable why some parents dread school closing.

Often, they don’t have a job that allows them to spend time at home or are on low incomes, and often in insecure work. Their children can end up spending summer alone - and many may go without a hot meal because there are no free school meals while schools are closed.

Support all year around

Oasis, the charity I founded almost 40 years ago, works alongside many of these families. We run 52 schools, and more than 30 community hubs, most of them in areas that have not benefited from the prosperity others enjoy.

As such, when Oasis took on the running of schools in the early 2000s, we knew we never wanted to simply create exam-passing factories but instead work to build stronger communities and provide every child with a high-quality education in all aspects of school life.

Our Oasis Summer Sessions over the school summer holidays are an important part of that goal.

The sessions involve providing children and their families with access to a raft of free activities during the holidays in the 40 communities where we are based.

This can include everything from crafts, sports, cooking, films and music-making to youth residentials and trips to the beach.

What’s more, every child receives a free meal when they come. We never emphasise that fact as we know for some it could feel shame-inducing. Instead, it simply happens as part of the day. Parents are welcome, too, and they can take part - often forming new friendships with others.

Calling on community help

We don’t rely on our teachers to do this. They’re understandably exhausted at the end of the July term and need to recuperate and refresh themselves so they’re ready for September.

Instead, our community workers, family workers and youth workers take over. We also draw on volunteers - a wonderful army of often semi-retired or retired people who just want to give something back to their community.

There is much more that could be done to support these families, of course, but, unfortunately, government funding in this area just does not match the level of need. As such, we as educational communities must do what we can with the resources we have.

I know many other multi-academy trusts and other schools see the same problems of holiday hunger, poverty and social exclusion, and I know some provide similar holiday schemes. Others would like to but feel financially stretched.

It is hard work, but as trusts become prevalent across education, they have a vital role as one of the pillars of a more inclusive education system that recognises the important role schools can play in building stronger communities, and the benefits of bringing together learning, youth work and family support.

I long for the day when summer programmes are seen as part of a bigger picture of widening children’s opportunities and supporting families and communities to thrive.

That way, we can ensure all families see the summer holidays as something to look forward to and as an opportunity to create memories that last a lifetime.

Steve Chalke MBE is the founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust