4 June 2024
Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust – Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years
Under this programme the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust will award grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 on behalf of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund Early Years Programme, towards projects lasting up to two years, which help enhance early childhood education and childcare settings to meet specific needs of young children from Armed Forces families.
Eligibility – We invite applications from:
- Early childhood education and childcare providers operating where Armed Forces families live or work and must offer group-based childcare and have at least 50% of Service children on roll (unless under a cluster, see below).
- Local authorities who wish to supply specific training to early childhood education and childcare providers supporting Service children aged 0-5 years.
- An appropriately constituted organisation which provides training for setting staff to support Service children.
If your setting has less than 50% Service children on roll, you could still apply as a cluster. This means submitting a group bid on behalf of two or more setting with smaller numbers of Service children. If you choose to apply via this route, you can apply for:
- Staff training with an Armed Forces focus.
- Funding for a shared resource, such as a roving Armed Forces Early Years Support Worker.
Themes and Priorities – We are looking for projects that can deliver sustainable change. This means that we want to know what evidence you have to support the approach that you seek to take, and crucially, how people from Armed Forces communities have helped to shape this.
Your project must clearly benefit Armed Forces families with a child under 5 by enhancing their access to high quality childcare.
This year, we are focusing on three outcomes. Your project will need to contribute towards at least one of these outcomes.
- Increased capacity at the setting to allow more Service children to attend.
- Better learning environments for Service children.
- Have provided appropriate training and development to staff to support Service children.
The next deadline for applications is 12 noon on 24 July 2024, from which you’ll receive a decision before the end of September 2024.
For more information and guidance on the programme head to the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund website…