The NHS North West London Integrated Care Board and Greenwell Primary Care Network have partnered with Ealing and Hounslow Community Voluntary Service to deliver a new grant opportunity to the community through the Early Years Innovation Fund. Grants of up to £20,000 are available for voluntary organisations supporting under 5’s in Greenford and Hanwell.
The grant opportunity aims to enhance the life prospects of parents, infants, and children under five residing in Greenford and Hanwell.
Focusing on some of the most disadvantaged populations of the neighbourhood. This Innovation Fund aims to support Greenford and Hanwell families with at least one child under 5 years (Early Years), including antenatal projects. The programme focuses very much on prevention and health promotion as interventions in the early years of children and their families are more likely to improve health and well-being in later years. Importantly the programme also seeks to identify and support children with long-term or repetitive medical conditions and improve parental engagement, education and greater access to existing teams and services in the area.
The aim of the fund is to be innovative and respond to community needs. The proposed project should be new or will expand on a current provision.
The funding can cover a one-off activity, ongoing programme, and capital costs.
It’s important that projects put forward are aligned to the programme objectives, including:
- Establishment of a sustainable hub to reduce health inequalities in children and their families.
- Early identification of vulnerable families and developmental delays or concerns in children
- Improvement of parents’ health literacy, enabling families to understand health information and services available to improve access
- Increasing immunisation uptake.
- Optimising health during pregnancy and postnatal (smoking or substance use reduction)
- Ensuring families receive appropriate financial support for children with health / learning issues.
- Identify children with undiagnosed or poorly treated Asthma or respiratory issues
- Reducing emergency department attendances for minor illness
- Reducing exposure to smoking in the home and car by encouraging parents and others to quit.
How To Apply
Read the Early Years Innovation Fund guidance criteria and the Greenwell Innovation Fund Application Form. This information can also be found here.
Send your completed application form to suvi@ehcvs.org.uk.
Application deadline is 5pm on 20 September 2024.
Information Session
To find out more about the grant please register your interest for an online information session by emailing Suvi Dogra – suvi@ehcvs.org.uk.
You need to be applying as:
- a constituted not-for-profit organisation (company limited by guarantee, community interest company, registered charity, co-operative, unincorporated organisation)
- with a minimum of 2 unrelated trustees / directors
- with a bank account in the name of the organisation.
The activities and projects which you are applying funding for need to be legally charitable and benefit primarily Greenwell PCN registered population. We will only fund organisations that have a track record of working in Ealing and possibly neighbouring areas.
We cannot fund explicitly worship or evangelistic initiatives, statutory services, discriminative programmes, or projects where an attendance fee will be charged.
Policies and Procedures
When working with young children, the following policies and procedures must be adhered to:
- Safeguarding: An up-to-date safeguarding policy should be in place
- Child Protection: Ensure all relevant staff and volunteers have up-to-date DBS checks and undergo regular safeguarding training.
- Health and Safety: Maintain high health and safety standards in all activities and environments.
- Inclusivity: Ensure programs are inclusive and accessible to all eligible families, irrespective of background.
- Parental Engagement: Actively involve parents in planning and implementing activities to enhance engagement and outcomes.
- Data Protection: Following GDPR guidelines, ensuring the confidentiality and security of all personal data collected.
Monitoring – Reporting on the grant
Regular, quarterly or less depending on the level of information required, will be agreed with successful applicants. An interim mid-project report is expected in March 2025 and one project visit through the 12-month project cycle. These reports will need to be submitted to the Early Years Innovation Fund Steering Group and will be shared with other stakeholders such as North West London Integrated Care Board and NHS England. We are committed to light-touch reporting and will be asking (subject to possible change) for:
- Number of beneficiaries
- Percentage of people who are new to activities
- Description of additional characteristics and demographics
- Number of volunteers involved
- Number of referrals or signposts to external advice, information, or engagement services
- The challenges and problems your communities have faced
- The difference your project has made
- Case studies
- Budgetary breakdown of spend.
We will also be creating a public list of the grants awarded, organisations and synopsis of projects funded.
Activity
This funding is part of a wider piece of work that will be evaluated by an evaluation partner in early March 2025. At this point of the project cycle, organisations will be required to submit an interim project report demonstrating delivery or assurance on delivery of the key outcomes as per the agreed project plan with the final report expected by the end of twelfth month.
Amount Available:
Organisations can apply for up to a maximum of £20,000, from the total fund of £50,000. The grant will be awarded for a 12-month period. The deciding panel will be looking for a range of creative and innovative approaches, which means, they will be looking to fund a wide range of different size projects and programmes. The higher the amount you apply for the higher the expectation will be on sustainable outcomes being achieved, as well as enhanced monitoring and evaluation to ensure accountability and effectiveness.
What the funding can be used for:
- People – staffing and volunteer costs associated with delivering the work you are applying for
- Communications – marketing and advertising costs associated with projects undertaken
- Any additional equipment needed to deliver this work that is not already in your budget
- Additional resources associated to support the delivery of the project activity
- Overheads – direct additional costs (e.g., increased hub costs)
- Transport – for individuals on low incomes who have no other means of transport to a hub.