EDUCATION


Supporting Service Children in State Schools


by Bridget Dawson and Ian Thornton of the DCYP


The Directorate Children & Young People manages the £3M Support Fund for Service children in State schools on behalf of the MoD. It received 230 applications during the recently concluded 2012 funding round


T


he fund provides grants to schools which cater for a Regular and Reserve Armed Forces community.


It is to help schools ease the negative effects they may experience because of the exceptional mobility and/ or deployment of the Armed Forces community they support. State schools – including Free Schools and Academies in the UK are eligible to apply for a grant under the fund’s criteria.


Although fewer bids were received than in the previous round, the total of the applications amounted to £7.6M with 121 successful applicants. This was 53% of all applications which was a slight increase over the 2011 funding round.


The DCYP was impressed by the imaginative and varied projects initiated by schools which received funding. Initiatives included setting up of e-bluey clubs, refurbishing ‘nurture environment’ rooms, reading and numeracy programmes targeting those most in need, a transitions officer to facilitate the transfer to/from and within the Scottish education system and many others.


Applications from single schools, groups of schools and Local Authorities on behalf


28 Envoy Autumn 2012


of a number of schools are all welcome. Grants awarded to successful applicants are a ‘one-off’ payment for that year and not a commitment from the MoD for future funding.


Judging panels apply a stringent, consistent and transparent method when scrutinising applications. Supporting evidence on applications must be clearly spelt out rather than just suggested. Collaborative bids by schools with similar needs where it was evident that schools had communicated and identified the value in working together were particularly well received.


There is no limit to the amount for which a school can apply, but applications must indicate how the money will be spent and demonstrate value for money.


Applications need to meet the prime criteria which is exceptional mobility and/or deployment, it will then be scored in three sections:


 communication – between schools, the Armed Forces community they support as well as other schools in their locality and various agencies interested in supporting the school;


 results – what would success look like, how will it be measured and is it a long term solution?


 sustainability what measures are in place to ensure the initiatives established by the school can continue once the funding is no longer available?


The 2013 funding round is due to start in November or December and will be announced on the DCYP website along with case studies of good applications and evidence of positive outcomes from the 2011 fund. An application pack for schools will be available to download which will include guidelines for applicants. Successful applicants who received funding during the 2012 round are permitted to apply again during the next round. However, just because a certain type of application was successful in one year, it does not guarantee that a similar application will be successful in following years.


Schools are responsible for providing evidence about how they have consulted with their AF communities and those which receive a grant need to provide evidence of their success, which may include distribution of questionnaires for Service families to complete, so there may be ways for Service families to become involved.


Service families are encouraged to ensure that their school knows about the fund so that this valuable additional resource can be used to its full advantage. News and information can be found on the DCYP website www.mod.uk/ ChildrenAndYoungPeople 


www.raf-ff.org.uk


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