Kent County Council Early Help Grants Scheme

The "Early Help" grants will support new and existing organisations and innovative projects which contribute to meeting the local need and priorities for the District's children and young people.

In Folkestone and Hythe, those priorities are:

Raising aspiration and educational attainment, and extending employment opportunities

Instilling resilience and improving self-esteem in children, young people and their parents/carers, helping them better understand the importance of healthy relationships and healthy lifestyles including healthy eating as protective factors when tackling emerging problems such as bullying, low school or college attendance, poor mental and physical health and wellbeing, domestic abuse, unemployment and poverty.

Creating Safe and Resilient Communities

Allowing children, young people and families to be part of the solution in creating safe and attractive community spaces and more positive diversionary activities by equipping them with the skills and behaviours to become more emotionally resilient and empowered. There is scope for enhanced engagement and communication across and within the different cultural groups in the District, promoting community cohesion, and empowering communities to address the causes of vulnerability, child exploitation, violence, missing young people, suicide and self-harm, helping ensure the positive changes are embedded and sustainable.

Enhancing communication skills as a foundation for life

Recognise and promote the importance of good verbal and non-verbal, interpersonal communication from early years, in adolescence, and into adult life. There is a need to promote an understanding of the influences of communication skills on learning, on reading, on emotional and social development, and on the long-term development of children's and young people's life chances. There is a need for a better understanding of the right time and right place for different methods of communication (ranging from electronic devices/social media to direct, interpersonal communication) and the impact various methods can have on developing attachments and relationships, keeping safe, improving social mobility, and releasing children's potential to grow.

What KCC outcomes does the grant support?

The activity must be directly linked to one or more of the district's key priorities for Children and Young People as agreed by each District's Local Children's partnership Groups

What we expect successful projects to achieve:

These grants will support each of the twelve Districts in Kent, allowing local projects and services to be developed in a flexible and responsive way through a community-based offer. The aim of the grant fund is to support local priorities whilst encouraging creativity through projects and services that improve outcomes for children and young people.

Future sustainability planning should be included in applications.

Funding available

The minimum level of application will be £500, with no single grant exceeding £15,000.

Applicants can submit proposals to no more than four of the twelve districts. Multiple applications can be submitted to each district but no organisation can be awarded more than £15,000 per district.

All grants will operate on a 12-month basis. Grant funded projects and services must be able to provide evidence of impact against local priorities.

Timescales

Grants are awarded on an annual basis. Applications for 2020/21 grants will be opened on the 18th November 2019 and must be submitted by midday 23^rd December 2019

If successful in being shortlisted, you may be asked for clarifications relating to the delivery of your proposed service. These clarifications will be requested by email from the Area Partnership Manager.

Awarding panels will sit in the latter stages of January 2020 to award the grants.

Successful applicants will be notified no later than March 2020 and will be expected to start delivering the project by April 2020.

Payment

Grants will be paid via Kent County Council's 'iprocurement' finance system at the start of your project. Iprocurement raises a Purchase Order number for your payment which will be emailed to you with instructions on how to raise an invoice. Payment will only be made once an invoice is submitted to iProcInv01@kent.gov.uk with the relevant Purchase Order number listed.

Feedback

Owing to the high number of applications received, unfortunately we are unable to give feedback on unsuccessful grants.

To apply:

All applications must be made via the application form on the KCC website - EH Grant - and will be assessed against the appropriate district priorities by that district's awarding panel nominated by the LCPG.

KCC will carry out financial and safeguarding checks on all successful applications.