Frequently Asked Questions

General questions

We run a part-time office with one employee to minimise our costs and so maximise our grant making. Ordinarily it may take up to 5 working days for a response but this may be longer during peak times such as when grants are being awarded.

All applications must be made online through the grant management portal. You will need to set up an account then open an application. As you work through the application, different questions open dependent upon your responses, which cannot be duplicated on a hard copy. If you have no access to a computer, smart phone or internet please call and we will find a solution.

We do not fast track applications to allow for a degree of prioritisation between applicants within a session and to manage workloads through the year. This is the fairest approach for all applicants.

The applicant is the person completing the application whether theymaybe a Headteacher, Senco or other professional. The beneficiary is the person who will benefit from the use of the grant. For example, this may be a teacher or teaching assistant who will undertake training.

To ensure that grants are as fairly and evenly spread as possible, every application is screened and costed before being sent to the Grant Awarding Team (GAT) for individual ‘blind’ scoring in isolation against a set of criteria appropriate to each programme. Scores are totalled and checked for anomalies prior to a Team discussion to make the selection. Their decision is then presented to the Board for consideration and ratification. Difficult decisions may have to be made but the Board’s decision is always final.

Log onto your registered account and you will see the balance on your grant account. Remember the latest invoice may not have been sent or processed.

Grants should be used as set out on the offer letter. If it becomes apparent another need is more pressing you may request a grant variation by providing evidence which will be considered. The variation will not be granted if the request falls outside our award criteria. For example, the switch away from the IYM theme is unlikley to be successful but a T&T award used for a different but still relevent course maybe acceptable.

Inspiring Young Minds (IYM)

Anyone can complete an application on behalf of the school but there must be a letter from the Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher endorsing the proposal. So if, for example, a PTA member completes the application, evidence from Head will be required but if Head completes application no evidence will be required. Payments will only be made to the school not to the PTA.

The Grant Award Team will consider the level of need in the school and for the students who will directly benefit from the proposal, how innovative the proposal is and what outcomes it will achieve.

Teaching & Training (T&T)

The application may be completed by the person to be trained or by the school, organisation or charity to which they are contracted. In all cases the application must include a letter from the Head/Deputy Head for schools or Senior Manager for organisations and charities endorsing the application.

The Grant Award Team will consider the level of need of the students the applicant will eventually support (post training), how the professional will use the training to improve outcomes for young people and the likelihood the applicant will complete the course (most relevant for longer, more expensive courses).

Application News

Applications :

Teaching and Training Programme: is now closed and will reopen in autumn 2026. 

Inspiring Young Minds: is now closed and will reopen in December 2026.

If you applied to either programme in our recent grant round that closed in February 2026, we will communicate decisions at the end of April/early May.

By pressing apply now you may set up an account and complete an application form for any open programme.