£25 million injection to help ‘life-changing’ children’s services

Education Secretary announces vulnerable children and young people will benefit from grants to voluntary organisations.

The Department for Education’s voluntary and community sector (VCS) grants will be used to reform or deliver life-changing services over the next year.

After a competitive application process, the department has chosen 94 projects that will make the biggest impact on children, young people and their families.

For the first time the department has separately identified mental health as a theme in the VCS grants in recognition of the significant role improvements in this area have in supporting better outcomes for children and young people. Organisations specialising in child mental health care will receive a total of £4.9 million.

The money will also be spread between organisations specialising in adoption (£1.7 million), children in care (£1.4 million), early education and childcare (£5.3 million), family advice and support (£1.8 million), safeguarding (£3.3 million) and special educational needs and disabilities (£5.9 million). The grants will supplement existing government funding that supports these sectors.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said:

"I’m delighted to give this injection of support to the voluntary sector, which offers life-changing services to children and their families.

"This was a highly competitive process and every bid given money today has shown that they will put the funds to great use.

"This is a significant investment in a tough financial climate which will make a real difference across the country."

Successful bids

Barnardo’s

Barnardo’s will receive more than £735,000 to safeguard children and young people from child sexual exploitation (CSE). They will increase awareness of CSE among businesses and services working in the night-time economy and develop strategies to identify and protect children at risk at night

The Diana Award

The Diana Award will receive £450,000 to create 2,500 anti-bullying ambassadors and train 600 teachers and youth professionals in issues around bullying. They will also provide anti-bullying toolkits with a particular focus on cyber bullying.

Mind

Mind will receive around £400,000 to create a pilot promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in schools. It will raise pupils’ awareness of mental health issues and improve their access to information and support. It will enable effective early intervention, deliver targeted workshops and provide one-to-one guided self-help and support.

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