How the Fund works

The first grant round ran from October 2004 to March 2006. All project work was completed, and all allocated funds spent by October 2006. There are two programmes within the Fund, a Major Grants programme and a Local Grants programme.

The Major Grants programme was for projects aiming for a national or regional impact involving:

  • capacity building - increasing the capacity of agencies nationally or across one or more regions to meet the needs of parents experiencing difficulties
  • producing models of service that can be replicated nationally or across one or more regions of the nine regions in England
  • filling a significant gap in provision nationally or across one or more regions.

Major grants were available for up to the maximum of £350,000 over the funding period.

The Local Grants programme was for projects taking place within the boundaries of eighteen local government areas. Local grants were for up to £100,000 over the funding period. The eighteen areas are:

Croydon
Greenwich
Manchester
Birmingham
Liverpool
Leeds
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Designated areas of Norfolk
Designated areas of Cornwall
North-east Lincolnshire
Bristol
Nottingham
Leicester
Stoke on Trent
Slough
Peterborough
Redcar and Cleveland
Blackburn with Darwen

These areas were chosen because they contain relatively high deprivation and already have some services on the ground supporting parents. Eighteen areas were chosen to make it easier to learn from the work of the Fund and to replicate its successes. There were two areas in each of the nine government regions in England. Go to Funded Projects to find out more about the projects.

Assessment

The Parenting Fund received 796 applications totalling more than £100m in value. All eligible applications were assessed for:

  • the potential impact of the funded work and how it addressed Parenting Fund objectives
  • the capacity of the organisation to manage the work and proposed plan to measure impact
  • the value for money of what was proposed
  • the long term sustainability of the proposed work.

A list of recommended projects was forwarded to the Fund's Independent Grants Advisory Panel in charge of making recommendations for funding to the DfES.

All Parenting Fund applicants (successful and unsuccessful) were notified of the outcome October 2004.

The second round of the Parenting Fund was launched in late 2005 and covers the period July 2006 to June 2008. The fund available was just over £14m and it supports 131 projects across 23 local authority areas. There are two major differences with Round One:

(1) The criteria have been widened and a whole family approach is encouraged, with a greater emphasis on working with teenagers, supporting couple relationships an incorporation of aspects of the "Respect" agenda.

(2) The grant is focused on 23 localities, the original 18 in addition to Derby, Southampton, South Tyneside and the London boroughs of Hackney and Southwark. This means that projects do not have to be national or regional, but they are expected to deliver learning and outcomes that can be picked up nationally.

In June 2008 the Department for Children, Schools and Families provided a further £5 million to fund projects up until March 2009.

Last updated: 5th August 2008 at 10:08:37