Schools Funding Update: 1St March 2013

Schools Funding Update: 1St March 2013

Schools Funding Update: 1st March 2013

This Funding Update provides an overview of grant funding sources available to schools that have approaching deadlines

External Funding Team

Halton Borough Council

0151 511 7960

FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS TO PURCHASE MUSICAL EQUIPMENT

The closing date for applications is the 11th September 2013.

Schools in the UK, that wish to purchase musical instruments and equipment can apply for funding of up to £2,000 through the EMI Music Sound Foundation’s Instrument and/or Equipment Awards. To date the Foundations has made awards to over two thousand schools, individual students and teachers improve their access to music through the purchase or upgrade of musical instruments and equipment. The funding has to be made for music education that is beyond statutory national curriculum music teaching. The Foundation can not fund retrospectively and schools are not eligible for financial assistance under this scheme if they have already purchased their instruments or if they do so before their application has been approved.

FUNDING FOR SUMMER PLAYSCHEMES

The closing date for applications is the 17th May 2013.

The Hilden Charitable Fund has announced that its Summer Playscheme Grants Programme is now open for applications to help community groups run Summer Playschemes for the benefit of children from refugee and ethnic minority families.

Funding of between £500 and £1,500 is available for Summer Playschemes for children aged 5 - 18 years lasting for 2 - 6 weeks with strong volunteer support. The funding is available to voluntary agencies with an income of less than £120,000. Some priority will be given to projects which show they are inclusive of children from refugee families, and show BME involvement.

WOLFSON FOUNDATION – SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAMME

The next closing date for stage 1 applications is the 15th April 2013.

The Wolfson Foundation has announced that its Secondary Education Programme is open for applications.

The Secondary Education Programme is primarily dedicated to supporting the teaching of A-Levels and GCSEs at high-achieving state-funded and independent schools and sixth form colleges. Each year the Foundation makes grants totaling approximately £2 million to fund capital projects related to the teaching of science and technology, or learning projects using information or communications technology. Grants do not normally exceed £50,000 for state schools, £40,000 for independent schools or £100,000 for sixth form colleges. The Foundation have a particular interest in projects that help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Wolfson Foundation has a two stage application process for schools. Those schools successful at stage 1 will be invited to submit a stage 2 application.

SCHOOL GRANTS SCHEME TO PROMOTE PHYSICS

The Institute of Physics has announced that the next closing date for applications to its School Grants Scheme is the 1st June 2013.

Through the School Grants Scheme, UK schools and colleges can apply for funding for small-scale projects or events linked to the teaching or promotion of physics. The Institute of Physics especially encourages projects linked to astronomy, space and particle physics as well as those relating to engineering in areas such as energy, transport, information & communications, design & production and the built environment. Grants of up to £500 can be used to support a range of projects. These can include:

  • Running a school/college based science week activity
  • Purchasing materials/resources outside of the normal department resources
  • Organising a visit to or from a working physicist or engineer; etc.

CONNECTING CLASSROOMS – PARTNERSHIP GRANTS

The closing date for applications is the 28th June 2013.

The British Council has announced the Connecting Classrooms programme is open for applications.

Through the programme UK schools that have existing partnerships with schools in South America, Africa and South Asia can apply for funding to cover reciprocal visits and to support project work. Schools can apply for an annual grant of £1,500 for each school in the partnership. The grant must be spent on reciprocal partnership visits. If all the grant is not spent, the remainder can be used for project resources and communication costs.

To be eligible for funding partnerships must work towards three objectives. These are:

  • Increasing global citizenship
  • Enriching education
  • Developing an equitable and sustainable partnership.

FROM THE FIELD AWARDS

The next application deadline is the 23rd April 2013.

The Royal Geographical Society, in collaboration with The Goldsmiths’ Company, is offering secondary level geography teachers bursaries of up to £500 to help them develop educational resources that will give pupils an insight into the research being carried out by geographers on some of the key global geographical issues – from climate change, to the loss of species, population growth or migration. The resources will give young people and their teachers a greater insight into what fieldwork involves, the challenges of working in often inhospitable environments, and how, and for what purpose, key data on some of the world’s pressing issues actually are collected. Funds can also be provided to the researcher to allow a class visit/presentation.