Early years providers will be able to claim grants running intothousands of pounds for a range of projects to upgrade their equipmentand settings. Local authorities across England are currently startingthe process of inviting bids for funds from the Early Years CapitalGrant, although in some cases (see case studies), councils have alreadymade awards.
'This grant will allow local authorities to invest strategically toensure that the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector is ableto deliver high-quality learning and development for all children,' saysa spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families(DCSF).
The spokesman adds, 'Research shows that children will only benefitfully from early education and care if it is of high quality. Alongsideadopting the best of professional practice for working with youngchildren, a high-quality setting also needs the right built environmentand adequate and appropriate resources. This means providing enoughspace for larger group sizes that can also be used flexibly, andup-to-date facilities and equipment to support children's learning anddevelopment.'
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the NDNA, believes this funding -available under the Children's Plan - is potentially a great opportunityfor PVI nurseries.
'Although local areas will have their own expenditure priorities, it isa valuable fund, and NDNA would urge nurseries to speak to their localearly years department to find out what the aims are for the fund intheir area and make an application,' Ms Tanuku says. 'With a minimumspend of 2,500, it is likely that settings will find gettinginvolved worthwhile.'
The grant has three main aims:
- To improve the quality of the learning environment in early yearssettings to support delivery of the EYFS, with a particular emphasis onimproving play and physical activities, and ICT resources.
- To ensure all children, including disabled children, are able toaccess provision.
- To enable PVI providers to deliver the extension to the free offer forthree- and four-year-olds, and to do so flexibly.
The Government expects most of the grant to be used to improve thequality of the environment in PVI settings, but the spokesman for theDCSF says spending on the maintained sector is not precluded.
CASE STUDY: Happy Nursery Days
'The staff have a wish-list, so when we decided to apply for the grant,we consulted them,' says Marcia Campbell, corporate services manager atEkaya Housing Association in south London, which runs Happy Nursery Daysin Tulse Hill.
'We applied in May and heard in August that we had got 13,000. Weare in the process of spending it now. We obviously knew when we weredoing the application that the EYFS was coming in, so we looked ahead atwhat we thought we would need to help with our planning.
'We had a brainstorming session with the staff, looking at what wewanted and why we wanted it. You need to check that what you are lookingfor links in with the terms of the grant. If you want something to helpyou deliver the EYFS, you need to be able to show why you want it andhow it will help you.
'The money is going to be audited, so you must make sure you spend itcarefully and sensibly and as you said you would. You will have toaccount for it. You cannot have the council coming to do the audit andnoticing that you did not really need something you made a bid for.
'One of the things we really wanted to do was to grass over the garden.At the moment, it is down to bark and gets very muddy, but we want thechildren to be able to go in and out freely. Grassing it over is goingto be our biggest item of expenditure.'
The grass will cost 2,500. The nursery is also using the grant tobuy equipment for its outside area, such as a gazebo (200); awooden playhouse (350); four picnic benches (240); a shed(500); flower, fruit and vegetable boxes (170); fourbicycles (560); and four tricycles (580).
'Currently, some equipment has to be taken from inside to outside on adaily basis, which hinders the children's development because movingbackwards and forwards is a constant distraction,' says Ms Campbell.'Once the children can move freely between the two atmospheres, thelearning will be enhanced.'
There are also plans to buy ICT equipment - including two computers, ascanner, a television/DVD player, digital camcorder, digital camera andprinter - at a cost of 2,125.
Ms Campbell says, 'The children will benefit from having access to adigital camera with printer and a television with DVD because they willbe able to reflect on their learning and remember and/or explain whatthey were doing at the time. This will also develop their languagecommunication and reasoning skills. It will also benefit the parents tohave a deeper understanding of what their children have been learning,and enable them to continue supporting their child's learning athome.
'My experience is that the local authority people at Lambeth Council incharge of this were very helpful. They emailed all the PVI providers onthe list with information about the grant to announce it and to ask usto apply.
'The application process is straightforward. If you make it difficult,it will be difficult. I plan things long term by looking at the endpoint and working back. They told us when the grant application had tobe in, so I worked back from that time to allow us time to prepare thebid.
'Obviously I had to get prices and quotes. I did my research on theinternet. You just have to be logical about it. Next time I will belooking for 20,000 for the garden and for more books, soft booksfor the baby room and a proper home corner.'
CASE STUDY: Lilliput Montessori Nurseries
'I want to build roof gardens at two of my nurseries,' says SamanthaGraveling, proprietor of the Lillliput Montessori chain of fivenurseries in and around Leicester.
'It is the only way we can create the indoor-outdoor flow, which is sucha big part of the EYFS curriculum. Currently, the children have to gettheir coats and boots on and troop downstairs to go outside, so the flowfrom indoors to outdoors is not there.
'A roof garden is something I have been thinking about for some time,but I simply cannot afford to do it on my own. I think they will cost50,000 each, and obviously I am prepared to put some moneytowards it. I want to create gardens on the flat roofs at my nurseriesin Coalville and at Anstey.'
Ms Graveling adds, 'I will have to apply for planning permission for theroof gardens. The Coalville nursery is in a grade-two-listed building. Ahuge amount of money is being spent on a regeneration project in thecentre of the town and we are right in the middle of it. So I am goingto argue that as the rest of Coalville is being smartened up and made tolook absolutely beautiful, we need to make sure that we reflectthat.
'There is a setting in Leicester which has a roof garden, so I am goingto visit that. My husband is a civil engineer, so he has been able toadvise me on load-bearing walls and the structural side of theproject.
'One of the things I am looking into is how to edge the perimeter of theroof gardens so they are safe and attractive. I don't want chicken wire.I am thinking about log fencing poles so we could create a turreteffect. I want to create an outdoor classroom on the roof with a woodenframed gazebo so we can have free flow between the inside andoutside.
'I am also going to apply for projects at my other nurseries. Glenfieldhas only 27 places and we are having to turn people away because wecannot cater for them.
'I am planning to build an extension there to add an extra 12 places,and this will make such a difference to the economy of scale inoperating the nursery. It is a single-storey building so extending itshould not be too difficult or expensive. The architect is coming backto me with a figure on what it should cost.'
At the nursery in Forest East, Ms Graveling is hoping to put in raiseddecking. She is also looking for funding to create a shaded area in thegarden and to buy some special needs equipment.
'Leicestershire County Council has been awarded 7.3m over thenext three years and is allocating the grant over three rounds,' shesays. 'The first-round application process is under way now, the secondround is in June next year, and then there will be a mop-up to takeaccount of any monies that have been unspent. It has been welladvertised locally, so providers do know about it. I sit on the localchildren's services panel and have been spreading the word.
'The county council is putting an emphasis on outdoor areas. LeicesterCity Council is focusing only on outdoor provision. It is saying thatnurseries in areas of "30 per cent deprivation" will be able to claim upto 24,000, and those elsewhere up to 12,000.
'We are at the stage where the county council has invited us to submitexpressions of interest. I am just doing that now. If you succeed withthat, you then have to put in a full application. The grant panel willmeet and we will get the decision in the new year. Applications willhave to be quite detailed. The council has a policy of requiring threequotes, but I do not know yet whether or not we will have to obtainquotes from its list of preferred suppliers.
'What they are wanting are projects that are substantial, and that aregoing to last. They are looking for projects that will benefit not justthe children in the settings now, but the subsequent children, too. Theyare looking for projects that will support the children'sdevelopment.'
What you can apply for under the EYCG
The criteria set out by the DCSF for expenditure on the grantinclude:
- Equipment to ensure that practitioners can effectively observe andcapture children's progress - digital cameras, scanners and videorecorders, laptop and desktop PCs;
- Information and communication technology - laptop and desktop PCs,digital cameras, video and sound recorders, hi-fi equipment;
- Provision of stimulating and accessible outdoor play space andequipment - including the purchase of land to be developed for thispurpose;
- Development of adequate indoor space for age-appropriate playactivities and suitable rest areas;
- Replenishing and replacing toy stocks and purchasing other learningand development materials and resources to support the EYFS;
- Resources to encourage a rich and stimulating language environment inline with Letters and Sounds - musical instruments, tape recorders, CDs,books, rhymes and signs.
It is up to each local authority to decide how best to spend itsallocation. To gain the maximum impact and value for money, it canallocate the grant to:
- Fund 100 per cent of the cost of work/equipment for providers who havelittle or no resources of their own;
- Allocate money on a match-funded basis with the provider making up thedifference;
- Give cash as an initial small capital investment to enable providersto attract capital funding from other sources, such as the Big LotteryFund.
Tips on how to apply
Find out what the deadline is, plan out a timetable and stick to it.
Ensure your application fits the criteria. This grant is not for:
- Ongoing maintenance
- Training
- Salaries
Find out what criteria your local authority is also applying and makesure that you meet those, too.
In your initial letter expressing interest, be concise. Explain how muchyou want and what you want it for.
Show how the project will help you deliver the EYFS or whatever elementit is of your service that you are seeking to improve.
At this stage, you won't need detailed quotes, but do your research andget a good idea of costs so that you can indicate how much you willneed.
