posted by Education Support Officer, Schools & Learning

Nominations for the Tech4Good Awards are now open, with a closing date of 10 May. Please see information below. 

The BT Young Pioneer Award, open to 9-18 year olds, recognises young people who are doing amazing things with digital technology to solve problems they care about.  We’ve seen incredible innovations in past years – many involving Raspberry Pis. Last year’s winning Water Watcher was based on a Micro:Bit and is now in development with a water saving company. 

This year we are including £5000 for the winner to help them buy the tech they need to scale up their project, as well as a session with BT experts to help them develop their ideas. All of the finalists will receive tickets to explore Bletchley Park, the home of the WWII codebreakers.  More information and the online application form is at: https://www.tech4goodawards.com/enter-now/youngpioneer/

posted by Rhonda McFarlane, Funding Officer, Economic Development

Funding Alert Newsletter 25th April 2019
We are currently finalising the latest issue of the Funding Alert Newsletter.  This summarises the latest funding opportunities available to your school.

This will be emailed to you tomorrow morning ready to be downloaded.  This issue will contain 21 pages of funding news.

Highlights within the Newsletter will include:
(please note that these; and other funding opportunities can now be viewed on the Grants 4 Schools website)

Funding for Capital Projects in Secondary Schools and Sixth Form Colleges (UK)
From May 2019, secondary schools and colleges that have reached a level of excellence will be eligible to apply for a grant of up to £50,000 towards 50% of the cost of capital projects. Sixth form colleges are eligible to apply for up to £100,000. A total of around £1.75 million will be allocated each year to new build, refurbishment or equipment projects related to the teaching of science and technology or information or communications technology directly related to learning for projects involving libraries, languages, music or the arts. The funding will be made available through the Wolfson Foundation’s Secondary Education Programme.

Funding for Sensory Equipment for Schools that Cater for Pupils with Special Education Needs (UK)
SEN Schools can apply for grants of up to £5,000 to enable them to purchase a range of sensory equipment to help enhance the pupils’ experience at school. To be eligible schools need to cater for young people under the age of 19 who have a physical/ sensory/ learning disability. Schools that cater for socially disadvantaged children or mainstream schools for children with behavioural problems are unable to apply. The funding is being made available through the Lords Taverners, the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. Schools are required to pay a self-help contribution of around 25% of the total cost of the package. There are no application deadlines and applications can be submitted at any time.

posted by Louise Kirby, YMI Coordinator, Children & Learning, Schools & Learning

Rebecca from Red Rock Music provided eight sessions in which young people had the opportunity to develop song writing and literacy through lyric writing, musical skills through keyboard and singing techniques in a constructive and supportive environment using keyboard and vocals.

Through group and individual activities young people had room to be creative in lyrical writing and music composition which bolstered their confidence and understanding of key components of song writing in popular music.   This project was funded by Youth Music Initiative.

By the end of the block, pupils had written their own original piece of music demonstrating their understanding of song.

Pupil feedback:

• “It was exciting as I thought it would be impossible to be able to write a song in the time.”
• “It’s amazing! It even helped us with our poems. We would like to have her back.”

Class Teacher feedback:

• “Promotes creativity, engagement and enthusiastic learners.”
• “The song writing that Rebecca did was inspiring. We did some poetry writing with the children too and the song writing input enhanced this. The children found the process much easier as a result. It enhanced the cooperation experienced by all children. It got them working with children they wouldn’t normally do so.”

Quote from Rebecca:

• “Thank you so much to the staff at Timmergreens for making me feel so welcome and for all the help and support. I really enjoyed being there and working with the children and teachers and would love to go back again! The children created amazing songs and it was lovely to hear them all perform them in the class and to record them”

posted by Rhonda McFarlane, Funding Officer, Economic Development

Funding for the Provision or Upgrading of Sports Facilities (Scotland)
Schools, and other organisations such as local authorities, area sports associations, sports trusts and charities; etc can apply for funding of up to £100,000 (to a maximum of 50% of the project costs) to improve their sports facilities. In areas of high deprivation, the maximum grant can be up to 75% of project costs. Grants are available to help with the provision or upgrading of sports facilities that are for the public good and which benefit the community. There are two application routes depending on the value of the project. Small Grants for applications with a total project value between £20,000 and £250,000 (including VAT). Large Grants for applications with a total project value of over £250,000 (including VAT). The next closing date for applications for the small grants programme is the 1st September 2019. For large grants (which has a two stage application process), the stage 1 application deadline is the 1st of every month and the stage 2 application deadline is either the 1st of April or 1st September each year.

Funding for Projects that Support Disadvantaged Young People (UK)
Grants of over £10,000 per project are available to not for profit organisations and schools that work with young people who are experiencing disadvantage through illness, distress, abuse or neglect; any kind of disability; behavioural or psychological difficulties; and / or living in poverty or situations of deprivation. Schools can also apply for funding but the project must be additional to their statutory duties. The funding is being made available through the BBC Children in Need Main Grants programme. The next closing date for applications is the 19th May 2019.

For more funding oppurtunities please click on the link below:

Grants4Schools

posted by Joyce Brewster, Senior Clerical Officer, Adult & Child Protection Committees

GRADED CARE PROFILE TRAINING
Thursday 23 May, 9.15 – 4.00, Montrose Academy, Academy Square, Montrose, DD10 8HU

Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2) helps professionals measure the quality of care being given to a child. It’s an assessment tool that helps them to spot anything that’s putting that child at risk of harm.

It’s important we find children who are at risk of harm as early as possible so we can get them the right help.

GCP2 shows:

• strengths
• weaknesses
• what needs to be changed.

By working out what parents can do better, it’s easier for the person working with a family to get them the right support to improve the life of their child.

This training will equip staff to use the GCP2 tool in their day-to-day practice and is relevant for all staff, particularly named persons/lead professionals, working directly with families/children/young people where neglect is an issue. If you have any staff who have not undertaken this training previously including any newly qualified social workers/health visitors or other support staff then they should sign up for this course.

All Angus Council staff (SW/Education) should sign up via Resourcelink, all other staff via Eventbrite using the link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/graded-care-profile-training-tickets-47924371084

posted by Rhonda McFarlane, Funding Officer, Economic Development

The Grants4Schools website has been updated with the following new funding opportunities:

Funding for Cultural and Educational Links with Japan (UK)
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to cultural organisations, universities and schools; etc that wish to develop links with Japan and Japanese organisations. Grants are available to support the study of the Japanese language and culture, School, Education and Youth exchanges. In the past the Foundation has made grants towards visits between the UK and Japan by teachers and young people and the teaching and development of Japanese language and cultural studies in schools. The funding is being made available through the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the next closing date for applications is the 15th September 2019.

Tree Futures Grant Opens for Applications (UK)
The Tree Council’s Tree Futures Grant scheme has just opened. This scheme replaces the three separate programmes previously available i.e. Trees for Schools, Community Trees and Orchard Windfalls and includes a new category, hedgerow planting, for the first time. Grants of 80% of the costs for projects costing between £300 and £1000 are available. The remaining 20% can come from the applicant organisations own funds, county, district or borough councils. Grants can cover the purchase of trees, hedges and orchard trees plus reasonable costs of stakes, ties, guards, fertiliser, mulch or soil amelioration. The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 17th May 2019.