Funding Opportunity to Promote Healthy and Respectful Relationships in Schools (UK)

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Healthy Relationships Education Grant provides funding of up to £20,000 for interventions that help secondary school students develop healthy, respectful relationships and reduce harmful behaviours. The opportunity supports schools, charities, and specialist organisations delivering Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) programmes for young people aged 11–16 in England.

Overview of the Youth Endowment Fund Healthy Relationships Grant

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is inviting applications for projects that improve young people’s understanding of healthy relationships, respectful behaviour, and relationship safety.

The funding supports interventions designed to:

• Promote positive and respectful relationships among teenagers.
• Prevent violence against women and girls.
• Reduce harmful behaviours in teenage relationships.
• Improve young people’s understanding of consent, respect, and equality.
• Strengthen schools’ ability to deliver effective RSHE education.

The programme also aims to build evidence about which approaches are most effective in helping young people develop healthier relationships.

Purpose of the Funding Opportunity

The grant aims to support projects that help secondary schools:

• Deliver high-quality healthy relationships education.
• Improve students’ knowledge and attitudes towards relationships.
• Address harmful behaviours and gender stereotypes.
• Strengthen prevention approaches against violence and abuse.
• Create safer school environments.

The programme focuses on long-term behaviour change by improving how young people understand:

• Respect.
• Consent.
• Healthy communication.
• Online safety.
• Intimate and romantic relationships.
• Harmful relationship behaviours.

Funding Available

Successful projects can receive:

Up to £20,000 in funding

The funding supports interventions that can be evaluated to understand their effectiveness.

Projects should demonstrate:

• Clear outcomes.
• Evidence-based approaches.
• Ability to reach sufficient numbers of students.
• Potential for long-term impact.

Funding Strands

Applicants can apply through two different funding strands.

Strand 1: Building School Capacity

Strand 1 supports projects that strengthen the ability of secondary school staff to deliver healthy relationships education internally.

The focus is on improving:

• Teacher confidence.
• Staff skills.
• School systems.
• Leadership approaches.
• Delivery of RSHE curriculum content.

Projects may include:

• Teacher training programmes.
• Guidance and resources for educators.
• Support for handling sensitive relationship topics.
• Whole-school approaches to respectful relationships.

Strand 1 Focus Areas

Projects may address:

• Respectful relationships.
• Online safety and digital awareness.
• Safe and healthy romantic relationships.
• Understanding harmful behaviours.
• Supporting positive school culture.

Strand 2: External Healthy Relationships Education Providers

Strand 2 supports experienced specialist organisations that directly deliver healthy relationships education to students.

External providers will deliver universal programmes as part of the RSHE curriculum.

Projects should:

• Provide direct education sessions.
• Reach secondary school students.
• Deliver evidence-informed relationship education.
• Improve awareness of healthy relationship behaviours.

Who Is Eligible?

Eligible applicants include:

• Registered charities.
• Companies.
• Statutory bodies.
• Community Interest Companies (CICs).

Applicants must deliver projects that:

• Operate in England.
• Support young people aged 11–16.
• Work with state secondary schools.

Target Participants

The programme supports:

• Secondary school students.
• Young people aged 11–16.
• Students receiving RSHE education.

Projects should focus on improving young people’s:

• Knowledge.
• Attitudes.
• Decision-making skills.
• Understanding of healthy relationships.

Why It Matters

Teenage relationships can influence young people’s long-term wellbeing, safety, and behaviour.

Healthy relationships education helps young people:

• Recognise respectful behaviour.
• Understand boundaries and consent.
• Identify harmful behaviours.
• Develop positive communication skills.
• Challenge harmful gender stereotypes.

The programme also contributes to wider efforts to prevent violence against women and girls by addressing harmful attitudes early.

Key Focus Areas Supported

Projects should address one or more of the following areas:

Healthy and Respectful Relationships

Activities should help students understand:

• Mutual respect.
• Equality.
• Trust.
• Communication.
• Emotional wellbeing.

Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls

Projects should aim to:

• Challenge harmful behaviours.
• Improve awareness of abuse.
• Promote respectful attitudes.

Online Safety and Digital Relationships

Projects may address:

• Online behaviour.
• Digital consent.
• Cyberbullying.
• Risks in online relationships.

Safe Intimate and Romantic Relationships

Projects should support young people in understanding:

• Healthy boundaries.
• Consent.
• Safe relationship choices.
• Emotional responsibility.

Evaluation Requirements

The Youth Endowment Fund focuses on building evidence about effective interventions.

Applicants must demonstrate the ability to reach enough schools for meaningful evaluation.

Strand 1 Evaluation Requirements

Projects are expected to involve:

• Delivery across one or more year groups.
• Around 30 secondary schools receiving the intervention.
• Around 30 schools continuing existing practice as a comparison group.

Strand 2 Evaluation Requirements

Projects are expected to involve:

• Delivery across one or more year groups.
• Around 20–30 secondary schools.
• Additional comparison schools where required by the evaluation design.

How to Apply

Step 1: Check Eligibility

Applicants should confirm that they:

• Are an eligible organisation.
• Deliver services in England.
• Can support secondary school students aged 11–16.
• Can meet evaluation requirements.

Step 2: Choose the Appropriate Strand

Applicants should decide whether their project fits:

• Strand 1: Supporting schools to build internal teaching capacity.
• Strand 2: External specialist delivery of healthy relationships education.

Step 3: Develop the Intervention Plan

Applicants should explain:

• The problem being addressed.
• Target students.
• Delivery approach.
• Expected outcomes.
• Evaluation methods.

Step 4: Demonstrate School Reach

Applicants should show they can:

• Access enough secondary schools.
• Deliver the programme effectively.
• Support meaningful evaluation.

Step 5: Submit Application

Applications should include:

• Organisation details.
• Project description.
• Delivery plan.
• Evaluation approach.
• Evidence of capacity.

Common Application Mistakes and Tips

Common Mistakes

Applicants should avoid:

• Proposing projects without clear outcomes.
• Failing to explain how students will benefit.
• Not demonstrating access to enough schools.
• Delivering content without alignment with RSHE requirements.
• Ignoring evaluation requirements.

Application Tips

Strong applications should:

• Use evidence-based approaches.
• Clearly define expected changes in student knowledge and attitudes.
• Explain how schools will be engaged.
• Include realistic delivery plans.
• Demonstrate experience working with young people.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the Youth Endowment Fund Healthy Relationships Grant?

It is a funding opportunity supporting interventions that help secondary school students develop healthy relationships and reduce harmful behaviours.

2. How much funding is available?

Eligible projects can receive up to £20,000.

3. Who can apply?

Registered charities, companies, statutory bodies, and Community Interest Companies (CICs) can apply.

4. Who must the project support?

Projects must support young people aged 11–16 attending state secondary schools in England.

5. What are the two funding strands?

The two strands are:

• Strand 1: Building school staff capacity to deliver healthy relationships education.
• Strand 2: External providers delivering healthy relationships programmes directly to students.

6. What topics can projects cover?

Projects may cover respectful relationships, online safety, consent, romantic relationships, harmful behaviours, and prevention of violence against women and girls.

7. Why is evaluation important?

YEF requires evaluation to understand which approaches are effective and how schools can best deliver healthy relationships education.

Conclusion

The Youth Endowment Fund Healthy Relationships Education Grant supports organisations working to create safer and healthier environments for young people. By funding school-based interventions, teacher development, and specialist education programmes, the initiative aims to improve relationship knowledge, prevent harmful behaviours, and strengthen long-term wellbeing among teenagers.