Deadline: 10-Nov-2024
The Cheshire Community Foundation has launched the Families First Programme to fund interventions which support families with children to navigate a wide range of parenting issues at the earliest possible opportunity.
The programme aims to enable parents, and the young people themselves, to build trusting relationships with providers that build confidence and enable early intervention to reduce the need for children and families being referred to statutory services or being taken in to care.
This programme will be delivered in partnership with Cheshire West and Cheshire Council and partner funders, and will fund work supporting parents and families initially across four pilot areas, with the aim to roll out more widely as the programme progresses:
- Ellesmere Port (particularly around Stanlaw Abbey and Portside Children’s Centres footprints);
- Chester (particularly around Blacon and Chester Victoria Children’s Centres footprints);
- Winsford (particularly around Over Children’s Centre footprint); and
- Northwich (particularly around Victoria Road and Weaverham Children’s Centres footprints).
What will the programme focus on?
- This programme will fund projects delivering tailored, individualised parenting support and skills development through sessions delivered in the family home, alongside wraparound support. There will be the opportunity to support families with children of any age between 0-19 years old, or up to 25 for children with additional needs. However, these grants will have a key focus on children aged 11-16 and will require the provider to support young people and their families during key transitional phases.
- One of the areas of innovation within this programme is developing the confidence and skills of parents to support young people at this key stage in their development.
- Parenting skills could be covered by a broad range of outcomes, including (but not limited to):
- Building positive relationships and trust;
- Improving communication;
- Reducing conflict;
- Setting and maintaining boundaries;
- Building structures and routines potentially including developing interests;
- Prevention and early intervention strategies to navigate challenges, build resilience and care for the mental wellbeing of parents and children;
- Role modelling; and
- Improving home conditions (to ensure a house is suitable and safe for children to live there).
Funding Information
- Applicants can apply for a maximum of £75,000 per pilot area, in the first year (including any funding required for mobilisation), £100,000 in year two, and £125,000 in year three.
Duration
- Grants will initially be for up to three years with annual funding cycles.
Eligibility Criteria
They will accept applications from any organisation which:
- has the ability to work with Children and Young People and their families who live in the following areas:
- Ellesmere Port
- Chester
- Winsford
- Northwich
- has a track record of working with families and/or carers.
- can demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion.
- has robust data management systems, combined with a thorough application of data protection protocols.
- can demonstrate a clear Theory of Change as part of their application.
They are especially keen to receive applications from organisations who:
- have clear plans and capacity to perform targeted outreach for the work, generating self-referrals to introduce families to the service. Referrals may also come from Cheshire West & Chester Council, particularly Navigators in the Early Help Service, who would encourage families to contact ‘Families First’ programme providers, where appropriate.
- Can demonstrate the capacity to support families with disabled, SEN, and neurodiverse children and young people. This includes children who have not yet had a diagnosis.
For more information, visit Cheshire Community Foundation.