A-Z Guide to Policy and Practice
This section contains lots of information on topics from Breakfast Clubs to young offenders institutes.
Go straight to the information you need by clicking on the subject below.
Consultation with and involvement of children and young people
Governing Document or Constitution
Mentoring and Befriending Programmes
Playgrounds, Adventure Playgrounds, Play Areas and Sports Pitches
Social Enterprises and Community Interest Companies (CICs)
Special Educational Need Co-ordinators in Schools
Supplementary Education / Schools
Young Offenders Institutes (YOI)
BBC Children in Need in Wales will not fund breakfast clubs in schools, due to Welsh Assembly Government commitment to provide breakfast in all schools that request it.
BBC Children in Need is open to funding building developments; however, there are several key issues to be aware of when applying for a grant
Funding arrangements:
- While you can apply for full funding, we prefer if our contribution is alongside other grants or community fundraising.
- It is also important to remember that you must be able to use any grant from us within a year
Ownership:
- We are unlikely to fund facilities where improvement adds to the capital value of statutory owned property, such as schools and hospitals
- We are unlikely to fund development of a building and/or land that you do not securely own or lease
- You should have a plan for meeting the future revenue costs of the building including repairs and maintenance
Planning
- You must have planning permission for the work or permission under the lease
- Accessibility and health and safety regulations must be considered in development
- If applying for a major capital grants must provide plans and estimates on request
Consultation:
- You must provide evidence of children and young people being involved in the design and development of the project
- We will not fund where there is not convincing evidence of involvement with the groups expected to use the buildings
In England and Wales, voluntary and community organisations with preceding year income over £5,000 must be registered with the Charity Commission. For more information visit the Charity Commission's website or the Office for Scottish Charity Regulator.
Remember, if you are a registered charity in England or Wales, we will not need you to send your governing document to us, as we will access it directly from the charity commission. If you are a registered charity in Northern Ireland or Scotland, we still require you to send us a copy of your governing document.
BBC Children in Need will only fund projects with a child care element when the focus is on providing a quality and developmental experience for the children themselves. The child care on offer must be outside statutory responsibility. In particular, local authorities have a duty to secure a free minimum amount of early learning and care for all three and four year olds whose parents want it of 12.5 hours a week for 38 weeks in all settings.
Projects must be focused on the differences made (outcomes) to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people. For this reason, when applying you must provide clear evidence that disadvantaged children and young people will:
- Be the primary beneficiaries of the project; and
- Experience positive changes in their lives from the activities or services you are providing
Applicant organisations must provide evidence that they will protect children and young people in their care. You will need to show that:
- Your organisation has its own child protection policy, which everyone in your organisation knows about and uses in their day to day work
- Appropriate child protection procedures are in place and that these are well known and understood by staff
- Relevant criminal records checks are undertaken for all staff, volunteers and management committee before working directly with children
- All staff, volunteers and management committee members receive child protection training. This training must be appropriate and regularly updated
Further information on the relevant criminal checks for each nation can be found at the following organisations:
England and Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
For guidance on all child protection issues refer to the NSPCC.
When submitting supporting documentation with an application, churches are expected to:
- Provide full accounts according to Children in Need's standard application requirements.
However, instead of submitting a constitution churches are asked to provide:
- A document confirming their legal status, e.g. aims and objects
- A document detailing how financial decisions are made
- A document detailing how project decisions are/will be made
Any applications for the purchase of computers will need to provide evidence that:
- The computer will be primarily used by children and young people. If they are not the main users, you will need to make a strong case for how it will directly benefit their lives
- You have considered how use by children and young people will be supervised and/or monitored
- You have a plan for teaching 'Internet Safety' to children and young people. This may be part of an organisation's Acceptable Use Policy for ICT
- Processes are in place for children to report any incidents to a supervisor where they feel unhappy or unsafe on the Internet
- You have considered the use of protection software for filtering inappropriate websites and emails
For more information refer to Childnet International and Kid Smart.
Consultation with and involvement of children and young people
When making an application, you will be expected to detail how you have taken children and young people's views into account about the work you plan to do and the differences (outcomes) you hope it will lead to. We will expect that consultation will occur on an ongoing basis, and children and young people involved in running or managing aspects of the project will be supported where appropriate.
We accept that there may be clear reasons why projects can only offer limited consultation; however applicants will need to be able to clearly explain why this is the case.
Find information and advice at Participation Works.
BBC Children in Need has no problem with funding organisations over a long period of time, as often organisations grow and improve their services to children or deal with different groups of children over a number of years. Each application will be considered on its own merits; however, organisations that have previously received a grant from us will be expected to provide clear evidence to demonstrate the differences our funds to date have made in the lives of disadvantaged children and young people.
BBC Children in Need would expect all organisations which offer formal, professional counselling to consider the following in their planning and running of their projects:
- The employment professionally qualified counsellors who have experience of working with young people, who access appropriate clinical supervision with experienced supervisors, and who take part in regular, relevant continuing professional development
- Delivery of accessible counselling in an appropriately private but safe settings (for the clients and the counsellors)
- Being seen as non stigmatising service within the community
- Working within current legislation and guidance, offering confidentiality within usual ethical and safeguarding (child protection) limits
- Responding flexibly as far as possible to local needs in respect of diversity and practicality (e.g. disability, language, after hours working, etc)
- Working with and alongside other services and agencies in a collegial manner, whilst maintaining appropriate levels of confidentiality
- Membership of a professional body (such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and as such adhering to an established ethical framework and complaints procedure
- Employing counsellors whose personal qualities will mean that they are approachable, have good listening skills and a manner that encourages a climate for safe and trusting relationships
If services are to be delivered by colleagues who are not fully qualified, then these workers must be monitored and supervised very closely by more experienced and qualified staff, and there must be systems in place to ensure safety for clients, workers, and the service.
For more information about the delivery of ethical and effective counselling services, please visit the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) website.
BBC Children in Need recognises that each disabled child is an individual to be considered as a child first, sharing the same needs and aspirations as all children and equally entitled to respect and dignity.
Disabled children and young people are disadvantaged not only by the effect of their disabilities, but also by the attitudes of others towards them and towards their participation in society. They may also experience other disadvantages such as poverty, isolation, illness and restricted opportunities.
We require applicants to demonstrate appreciation of the needs and aspirations of the children to benefit from a grant. We want our funds to support disabled children in ways that:
- Improve their choice and opportunity
- Enhance their abilities
- Encourage independence
- Build their confidence and self esteem
- Involve disabled young people and adults as positive role models
- Counter negative attitudes and barriers to participation
- Recognise the needs of families and carers
We will not fund:
- Projects that reinforce negative stereotypes of disabled children and young people.
We expect organisations to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Projects that apply to BBC Children in Need will be expected to focus on addressing issues of disadvantage affecting children and young people. We define disadvantage as:
- Living in poverty or situations of deprivation
- Illness, Distress, Abuse or Neglect
- Behavioural or Psychological Issues
- Disability
For guidance on describing disadvantage when making a funding application, please see our question by question guide.
BBC Children in Need will only fund projects working with early years children that are complementary to, but not filling statutory responsibilities. When applying to us you will need to provide details about how your project is outside national and local statutory commitments.
Children's Centres will be treated in the same way as any other organisation, on a case by case basis. The services being applied for cannot be part of their core offer and will need to be in partnership with an external voluntary sector partner who will be the lead applicant.
Childcare provision, including crèches, will only be funded if clearly outside the free entitlement for three and four year olds. Applicants need to be clear that the services are for the primary benefit of disadvantaged children and not their parents. The service must be a quality and developmental experience for the children and young people attending
BBC Children in Need frequently funds projects to purchase equipment to be used by, or in the delivery of activities for, disadvantaged children and young people. When applying for funding for equipment, you should be clear:
- That children and young people will be the main users or will directly benefit
- Why the equipment is needed for the project
- How issues such as insurance, secure storage and shelf life have been considered
- How you have shopped around to get the best value for money
- How you would not be better-off hiring or borrowing the equipment
- Who will have access to it when not in use by the project
BBC Children in Need will not fund the purchase of equipment for a statutory body, such as a school or hospital, where the items would normally be expected to be provided from their budgets, for example, white boards or musical instruments for schools, or medical equipment for hospitals.
Where equipment is purchased for an individual child or young person to use, BBC Children in Need prefers that the item remain the property of the group not the individual. When an item is bespoke or not reusable we are comfortable that it becomes the assumed property of the child or young person.
BBC Children in Need recognises that extended schools are a platform from which multiple and integrated services can be delivered. However, applications for projects that are part of an extended schools environment will need to be very clear how the activity is outside statutory responsibilities and outside the remit of funding available through local children's trusts or education authorities.
Governing Document or Constitution
A governing document outlines an organisations' rules, objectives and how they make decisions. This document is often called a constitution.
BBC Children in Need will only fund holidays, trips and outings where these can be shown to be an effective way of addressing the needs of the children and young people involved.
We will only fund holidays for one year when they are the primary feature of the applied for project. This is due to the high importance of having current child protection policies for these types of projects. BBC Children in Need will consider two and three year requests for salaries where there is a holiday element as part of a wider range of activities. If a salary request with a holiday element receives a grant for more than one year, the applicant will be required to provide annual updates of their child protection policy to BBC Children in Need.
- A particular need for respite, for example prisoners' families, children living in hostels, young carers or children isolated by virtue of long-term illness
- Children who have a particular need to experience new horizons and/or the opportunity for more independence, for example, disabled children or those who live in very poor social conditions
- Children who share a common problem who would benefit from the opportunity to provide mutual support in an informal and enjoyable setting, such as those with serious or life-limiting illnesses or conditions who need the chance to discuss practical and emotional issues
- Holidays, outings or events whose programmes contain clear and well-planned personal development or social education elements designed to achieve specific behavioural or educational outcomes for children
- Holidays, outings or events that form a part of an ongoing programme of work with the children, so that preparatory and follow up work can consolidate and enhance the benefits
- Where distinctive benefits have been specifically identified in the application, as well as a convincing plan for achieving and evidencing those benefits
- The involvement or consultation of children/young people in planning and organisation
BBC Children in Need can only fund trips for holiday within the UK, other than in Northern Ireland where trips for holidays to the Republic of Ireland will be considered.
BBC Children in Need will not give grants directly to residential establishments wanting to secure funding for children and young people to attend their centres. We will only provide funding to organisations with an established working relationship with children and young people.
Due to wide statutory responsibilities in this area, it is not expected that BBC Children in Need will fund accommodation for homeless children or families except in exceptional cases; however, there may be cause to support refuge accommodation for young people who have run away. We will also support activities within accommodation centres that address the issues and needs of disadvantaged children, such as within Women's Refuges.
Although we do not accept applications from individual children or their families, an eligible organisation can apply on behalf of an individual child. That organisation, however, must take responsibility for answering any questions we might have about the child and the circumstances of his/her family. Where equipment is purchased for an individual child or young person to use, BBC Children in Need prefers that the item remain the property of the group not the individual. When an item is bespoke or not reusable we are comfortable that it becomes the assumed property of the child or young person.
Please also see our Grant Application Guidelines for information on grants to individuals which are distributed via The Frank Buttle Trust website. In Scotland the Renfield Centre Children's Fund administers small grants for BBC Children in Need.
Where a project involves a website and/or internet activity, the following issues must be fully considered:
Safety
- Children cannot be identified or contacted from information on the website
- Photos are used with care and permission from both the child and parent is obtained
- Chat rooms should be moderated by an appropriately recruited, trained, screened and supervised person
- Chat rooms should also have a code of conduct, and an appropriate registration system
Access
- The website is fully accessible and is easy to read using appropriate language
Consultation
- Children and young people have been involved in the design and planning as appropriate.
For more information refer to Childnet International and Kid Smart.
BBC Children in Need accepts applications from local authorities for projects that are not statutory responsibility. Instead of submitting constitutions and full accounts in support of their application, a local authority is asked to provide:
- A document confirming their legal status
- A document detailing how financial decisions are made
- A document detailing how project decisions are/will be made
In the event of a grant being made to a local authority the funds will only be paid into a designated bank account for the project and not their general accounts, therefore a local authority will also need to provide with their application:
- A bank statement to prove an account designated for project funds exists or;
- A letter stating that they are willing to open an account designated for project funds, should their application be successful
BBC Children in Need will not fund medical aids or equipment where there is a statutory responsibility. This includes the purchase of specialised medical equipment for a hospital.
Mentoring and befriending programmes
BBC Children in Need would expect all organisations applying for mentoring and befriending projects to consider the following in their planning and running of their projects:
- A clear link between your project aims and the benefits identified for individual clients/volunteers
- A process for client referral/eligibility incorporating good equal opportunities practice
- A robust recruitment and selection process for volunteers
- It is essential that you have robust procedures in place for the screening of volunteers and arrangements for safeguarding clients and volunteers (including CRB checks, references, risk assessments, insurance confidentiality statement, consent forms)
- A good and consistent process for matching your clients with volunteers and arrangements in place for dealing with relationships that turn out to be unsuitable
- Ensure initial training and preparation for volunteers is in place alongside ongoing support
- There should be a documented process in place for monitoring the progress of relationships
Organisations working in this area may want to consider attaining the Approved Provider Standard, a national benchmark for organisations providing volunteer mentoring or befriending. For more information, guidance and support on any of the above please contact the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation via their website or call on 0161 787 8600.
BBC Children in Need will consider applications for minibuses and caravans. However, when making such applications you will need to provide evidence about issues such as:
- Why the organisation needs to own as opposed to hiring one
- How much you expect it to be used, and how much of that use will be by disadvantaged children and young people
- How insurance, secure storage, running and maintenance costs will be paid
- That the vehicle will have the necessary accessibility for all potential users
- All safety requirements, such as seat belts and fire extinguishers, are included in compliance with the law
National organisations are those that provide or aim to provide services to the whole of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland or any combination of these.
Those national organisations with independent branches (i.e. have their own constitution, their own management committee and are responsible for their own finances) are treated as separate organisations and we are happy to accept applications from each branch.
Non-independent branches of UK-wide organisations, which have a physical presence in more than one nation, are eligible to submit an application to each nation, providing that no other grants are held in that nation
Parenting classes can be supported as long as they are not aiming to enhance the experience of parents as an end in itself, but are working with parents as a means of improving the experience of children and young people. Strong evidence of outcomes needs to be provided, in particular what specific benefits for children and young people will this training bring and how will these outcomes be monitored.
Some organisations may decide to work together and adopt a joint approach; however, applications to BBC Children in Need should be from one specific legally accountable body. Applications from partnerships are subject to the same guidance as other applications with regard to the status of the applicant body.
Good planning is one of the best ways to improve your chances of making a successful application. Please see our question by question guide to planning your project for more information and advice.
Playgrounds, Adventure Playgrounds, Play Areas and Sports Pitches.
BBC Children in Need is open to funding playgrounds; however, there are several key issues to be mindful of when applying for a grant.
Funding arrangements:
- While fully funding is an option, we prefer to contribute alongside other grants or community fundraising. Please also bear in mind that you must be able to use any grant from us within a year.
Ownership:
- We are unlikely to fund facilities where the main improvement adds to the capital value of statutory owned property, such as schools and hospitals
- We are unlikely to fund development on land that is not securely owned or leased
- Applicants should have a plan for meeting the future revenue costs of the facilities including insurance, repairs and maintenance
Planning
- There must be planning permission for the work or permission under the lease
- Accessibility and health and safety regulations must be considered in development
- Major capital grants must provide plans and estimates on request
Consultation:
- Applicants must provide evidence of children and young people being involved in the design and development of the project
- We will not fund where there is not convincing evidence of involvement with the groups expected to use the buildings
Most playgroups and play schemes for children under the age of eight years must be registered unless the law says they are not required to do so.
BBC Children in Need will not fund projects of these types that should be registered and are not. See registration below
Most playgroups and play schemes for children under the age of eight years must be registered unless the law says they are not required to do so. For more information please visit: Ofsted (for England); Care Commission (for Scotland); Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales; your local Health and Social Care Trust (for Northern Ireland).
BBC Children in Need does not fund projects for pregnancy testing; or advice, information or counselling on pregnancy choices.
BBC Children in Need wants to fund projects 'for success' - which may include a proportion of support costs. We will consider proportional support costs relating to the direct project delivery only. This may include items such as:
- Administrative running costs
- Administrative materials or support
- Management or supervision costs
For applications from organisations supporting children and young people with rare medical conditions, the external referee should be a medical practitioner with experience of working with the condition and knowledge of the work of the organisation and the specific project.
BBC Children in Need will make grant awards to faith based organisations as they are often engaged in social welfare and community regeneration; however, we will not fund the promotion of religion or any activity that involves proselytising.
BBC Children in Need will only fund residential activities for one year when they are the primary feature of the applied for project. This is due to the high importance of having current child protection policies for these types of projects.
We will consider two and three year requests for salaries where the residential element is part of a wider range of activities. If a salary request with a residential element receives a grant for more than one year, the applicant will be required to provide annual updates of their child protection policy to BBC Children in Need.
BBC Children in Need will consider applications from projects offering respite care to the family of a disabled child. However, as the core provision of respite care is statutory responsibility, you will need to provide a strong rationale as to why BBC Children in Need has been asked to fund the scheme and not the local authority.
BBC Children in Need will not normally fund activities taking place during school time and projects where children or young people are being taken out of class to attend. We view this as a replacement of statutory responsibility and we should not be taking children away from a valuable education. We will also not fund activities that relate to the delivery of the curriculum as this is the statutory responsibility of schools.
BBC Children in Need can consider projects in school time only exceptionally, for example:
- There is a clear and distinctive case made that it is impossible for children or young people to attend activities or support outside school time. For example, a pupil with caring responsibilities at home or a young person experiencing domestic abuse and does not want parent to know.
- Projects for children who find it impossible to engage within the classroom setting and who may benefit more from additional activities outside the curriculum. These activities may not fall within the statutory provision and will often take place in special schools or special units within a mainstream school.
- Services/activities that are run in lunchtimes or breaks, for example, counselling.
- Voluntary sector led projects aimed at helping those not attending school as long as we are considering enhancement and not replacement of statutory funding, as statutory funding must follow the child.
If there is a desire to fund a project taking place within school curriculum time we need to ensure that:
- The project is clearly additional to the school curriculum
- There is a compelling reason for the children missing lessons
- The project is targeting a specific need
- The need will not be addressed by the school curriculum or by any other statutory provision
- The reason for the in school time running of the project is based on the needs of the children and young people, and not those of the school or other providers.
Other types of school projects we will consider include:
- School-organised activities in outdoor or away-from-school education where the voluntary component from school/ public body staff is significant.
- Requests for capital expenditure; however the grant cannot be used to make improvements to a school building or to buy equipment that will be used within curriculum time.
Fundraising on behalf of schools
It common for Parent Teacher Associations (or equivalents) to apply for funding on a school's behalf. A PTA should only apply if they will be administering the funds; where the money will be for a school run project the application needs to come from the school itself.
Supporting documentation
Instead of providing constitutions and full accounts, schools are asked to provide:
- A document confirming their legal status
- A document detailing how financial decisions are made
- A document detailing how project decisions are/will be made
In the event of a grant being made to a school the funds will only be paid into a designated bank account for the project and not the school's general accounts, therefore a school will also need to provide with their application:
- A bank statement to prove an account designated for project funds exists or;
- A letter stating that they are willing to open an account designated for project funds, should their application be successful
Projects working with children and young people excluded from schools should be able to clearly demonstrate how the BBC Children in Need funding will be additional to statutory responsibilities with this group.
BBC Children in Need recognises the need to engage sessional staff for the purposes of delivering specific forms of project or activity for children and young people, for example, short term / one-off holiday play schemes. However we believe that, where possible, it is more likely to produce good outcomes for children if organisations offer fixed-term part-time contracts to cover projects.
Social Enterprises and Community Interest Companies (CICs)
Community Interest Companies are eligible to apply to BBC Children in Need as long as we are satisfied that the company operates primarily for the benefit of the community.
Special Educational Need Co-ordinators in Schools
BBC Children in Need will not fund Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators in schools, as this is a statutory responsibility for schools and local authorities.
Staff training can be funded when it there is a clear link to outcomes for children and young people that can be clearly demonstrated, for example, when it is focused on the provision of children's services. Training will not be funded when it is purely about an individual's professional development
BBC Children in Need does not provide funding for the relief of statutory responsibilities. We can provide additional services that are clearly beyond statutory responsibility and organisations are expected to evidence this in their applications to us.
Supplementary Education / Schools
When applying for supplementary education projects, you must be able to show consideration of the following:
- How the classes are publicised
- How pupils will be selected
- The level of contact with mainstream schools, other supplementary schools, community organisations, local children's trusts (if in England) or other local and national educational bodies
- The level of parental involvement
- The structure of the curriculum and assessment of progress
- The qualification/experience of tutors
- Staff development / teacher training
Further information about supplementary schools can be found from the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education on the ContinYou website.
Volunteer expenses must be for expenditure which is incurred, for example, when you can refund someone's bus ticket or the cost of their petrol. Expenses should not be an allowance or fixed fee for turning up, as that can be viewed as pay, which is subject to National Insurance and tax. For advice on volunteer expenses please visit: Volunteering England.
The teaching of Welsh is a statutory function up to GCSE level and is a core subject in all schools in Wales. BBC Children in Need will therefore not fund Welsh classes.
BBC Children in Need does not fund children's workers in women's refuges in Scotland, where it is covered by statutory provision.
Young Offenders Institutes (YOI)
BBC Children in Need will consider funding that adds value to the statutory responsibility to provide 'opportunities for enrichment' and services that prepare and/or support young people in their transition back into society on release. The responsibility for provision must be a (formal or informal) partnership between the YOI and a voluntary sector organisation and the activities are to be holistic in nature. We would normally expect any such applications to come from the provider, rather than the YOI. We will not fund other statutory responsibilities of the YOI, these being capital or staff costs, the provision of ongoing education and basic enrichment, such as equipment for general association with peers, and family days.
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