This programme is designed to fund interventions that 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 Chester Council and partner funders.

Important note: This page contains a summary of the The Families First Programme. For full details, please read the Programme Brief here. There will be a live, Online Question and Answer session for applicants taking place via Microsoft Teams on 9th October, at 10.30am. Applicants will be able to join and ask any questions which they may have about the programme and application process. You can join the session by clicking here.

What will the programme focus on?

This programme will fund projects delivering parenting support and skills development through sessions delivered in the family home. 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
• Improving home conditions (to ensure a house is suitable and safe for children to live there).

What can we apply for?

Grants will be for three year projects with annual funding cycles, with a potential for the work to be extended for an additional further year.  Work will be delivered in one of four pilot areas:

• Ellesmere Port
• Chester
• Winsford
• Northwich

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, recognising the ambition to expand the programme (in terms of volume and geographic area) as the programme progresses. Funding for years two and three will be dependent on satisfactory monitoring and the submission of clear and realistic plans for the future.

A maximum of one grant will be awarded per pilot area (maximum of four grants in total). Each applicant can apply to lead this work in a maximum of TWO of the pilot areas; however, we will accept additional applications which name them as a non-lead partner in other areas.

Applicants can apply for operational costs directly related to the delivery of parenting support services, including staffing, training, and resources. We also recognise that some applicants may require a mobilisation period in the first year of the grant, and we welcome applications which factor these costs in.

Who can apply?

We will accept applications from any organisation which:

• has the ability to work with Children and Young People and their families who live in one of the stated pilot areas
• meets our general eligibility criteria and grantmaking principles, including the demonstration of rigorous safeguarding processes and procedures.
• 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.

We 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.
• can demonstrate a highly qualified team with significant experience and track record of delivery in this area.

Partnership Applications

It is recognised that not all applicants may be able to deliver the entire range of services required and/or may feel that combining capacity/expertise with partner organisations may be beneficial. Collaboration is therefore encouraged and we welcome applications from organisations working in partnership or as a consortium.

In any partnership application, we would expect to see a small number of key partners with clearly defined roles which contribute to the goals of the work. It is recognised that you may partner with other organisations as the project progresses and needs are identified, but we only require details of your primary partners at the application stage.

Any partnership or consortium-based applications will be asked to provide a memorandum of understanding or other agreement to evidence partnership working, before funding is released.

Timeline and process

Please ensure you have read the full programme brief, located here, before you apply. We also strongly recommend that you read our Grantmaking Principles, as you will have to meet these to be eligible for the fund.

The programme will open for applications on Monday 23rd September, with a deadline for submissions of  Sunday 10th November. Decisions will be communicated in mid-December 2024.

There will be a live Online Question and Answer session for applicants, taking place via Microsoft Teams on 9th October, at 10.30am. Applicants will be able to join and ask any questions which they may have about the programme and application process. You can join the session by clicking here.

All applications will be made via the Cheshire Community Foundation website.