Under this programme the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust will award grants of between £5,000 and £80,000 on behalf of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund Early Years Programme, towards projects lasting up to two years, which help enhance early childhood education and childcare settings to meet specific needs of young children from Armed Forces families.

Eligibility

We invite applications from:

• Early childhood education and childcare providers which operate either on Defence Estate (armed forces base, station unit or within the Patch) OR within 5 miles of where Armed forces families live or work.
• Local Authorities which wish to supply training to early childhood education and childcare providers who operate either on Defence Estate (armed forces base, station unit or within the Patch) OR within 5 miles of where Armed forces families live or work.
• An organisation which provides Childminder training for those working with Service Children near or on Defence Estate.

There is more detailed information about eligibility in the programme guidelines available below. This is a complex programme, and it is important that you read the programme guidance carefully before you apply.

What’s available

You can apply for a grant of between £5,000 and £80,000. We expect this programme to be competitive and that we will be unable to support all the applications we receive.

Your application should clearly show why children from Forces families will benefit from your proposal, and why this offers good value for money.

Themes and priorities

We are looking for projects that can deliver sustainable change. This means that we want to know what evidence you have to support the approach that you seek to take, and crucially, how people from Armed Forces communities have helped to shape this.

Your project must clearly benefit Armed Forces families with a child under 5 by enhancing their access to high quality childcare. This could be done by, increasing the capacity in your provision to meet an already known, or anticipated increase in demand, or to fund additional training and resources that will provide a clear benefit to children from Armed Forces families, who are aged 0-5 and not yet in school.

Deadlines and dates to note

This programme is now closed. There were two application deadlines this year:

If you applied by 5pm on 11 October 2023, you’ll receive a decision before the end of November 2023.

If you applied by 5pm on 12 January 2024, you’ll receive a decision before the end of February 2024.

Guidance and resources

Please download the programme guidance specific to your situation below (for settings on Defence bases OR near Defence bases).

Programme news