hurry, hurry if you want to apply to the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) for a grant to start up or expand an out-of-school club. The Government has announced funding for another 50,000 new after-school places and the closing dates for applications to the two funding rounds are 15 April and 15 June 2003. Applicants from the voluntary, statutory and private sectors can all apply.
NOF is now also able to provide up to 3 million extra funding for capital expenditure to obtain registration under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Unfortunately, however, funding for Welsh clubs has not been extended as targets have alreadybeen reached.
ONE CLUB'S STORY
Time Out is one out-of-school club that successfully applied for NOF funds and was set up in Birmingham 13 months ago, on 4 January 2002.
Janet Cotter and Tina Cornford, the founders, used to run Rainbows, a group for five to seven-year-old girls who weren't yet old enough for Brownies, and they often joked that they should do it for a living. It was while watching the TV programme 'Working Lunch', which ran a feature on NOF, giving out a telephone number for more information, that the seed of an idea was planted in Janet's mind. The two women began to look for a school without an out-of school club, which they could approach to offer their services. One local primary and nursery school looked ideal but they were told by the head that someone else had got in first.
However, two months later Janet and Tina heard through the grapevine that the other party had withdrawn. They approached the head again, who agreed that they could run the club in a new mobile classroom, a large and airy unit with toilet and storage facilities, and its own separate alarm system - all they needed now was the funding, and customers.
QUESTIONNAIRES SENT OUT
Questionnaires were sent out through the pupil post asking if parents had any objections to the club starting, if they were likely to use it, when they would use it, and samples of different times and days were suggested.
As with most surveys, parents' replies showed a healthy interest, but far fewer children signed up. A club for the school holidays evoked the highest demand. One reason why response is often better than take up is that a parent may want to use a club so they can get a job, but, of course, it takes time to get a job, so the child doesn't go to the club straight away.
Janet rang the Department of Trade and Industry, the number of which had been given out on 'Working Lunch' and it gave her the number of her local early years development and childcare partnership (EYDCP). Each partnership has an out-of-school development team, which helps applicants bid for NOF funding.
There are two types of bids for NOF funding - single and consortium (if the EYDCP is the leading partner, it is called a partnership bid). Janet and Tina were one of 20 in a consortium bid. The out-of-school development team helped them fill in the application forms and completed a cash flow forecast as it does with all applicants. Anyone without a business background is likely to need the help of the team. The process took around 16 months and a further three months for an OFSTED (Office of Standards in Education) registration to be completed.
LOCAL PLANNING PROBLEMS
There were times when Janet and Tina felt the odds were stacked against them. Despite the mobile classroom being part of the school, and having passed local planning when installed, new regulations meant Time Out had to start again. The mobile had no ramp for access for disabled children and was refused permission.
Janet and the fire inspector worked hard to persuade the local council that the building already had planning permission. At that time the mobile was an 'extra' facility owned bythe local education authority and could have been removed at any time (the club could have been housed within the school in this case) so investing in a ramp wasn't feasible. Eventually, the council saw sense andagreed that the original planning permission was adequate.
To receive the full grant (see box for guidelines on amounts) Janet and Tina had to reach the occupancy milestone of 24 places within 12 months of starting up, which they set themselves. If clubs don't reach the required occupancy targets, what can seem like a generous grant may not materialise.
With the luxury of hindsight, Janet and Tina believe it would have been better to have applied for 12 places not 24, and to havere-applied for a further 12 places as more children were booked in. Many new club managers find that it can be a struggle to get occupancy figures right.
Time Out is prospering, but it takes time for word to get around. The children who attend enjoy their time there, and bring new placements with them, but expanding through recommendation is always slow. Janet and Tina plan to open a breakfast club soon and have applied for new funding for this, although they do not need to re-register with Ofsted.
For other sources of funding try A-Z To Finding Funds, free from 0845 6022260, e-mail dfes@prolog.uk.comor write to PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Nottingham, NG15 0DL. See also Janey Hewitt's series on fundraising in Out of School on 10 October and 14 November 2002, and 16 January 2003, which has details of her own book.
EXTRA FACTS.
*Once the bid is accepted, your club will automatically appear on the website www.childcarelink.gov.uk which lists childcare provision in categories of location and type.
*Regulation requirements for out-of-school clubs include fire inspection (with a smoke alarm check), childcare and first aid qualifications.
*You will need to apply for planning permission from the local council.
*Grants will normally be offered for one year, with a three-year grant in areas where there is either a lack of out-of-school childcare facilities in general, or a lack of affordable ones.
*The EYDCP will help prepare a business plan that includes staffing costs and fees. Advice is given on areas such as quality of staff, insurance, marketing and equipment.
*For an application form and further information contact www.nof.org.ukor telephone 0845 0000 121 (See also 'Money to expand', 13 June 2002 and 'Holiday Time', 9 May 2002 in Out of School. The latter gives step-by-step guidelines to expanding into holiday provision).
TAKE A TIP FROM US.
*Whether you apply for a single bid or a consortium bid, use the out-of-school development team within your local early years development and childcare partnership (EYDCP)as it can give wide-ranging advice on all aspects of setting up.
*Have a written contract with your landlord that includes details of rent, storage arrangements, heating, lighting, and agreements on issues such as clearing up at the end of sessions, breakage, damage to furniture and whether you or the caretaker locks up and sets the alarm at the end of sessions.
*Start OFSTED registration early - police and medical checks take a long time.
*When preparing your bid, be aware that your grant is not awarded in one lump sum but when you reach milestones, which are tied in with occupancy levels. There is an initial payment of up to 33 per cent of the grant when a club starts up; a second instalment when the first child is on the books; a third when 50 per cent of the predicted number of children is reached and a final payment when 75 per cent of the predicted number are attending (usually the breakeven point, where income received equals costs incurred).
If a club hasn't reached its occupancy figures by this time, the final payment may be delayed. The local EYDCP development team will offer help in looking at reasons for low occupancy levels, such as accessibility, and help a club run an advertising campaign, if necessary.
*The amount of grant given foreach place will vary considerably depending on the type of provision (breakfast, after-school or holiday) and the circumstances (higher grants may be given in disadvantaged areas, for example). However, the average grant is 455 per place in the first year. The grants are paid in four milestone payments, as explained above, and all spending is monitored carefully.
