Guest Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 just wanted to share our good news our bid to extend and revamp our postage stamp sized play area has been accepted. we applied last year but didnt get it we are soooooo happy I personaly have waited to get a grant to do this for 16yrs since I opened our pre-school. havnt stopped smiling all day sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 WOOOOO!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Congratulations - we too have just obtained a grant to develop our own small outdoor play area. I have had a busy week spending and hope to have it already for when we go back after the Easter hols - enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 congrats to you too bluestar I bet you felt great. we wont get our grant money for 3 weeks then ground works will start we wont be able to use it for a while. we are having an electronic canopy fitted how cool is that sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 How exciting - well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Congratulations to you both! Hope it all turns out as you have hoped and wished for, for so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 how lovely for you. well done.! how do you apply for the grant? any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Hi dreamgirl our local authority sent out info for us so that settings could apply then the bid goes in front of a panel . we where lucky to get it this time as it is round 5 within our area and there was less money in the pot there was only about a third of settings who applied got it . I think that different authorities have ditributed it in differing ways the money is from central gov. Your development worker should be able to help you. sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 thank you. is it called a capital grant? i know that seems a silly question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 yes it was called capital grant we also got a round 3 capital grant for resources. in our area they split it into differing rounds 1. all pvi settings for building/ict etc with a certain criteria round 2 for cc I think round 3 for resources pvi settings round 4 schools resources round 5 pvi like round 1 except profit making pvi's bidding for over a certain amount had to match fund it. we are not for profit so didnt need to. what sort of setting are you from dreamgirl? are you looking for a grant for anything in particular ? there are lots of places to apply for grants does your authority have a buisiness section ours has and can give advice. we have always lucked out on grants because we are on school premises and though we are not for profit we are not a registered charity so this can also be a barrier sorry for the rambling post hope it helps sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimms o'clock? Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 There is a Sure Start Capital Grant pot from central Government which is administered by local authorities. One of the key things it is being given for is developing outdoor learning environments; also for refurbishments, extensions or I think even new builds it it relates to being sustainable and if it helps to offer flexiblity ie increased opening hours. I'm not sure if LA's are able to add their own criteria or if it is standard across the country, best to contact LA and ask. I'm applying to extend our baby room and an outdoor play space along with a few other bits and pieces. Good luck to anyone trying the application process takes a considerable amount ot time but I hope it will be worth it. BMG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 It is definitely worth it. We applied for just over £24,000 for some work inside, making a new stock room and small group room, and an outdoor play area. We got most of the money and have been able to expand our indoor area and provide a small, but very much needed, enclosed outdoor area. The inside work was done in October and the new play area is almost finished. We are really excited about outside. I haven't told the parents and children that it was going to be started over the Easter holidays so they will have a nice surprise on Monday morning-can't wait to see their faces!! Get in touch with your early years advisor dreamgirl and find out if your area applied for any of the capital funding and if they have what you have to do to access it. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I love it when people call me dreamgirl. If only!!!!! Yes I will contact them. I have a feeling all these grants are not for school based nurseries. am I right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 yes it was called capital grant we also got a round 3 capital grant for resources.in our area they split it into differing rounds 1. all pvi settings for building/ict etc with a certain criteria round 2 for cc I think round 3 for resources pvi settings round 4 schools resources round 5 pvi like round 1 except profit making pvi's bidding for over a certain amount had to match fund it. we are not for profit so didnt need to. what sort of setting are you from dreamgirl? are you looking for a grant for anything in particular ? there are lots of places to apply for grants does your authority have a buisiness section ours has and can give advice. we have always lucked out on grants because we are on school premises and though we are not for profit we are not a registered charity so this can also be a barrier sorry for the rambling post hope it helps sue Yes we are in a school. I am in Nursery and FS cordinator. Would love toi develop our ourside area. Wew have no grass in school or even in our local area!! Wouyld love better water play, natural areas , ship, ....oh goodness I could go on. So am very keen to apply for grants but our LA doies not give any info or advice. Feel in the dark as to where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 have you got any school govenors that are interested in looking at applying for grants I am also a school gov and from experience know that there are grants for schools out there but they need someone pretty commited to source and work on them. the school we are attatched to have just had ofsted they picked up on the hard work the school managment team and gov had worked hard to get money in inventive ways to improve outside play. they have had budget cuts for the last couple of yrs so have had to look hard at other ways the HT and finance gov have really trawled places to get them(not a finance gov so unable to say where from) B&Q in some areas work with schools on outside projects other local places may help with donations of planters etc to introduce a nice garden area its worth a try have to say we did try this route but got turned down being a very small pre school with a tiny play area in a rented community room in a school really held us back but not this time still smiling (sorry didnt mean to gloat) sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Congratulations, enjoy. We are part way through spending our capital grant. We have taken our time and spent the money carefully. I went on a course our local LEA were running and it changed my view of what was needed, well worth the time doing it. The children are loving the outside, they are so engaged in what they are doing and it's not complete yet. They have literally been up to their armpits in mud these last few weeks, and you should see the smiles in the photos. The best investment we made was some dungarees, good quality ones, and we are going to buy some jackets to match so the children don't go home with their coats plastered in mud too. We can wash their faces! Its been hardwork but worth it. Another thing we wanted was some social seating, so we found a local carpenter who could make us one in the shape of a horseshoe, and it is so great to see the children sat on it chatting away to each other. I must say this has been a truly collaborative project with parents doing a huge amount of the work, finding quotes and suppliers, getting further grants and fundraising too. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueJ Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 We have been very fortunate in having our capital access grant bids approved two years running. In the first year we too extended our garden to reclaim a derelict wild patch and doubled our outside space - we took photos at every stage and made a book. It is something to share with the children who have been with us during the transformation but it is also a fabulous record to show parents and other visitors how you are continually looking to improve the setting and outdoor provision. This year we are adding the final touches to things and have invested in all weather gear, a boot store and a free flow play curtain as well as other bits and pieces. In our area we have been advised that pretty much all of the three years of capital access grant money has been allocated in the first two years so it was well worth our while applying it made a whole lot of hopes a reality for us. Lots of groups missed out in the first year because they were put off by the claims process or the paperwork didn't get seen by the right people in the group which was such a shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Our EYadvisor encouraged us to go for it and eventually after submitting our accounts as they wanted to see them we were approved. We are a village Pre School renting a village hall but we had a bit of waste land ajoining the hall and have made a safe enclosed play area to complement our amazing woodland, stream and playing field which is just on our doorstep. The boys faces when they see we now have bikes is going to be fantastic!! I feel that it will be like taking the lid of what can sometimes be like a pressure cooker during the last term in the hall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybertwin Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Well done everyone i know how hard it is to apply for these ~I was very luck last year and heard we had been approved for a capital grant for a new building! so we are not pack away any more, so at the mo i am in the middle of a planning application, even more work good luck to everyone xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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